by Thomas Scott
He knew computers as well as the next guy, but he wasn’t a programmer or coder or whatever they were called. So he wasn’t sure it’d work, or if it was even real. What he was sure of was this: He was the new guy with the MCU and he wanted to make an impression. When they asked him if he’d be willing to take an undercover position, he jumped at the chance. Besides, it really wasn’t that big of a deal. He was acting as a shipping clerk. It really wasn’t even undercover work. Sure, he’d had to tell a few polite little fibs to some of the other people in the shipping department, but the owner of the company knew who he was, so there was a bit of a yawn factor to the whole thing. It wasn’t like he was a DEA agent infiltrating a drug cartel. A shipping clerk? It was almost embarrassing.
The instructions Becky sent him were as basic as they could be. Step one, click the attachment she’d inserted into the email. Step two, none. The program would do the rest. He’d done that first thing in the morning and so far nothing had happened. He wondered if the program was functioning properly. He was about to take his lunch break when he saw three security men enter the shipping area. They climbed the steps up to the shipping manager’s office and entered without knocking.
The manager’s office was a glass box that overlooked the entire shipping and receiving floor. The whole area was about the size of a football field. If the manager’s office was in the end zone, that put Lawless about twenty yards away, right in the red zone, near the twenty yard line.
Lawless might not have been a cop, but he wasn’t an idiot. The sight of the security guards had him on edge. He stood from his desk, stretched, and rolled his head, never taking his eyes off the guards. They were roaming around the manager’s office, animated in their gestures, looking over their shoulders at the area below. Then the manager stood from his desk, walked to the window and pointed directly at Lawless. The look on his face was clear. The three security guards ran through the door and started down the steps, their eyes glued to their target.
Lawless started to run for the exit. If he could make it to the door before they got to the bottom of the steps, he had a shot. He had a twenty yard head start, with eighty yards to go. He felt his phone buzzing in his pocket.
37
He’s not answering,” Becky said. The fear on her face was real. Had she inadvertently put Lawless in some kind of danger?
“Becky, get me the phone number of the fire department closest to Radiology. I can’t use nine-one-one. C’mon, quickly now.”
Virgil spun around and looked at Thorpe. “Give me your phone.”
Thorpe was going to ask why, but when he looked into Virgil’s eyes he reconsidered and handed the phone to him.
Becky had the number twenty seconds later and Virgil punched it in. When the call was answered, Virgil put some urgency in his voice. “This is Agent Thorpe with the Department of Homeland Security. I’m undercover near Radiology, Inc.’s manufacturing facility. There’s smoke pouring out of that building. You better get everything you’ve got headed that way. Everybody in town knows what they make out there. You guys are about to have a hell of a mess on your hands. You might have to evacuate the entire city.”
There was a slight pause, then the man on the other end of the phone said, “We know. The alarm already came through. I sent everyone out. They should be rolling up any second now. I’m the station chief. I’m heading out there myself. Why didn’t you call nine-one-one? What’d you say your name was again?”
He hung up and tossed the phone back to Thorpe. Atta boy, kid, Virgil thought.
Lawless turned around and saw that the men were gaining on him. Not only did he have to make it to the door, he also had to get to his car. At the rate they were closing, he wouldn’t even make it out of the building. Then he noticed the fire alarm box along the wall, right next to the door. He put his head down and gave it everything he had. When he reached the door he yanked the handle on the fire alarm and burst outside.
“What’s happening,” Becky asked.
“Either I’m psychic or Lawless is one step ahead of us. I think he’s been made though. He’s probably on the run. Keep trying his phone.”
Becky dialed again and got the same result as before. Four rings then voice mail. She shook her head at Virgil.
“Okay, leave it alone for a few minutes. I think he’s busy.”
Becky was almost panicking. “We can’t just sit here, Jonesy. We’ve got to do something.”
“He’s over a hundred miles away, Becks,” Rosencrantz said. “I think we’re going to have to wait this one out. We’ve done all we can do.”
Thorpe was dialing his phone. “This is one of those rare occasions when the statement ‘I’m from the government and I’m here to help’ is actually true.” Then, into his phone, “Yeah, Bob Thorpe here. Who do we have in Louisville? Good. Where are they? Are you shitting me? No, no, it’s perfect. Okay, I’m going to send you a picture. He’s running out of an undercover op that went bad over there. He’s at imminent risk. Let’s get him picked up. And remember, he’s one of us. Okay, let me know.”
Becky had been listening and sent a photo of Lawless to Thorpe’s phone. Thorpe sent it to his people and looked around the room. “What? This is what we do.” Then to Becky: “Would you mind explaining how you have my phone number, young lady?”
Becky opened her mouth to answer, then decided not to. Thorpe, who was generally a good guy, let it go.
When Lawless pulled the alarm three things happened almost at once. An alarm started to sound—a loud claack-claack-claack—the sprinkler system kicked in, and people began pouring out of the building from every available exit. The sprinkler system and the mass of people exiting the building slowed the security guards, but they refused to give up. By the time they made it outside, Lawless had increased his lead to more than fifty yards.
