“Okay, mate. I’ll drag this guy down the hall to room 129. You call upstairs and have Agent Chan bring me down the serum.”
“When the serum is administered, send him out into Kiev and let him wander around until the police snatch him up,” Lionel told Mic, putting his gun away. “They’ll take Dr. Ellison in for medical care.”
“Got it,” Mic replied. He bent down, grabbed Dr. Ellison by his arms, and began dragging him out of the room while leaving Steve alone with Lionel.
“You get back to your post,” Lionel ordered Steve.
Steve jerked a little and then rushed back out into the hallway, closing the room door behind him. He stood very still and watched Mic drag Dr. Ellison’s bleeding body down a long, gray, shadowy hallway. They finally vanished into the darkness like a hideous creature disappearing into a dark closet.
“I have to call Mr. Alden,” he whispered in a frantic voice, licking his lips, and then decided to attempt a very dangerous, if not foolish, plan. “Mic is out of sight. That loser is inside the room,” he whispered in a nervous voice, checked the hallway again, and then, with lighting fast hands, yanked out a black cell phone to send a text message.
“‘B’ alert Alden, per contact. Code word ‘Cratterson’.” Steve sent the text, and then stuffed his cell phone back into the right cargo pocket of the black assault uniform he was wearing. Feeling both scared and excited, Steve studied the empty hallway again.
“I did it,” he grinned, as a few beads of sweat covered his forehead. What Steve didn’t realize, was that the special cell phone, one that a close and trusted friend had designed for him, was constantly being monitored by a team of experts. Steve’s co-called ‘invisible’ phone had clearly been detected.
Inside Wendy’s room, Lionel’s cell phone received a text message. Lionel quickly checked the text, as he spoke with Agent Chan.
“Meet Mic in room 129,” he said, as he read the text message. “And bring a body bag.”
Lionel put his cell phone away, removed his Glock 19, and exited Wendy’s room. Steve immediately stiffened.
“Agent Cratterson is resting,” Lionel spoke in an easy voice, holding the Glock 19 at his side.
“Uh, that’s good, right? I mean, I’m not a doctor, but rest is good.”
Lionel studied Steve’s forehead and saw a few beads of sweat. The hallway was cold.
“Yes, rest is good,” Lionel stated and then feigned a troubled look. “Listen,” he said, “I need a favor.”
“A favor?” Steve asked in a confused voice.
“A favor,” Lionel nodded his head, pretending to become friendly. “I lost my temper with Dr. Ellison. Mr. Petrov is going to be very upset with me.” Lionel studied the hallway. “The fact is, this organization is falling to pieces, lad,” he whispered in a secretive tone. “Mr. Petrov is falling apart.”
“Sir?” Steve asked, not certain what to say or think.
Lionel eased closer to Steve. “You’re working for Mr. Alden, right?” he whispered. “Sure, you are. My team just caught you sending out a text message.”
Steve nearly wet his pants. He was young, naive and arrogant. Those were three deadly ingredients that got a person killed really fast.
“Sir, I...”
“Shut up and listen,” Lionel said in a low voice. “Listen, I’m glad you texted Alden. I’m working for the guy, too. He told me he was sending me someone. I guess your my ‘Red Flag’.” Lionel glanced up and down the hallway again. “Operation ‘Green Bullet’ is underway. Soon, we’ll take down President Green,” Lionel whispered and quickly locked eyes with Steve. “I need you to contact Agent Lilly. Send her the ‘Code Files’, okay? She’ll be at the ‘Gray Dock’ location in two hours.”
“Uh...yeah, sure,” Steve replied, feeling shocked and terrified. “Code files...dock location.”
“And send Alden a text. Tell him Cratterson is being delivered to Seattle. No time line,” Lionel whispered. “Also, tell him ‘Operation Green Bullet’ is underway, and the next contact will be in seven days. Hurry. I’ll keep watch.”
“But, the team—”
“I’ll cover you,” Lionel assured Steve. “We have an inside man on the team. Now hurry.”
Steve stood in a state of shock. Was Lionel for real?
“I...sure,” he said and used his left hand to retrieve the cell phone out of the pocket of his pants. The cell phone required a special security password to activate. Steve reluctantly activated the cellphone. “Uh...sending the text now, sir.”
