The Bahamas Caper

by Drew Hill

  “Did you trace the call?” asked the President.

  “Yes, but it is almost as disappointing as the last one,” said Frank. “It was traced to the back of a restaurant twenty miles from the hotel.”

  Chapter 4

  The President called another meeting. He got himself a cup of coffee. “What should we do about the ransom call?”

  “The first thing that comes to my mind is a trap,” said Frank.

  “But that would endanger Jordan’s life.” Jackson frowned.

  “But it may work, and then we’ll have the kidnappers and Jordan,” said Trent.

  “I guess it’s up to you, Chief,” said Bill.

  “I don’t know.” Timothy sipped his coffee. “I need time to think about it.”

  “There’s no time.” Trent stood up. “We need time to set it up, and we only have five hours until the deadline. What will it be?”

  ҉

  “Do you see anything yet, Landon?” asked