But he wasn’t out of the woods yet and he knew it. His car was at the far end of the lot, on the other side of the building. Since he’d exited at the end—the facility was essentially one big rectangle—it was a shorter run to the other side but still a long way to go to his car. When he turned the corner he saw people coming out of a side door right in front of him. Since he knew he wouldn’t make it to his car, he did the only thing he could think of to lose the guards.
He ducked back inside. Off in the distance he heard the sirens from the fire trucks.
He stayed close to the open door and watched as the security men raced by. Once he saw them go past, he stuck his head out to make sure they weren’t going to double back. They raced to the other end of the building and turned the corner. When they did, Lawless exited the building and turned to run back the other way.
And when he did, he ran right into Rick Said. “I’ve been looking for you,” Said said. He grabbed him by the arm. Lawless tried to pull free, but Said twisted his arm behind his back and pushed him flush against the side of the building. “My tech people said you’ve been operating outside your area. You’ve got no idea what’s at stake here, what you may have just done.”
Said felt the barrel of a gun at the back of his head. “I don’t care what you think is at stake here, mister. But I know this: That young man you’re holding is with us. Let him go.”
Said released Lawless and turned around. When he did he found himself face to face with two armed men, their weapons pointed straight at him. “Who the hell are you?”
“We’re agents with the department of homeland security. And you’re under arrest.”
The other agent looked at Lawless. “You’re Lawless, I hope.”
“I am. Boy am I glad to see you guys.”
“You did good, kid. Come on, let’s beat feet before those security guys show up. If I have to shoot someone there’s about three days worth of genuine Grade-A United States federal government paperwork that needs to be filled out. It’s a drag.”
Ten minutes later they had him on speakerphone. “Are you all right?” Becky asked. She stepped right in front of Virgil, the first to say anyt
hing. It’d been her idea and she’d almost gotten him hurt…or worse.
Lawless seemed fine, his voice calm, his speech steady. “Yeah, I’m good. It was a little iffy there for a second. I had to make a run for it. To tell you the truth, I sort of thought that email you sent me wasn’t doing what it was supposed to do. I mean, nothing had happened all morning, then suddenly there were, like, three security guys in the shipping manager’s office. They zeroed in on me like I was a bank robber or something. The fire alarm slowed them down, but if those homeland guys hadn’t shown up…”
Virgil leaned over Becky’s shoulder and said, “Listen, kid, you did good. Where are you now, right this second?”
“Standing in the employee parking lot. The homeland guys are still here. They’ve got Mr. Said in handcuffs in the back of their car. He’s not too happy, I can tell you that.”
“Okay, listen, your part of this is over. Have them escort you past the security gate then drive back up here.”
“What about Said?”
“Leave that to us,” Thorpe said.
“He’s right,” Virgil said. “We’ll take it from here. Come on home.”
“Well…okay, I guess.”
Virgil could hear the disappointment in his voice. He understood, mostly because he’d experienced it himself on other cases. A rush of adrenaline, then nothing. It was the police procedural version of thank you very much, goodbye. “You’re working out of state, Chip. We’d like to get you across the river as soon as possible. Get back, take the rest of the day and get with Mimi tomorrow. She’ll have your next assignment.”
They ended the call and Virgil looked at Thorpe. “Sounds like you’ve got more assets in place than we were aware of.”
Thorpe let the corners of his mouth turn down. “It’s the federal government. We’re everywhere these days.” Then, to drive home his point. “Good thing too, huh?” His phone rang before Virgil could respond. He held up a finger and picked up the phone. “Thorpe.” Then, “Hey Franklin. How’s Kentucky?” He verbally emphasized each syllable of the state’s name, the implication clear. “Good question. Hold on a second.” He put the phone to his chest, looked at Virgil and said, “Franklin wants to know what to do with Said. The only reason they have him detained right now is because he had your man up against the wall.”
Virgil thought about it for a moment. They’d thought all along that someone had been messing with the shipping records at Radiology…except they never imagined it would be the CEO. But that created a problem in itself. If Virgil had DHS detain Said, then there was a good possibility that the shipment wouldn’t go out as planned. Would Murton be compromised if that happened? He didn’t know. On the other hand, Said was clearly involved in a crime, one which could ultimately result in the detonation of an explosive device laced with radioactive material. He didn’t like it, but the choice was clear. He looked at Thorpe. “Have your men get him to the airport. We’ll be there inside of two hours.”
Becky stepped between Thorpe and Virgil. She turned to Thorpe, put a finger in his face and said, “Wait.” There was no mistaking her tone. She spun and looked at Virgil. “You’ll be hanging Murton out to dry. He’s hooked into these terrorists or whatever they are, and if they don’t get their hands on that shipment, they’re going to wonder what went wrong. How do you think that’s going to play out for him…the guy brought in at the last second to build the bomb? Do you think these are the type of people who are going to walk away and leave Murton, not to mention Gibson hanging around?”
“Becks…”
Thorpe had the phone back up to his ear, nodding as he listened.
“Don’t, Jonesy. Don’t you dare leave him out there to fend for himself. When was the last time he did that to you?”
“Never.”
Thorpe leaned sideways and got Virgil’s attention. “My guys say Said wants to speak with you.”