“Hurry. Agent Chan is on his way down,” Lionel urged Steve. Steve leaned his rifle against the wall and, as fast as lightning, created the text. “Send, sir?”
“Send.”
Steve nodded his head and sent the text. “Sent, sir.”
“Perfect,” Lionel whispered and, without any warning, lifted the Glock 19 in his right hand and put a bullet through Steve’s heart.
“Perfect indeed,” Lionel said, watching Steve’s body crumple onto the cold, hard floor. A few minutes later, Agent Chan appeared carrying a special metal box in his right hand and dragging a black body bag with his left hand. “Leave the body bag with me. Take Mic the serum, and then come back and take out this trash.”
Agent Chan, who was not one for words, did as asked, leaving Lionel alone to study Steve’s phone. The phone was extremely advanced. The keyboard on the phone was designed to specifically match Steve, reading the man’s fingerprints before authorizing a single letter to be typed. Each app was locked with a voice sensitive password. In order to even unlock the phone, a special security password had to be entered and the password had to match Steve’s fingerprints. No phone calls or texts could be sent unless green lighted by the fingerprint acceptance software. Whoever had created the phone knew his or her stuff. Lionel was impressed.
“I assumed you had a phone like this,” he told Steve’s dead body. Steve didn’t answer.
Lionel tucked Steve’s phone into his pocket and walked back into Wendy’s room.
“Well, love,” he said, approaching her bed, “I have just decided to play a very dangerous game of cat and mouse; a game that I will have to inform Boris of. If I succeed, I will kill Roger Alden. If I fail, he will kill me. But for right now, my main goal was to add confusion to the man’s already overloaded mind.”
Lionel looked down into Wendy’s beautiful but deadly face. For a few minutes, he stood very silent and studied the face of a woman he was deeply in love with; the face of a woman that had captured his heart. Asleep, Wendy was almost doll-like. But awake, the woman was vicious, cruel and heartless. How could Lionel love a woman who was incapable of love herself?
“Why am I going through so much trouble to save you?” he whispered. “America is about ready to detonate, and I’m standing here worrying about a woman who despises me.” Lionel forced his eyes away from Wendy, turned his back to the woman, and shook his head. “I have one chance to kill Alden and form an alliance with President Green. I can’t allow emotional errors to destroy me.”
A hard hand knocked on the door before Lionel could continue. Lionel recognized that particular knock.
“Enter, Boris.”
Boris Petrov opened the door and stepped inside.
“You’re leaving a trail today,” he spoke in a thick Russian accent. He was not pleased. “First, Dr. Ellison, and now the new guy?”
“The new guy was caught taking sides with Alden.”
“Yes, so I was informed. Such a shame,” Boris said shutting the door. “How is our sleeping queen?”
“Full of morphine,” Lionel explained, looking into the face of a large, cruel man who had ended many lives with his bare hands. While it was true that Boris was gaining in years, the man was not weak or foolish. “Agent Chan is going to dispose of the body once he assists Mic.”
“And the boy’s phone?” Boris asked.
Lionel patted his pocket. “I’m taking the phone upstairs.”
“Very good,” Boris said, without taking his eyes off Lionel. “This woman is no good, Lionel. She makes you act crazy, yes?”
Lionel shrugged his shoulders. “Wendy Cratterson will be a positive addition to our team. As far as my personal feelings, yes, she makes me crazy.”
Boris let out a heavy sigh, approached Lionel, and put a large, meaty hand on the man’s shoulder. “Talk to me, my friend. We have known each other for many years, through both the good and the bad.”
Lionel reached into his pocket, retrieved Steve’s cell phone, and handed it to Boris. “I had Steve send Alden two text before I killed him,” he explained, and then, using extreme caution, began to reveal his plan to Boris. Boris took the cell phone, folded his large arms across his chest, and listened. “If I can lure Alden into a secret location, he’s dead.”
“But the boy is dead?” Boris asked.
“Exactly,” Lionel nodded his head. “I want Alden to walk around in the shadows for a few days. In the meantime, we’ll have our experts rewire that cell phone for us. We have seven days.”