Becky was visibly shaking with fear. When she spoke again her voice was full of dread. “Murton Wheeler is your brother.”
“I know that.” He snapped it at her. He closed his eyes for a brief moment before he looked at Thorpe. “Put him on speaker.”
Thorpe pressed a button on his phone then told Franklin to put Said on.
Said’s voice was frenetic, his words coming fast, full of anxiety. “I didn’t have a choice.”
“A choice about what?” Virgil said.
“Everything. All of it. They made me do it.”
“Who?”
“I don’t know who they are.”
“Mr. Said, maybe if you start at the beginning…”
Said was choking back tears. They could all hear it over the phone. “It’s too late, it’s too late. I should have said something earlier.”
“I don’t understand, Mr. Said. Too late for wha—”
“Patty Doyle is my niece. She’s my niece and they’ve got her.” He screamed at them over and over until the phone was taken from him.
“Get him to the airport,” Virgil said. He was speaking to Thorpe, but he was looking at Becky when he said it.
Becky sat down at her desk and stared at her lap.
38
Virgil hated to do it, but Ross and Rosencrantz had to stay behind. When he told them, Rosencrantz nodded like it was nothing. Ross wasn’t pleased.
“Look Jonesy, no disrespect. I know I’m the new guy here and all that, but I’m also former SWAT. I could be a big help on this.”
Virgil shook his head. “I want you guys here, with Becky. We don’t have all the facts yet. Everything is a little too fluid. And the hard reality of the situation is this: There’s simply not enough room for everyone on the chopper with Mok and his crew. It’ll be a tight fit as it is.”
Ross didn’t like it, but what was he going to do? Make a stink about it? He’d been chewed out by Virgil before and didn’t want that to happen again, and he was already on thin ice with his real boss, Ron Miles. “Okay, okay.”
Virgil looked at Becky. “Get everything you can on Said. Start with the records from Radiology and take it from there. And I need to know what’s on that thumb drive.”
Becky didn’t answer him. She simply brought up the proper programs on her computer and got to work.
Virgil and Thorpe left and headed for the airport. When Virgil tried to reach Sandy she didn’t answer. He left her a brief message saying it might be a late night.
On the way to the airport, Thorpe got Franklin on the phone again. Said had calmed down, mostly, and was able to tell them his story…the meat of it anyway.
“I don’t know who he was. I only saw him twice. An older guy. Mean. He showed up one day at my home and handed me an envelope. This was about a week after Patty went missing.” He had to pause for a moment to collect himself. “It was a photo of Patty. She was lying at the bottom of a stairwell. Her arms and legs were bound with tape and she had a gag tied around her mouth. I don’t even know if she was alive.”
“Would you recognize this man if you saw him again?”
“Yes, there’s no doubt. I’ll never forget him.”
“He wasn’t disguised in any way? No mask or anything like that?”
There was a pause before Said answered. “You’re saying she’s already dead, aren’t you? He wouldn’t let me see his face if they were going to give her back, would they?”
That’s exactly what I’m saying, Virgil thought. “It’s not helpful to speculate on those types of things until we have all the facts, Mr. Said. Now please, tell me exactly what they wanted you to do. Mr. Said?”
“They wanted me to swap the loads.”
Virgil didn’t understand. “What do you mean, swap the loads?”
“I’m not the bad guy here.”
“Get to it, Said.”
“We manufacture exactly two things. The main one is our radioactive dye for medical procedures and research functions. The other is a non radioactive dye that contains harmless biological nano tracers. It’s a new technology. It hasn’t caught on
yet, but it’s getting some traction. When it does, the radioactive dye will be obsolete.”
“Yes, yes,” Virgil said. “I don’t need a summary of the company brochure. Answer the question. What’s this about swapping the loads?”
He heard Said sigh into the phone. “I’m simply trying to give you some perspective. The logs were altered. I did that. I admit it and I’ll take full responsibility for it. But the bottom line is this: I tried to play both sides against the middle. I’m sorry. I was only trying to get my niece back. She’s like a daughter to me.”
“Here’s what I need to know, and I need to know it right now, Said. Where is the nuclear material?”
Said waited a long time before he answered.
Reif, Chase, and Stone were almost finished with their meal when Reif’s phone buzzed at him. He looked at the screen. It was Gus. “Yes, sir?”
Chase and Stone stopped eating to listen. There was only one person on the planet Reif addressed as sir. There was a long pause, then Reif said, “I understand, sir. The fact is they were both in a position to compromise us. I felt there was no other choice. Yes, sir, I’m glad you understand.”
Then Chase and Stone watched as an odd expression passed over Reif’s face and he was quiet for a long time. “You’re sure? That seems rather…extreme. No, of course, it’s your call. I’ll take care of it right away. Yes sir.”
Chase and Stone looked at Reif, their expressions blank, their eyes unblinking. Reif threw a wad of bills on the table and stood. “Not in here,” he said. “We’ve got some things to talk about.”
They went out to the SUV, Chase at the wheel, Stone in the passenger seat. Reif climbed in back. Chase looked at Reif in the rear view mirror. “That was Gus, right? What’d he say?”