Boris stared at Lionel with uncertain eyes. “Alden isn’t stupid. He will know.”
“Exactly,” Lionel agreed and pointed at Wendy. “That woman is going to be the bullet that kills the man,” he assured Boris even though, deep down in his gut, he wasn’t so certain. “Are we in the ‘Green’ together?”
“Your plan is very risky, but if you succeed...” Boris rubbed his chin. “Yes, we are in the ‘Green’ together. America is crumbling too quickly to allow caution to interfere.”
Lionel agreed, locked his eyes on Wendy, and became lost in his own thoughts. Boris patted his shoulder and left the room, leaving the man alone in his misery.
((((((((((*))))))))))
Daylight arrived. Jessica’s beautiful eyes slowly opened to a dark room. At first, she thought the darkness she was seeing was in her bedroom back home. But then the smell of wet, cold earth struck her nose along with cigarette smoke.
“Where...” she mumbled, as a sharp pain ran down her sore back. She reached her right hand behind her back and touched a hard, rock wall. “Rock?”
“We’re not in a lavish resort,” Mandy whispered, touching Jessica’s shoulder, and continued in a miserable voice, “Welcome back to the land of the living. If you can call what we’re doing living.”
Alvin was standing under the hole in the ceiling smoking a cigarette. He looked over at Jessica. “Better wake up because we’re moving out.”
“That’s right,” Jacob announced, standing at a distance near the river and using his pen light to study the raging currents. He quickly spun around and jogged over to Jessica and Mandy. “While you were both sleeping, I managed to make my way back outside and contact General Garcia.”
“You what?” Mandy asked. “Are you—”
“Listen to the man,” Alvin pleaded with Mandy.
“General Garcia told me that one of Roger Alden’s agents, a man named Hayford, was shot and killed last night. The media is running his story nonstop.”
“I don’t understand,” Jessica said, struggling to wake up her sleepy mind and focus.
“General Garcia informed me that Roger Alden ordered his team out of the area after Hayford was killed,” Jacob continued. “It could be a trick. That’s why I went. I carried out a little recon mission. The area is clear and the skies are clear and blue.” Jacob quickly folded his arms. “The media is reporting that Jessica killed this Hayford person—”
“What?” Mandy exclaimed. “Oh, this is getting absu—”
“Let the man finish,” Alvin begged Mandy. “Complain later.”
“I asked General Garcia to do some research for me,” Jacob continued. “That river over there runs directly south, and eventually goes aboveground for about a quarter of a mile before diving back underground. The spot where the river goes aboveground is in a remote location and—”
“Are you suggesting we go for a swim?” Mandy asked, in a horrid voice. “Are you insane?”
“Listen to me,” Jacob snapped at Mandy. He wasn’t in the mood to argue. “The skies are crystal clear. You can bet your bottom dollar that Roger Alden is using his eyes in the skies to scan this area. Besides that, we have no wheels. Even if we did, there are countless roadblocks. We wouldn’t make it a mile before seeing a cop and walking out of here on foot is no good. Every citizen in the county we’re in is on high alert. Too many eyes.”
Alvin walked over to Jessica and Mandy. “It’s time you called your Pastor friend and told him to hit the road,” he said in a tired voice. “Jacob’s General friend can’t send out a team to help, and we can’t stay in this underground tomb forever.”
Shocked, Jessica stared into Jacob and Alvin’s shadowy faces. “I suppose I should.”
“Jessie, you can’t be serious,” Mandy gasped.
“Look,” Jacob said, and bent down to look Mandy straight in the eye, “I know this sounds scary, but it’s our only option. There are too many eyes up there that can spot us. We were blessed to even find this cave.”
“But—”
“I managed to drag some heavy tree limbs down here, with Alvin’s help. We can use the tree limbs as floating devices,” Jacob explained, forcing his voice to remain calm. “I’ll take the lead. Alvin will cover the rear. You and Jessica will take the middle. If we all stay together, we should be alright.”
“Look,” Alvin told Mandy, “I’m not too keen on this idea myself. I can barely swim as it is, but what choice do we have?” Alvin pointed at Jessica. “That Pastor friend of yours has to help us.”
Jessica forced her aching body to stand up. She slowly rubbed her neck and then stretched her back.
The Virus...the Journal a stern but warm voice spoke. Get back to Pennsylvania.
Jessica looked toward the river. The currents were vicious and deadly. She had no idea how deep the river was. Once a person dropped down into the river, there was no turning back.
“I can’t get a signal down here. I tried.”
“We’ll worry about that later,” Jacob explained. “Alvin and I left some mighty clear tracks in the snow. We need to move.”
“I was just about to wake you two girls up after I finished my smoke,” Alvin said, as he threw down his cigarette and shook his head. “Looks like I’m through with my smoke.”
“This is so crazy,” Mandy complained. “Why, we’ll certainly go to our deaths. I mean, how do you know the river doesn’t completely submerge in places.”
“People have explored this river,” Jacob told Mandy, desperately hoping to calm the woman down. “General Garcia has studied every survey map and has assured me the tunnel the river is running through remains open and even runs into other caverns like the one we’re standing in.”
“Mandy, we have to take the chance,” Jessica told her worried sister. “I have to get back to Pennsylvania. It’s our only chance. I can’t explain why right now, but I will. I promise.”
Mandy stared up into her sister’s shadowy face, as her heart raced inside of her chest. “But I can’t swim very well, and I have a fear of water.”
“So do I,” Alvin confessed. “Looks like me and you are going to have to be mighty brave together.”
“Oh...” Mandy bowed her head and began to pray. Alvin bowed his head. Jessica began to bow her head but, as she did, the face of the trucker she had shot burst into her mind. Guilt grabbed Jessica’s heart and began tormenting her soul. Jacob slightly bowed his head, hurt that he wasn’t confident in his faith.
“Okay, Alvin, help me stand up.”
Alvin took Mandy’s hand, helped the woman stand up, and then basically carried her over to the edge of the river where four large tree limbs had been placed.
“Now look,” he said in a serious voice, “I’m getting in first, you hear? Then you get in behind me, then Jessica, and Jacob will bring up the rear, like falling dominos. You get it? I jump, you jump, Jes
sica jumps, then Jacob jumps. Splash, splash, splash, splash, and off we go.”
Jacob handed Jessica the pen light, reached down, and picked up a heavy tree limb. “Take this,” he told Mandy. “It’s heavy, so be careful.”
Mandy’s eyes grew large with fear. She gulped, and then looked around the dark cavern.
“I’d rather take my chances topside. I’m sorry, but I can’t do this.”
“Here,” Jessica told Mandy. She handed her the pen light and took the tree limb from Jacob. “We’ll ride on the same tree limb, okay?” she told Mandy, struggling to sound brave, even though she was terrified. Jessica knew, however, that she would rather drown than risk being captured alive. “Me and you, just like when we were in the Jordan River, remember? You were scared then, too, and you were scared at the Sea of Galilee, as well.
Mandy gulped again. “I suppose I was.” she whimpered, and then drew in a deep breath. “But you were with me, and…well...the Lord was with me.”
“And the Lord will be with us now,” Jessica promised in a shaky voice. “I’m very frightened, too, Mandy, but if we go aboveground, someone will capture us. I’m certain of that.”
Mandy used the pen light to study the river. The water was icy, dark, and appeared very deep. The raging currents prevented any attempt to check the depth level. What Mandy didn’t know, and what General Garcia had neglected to inform Jacob, was that the river was actually quite shallow, barely reaching five feet deep in the deepest spots. It was only when the river emerged into a gulley that the waters became deep.
“Okay, Alvin, let’s go for a swim.” Mandy said holding the pen light as tightly as possible.
Alvin patted his pants pocket. “So much for my smokes,” he said. He picked up a tree limb and waited for Jacob.
Jacob reached down, picked up a tree limb, and looked into the faces of three very scared people.
“Jessica, the two cell phones I have on me are waterproof and—”
“Our purses, that’s right,” Jessica cut Jacob off.
“I’ve already thrown your purses into the river and taken out the vital information,” Jacob explained. He nodded down at his jacket pockets, and then looked back up. “When we arrive at the aboveground section, you can call Pastor Braston.”
Green File Crime Thrillers Box Set Page 25
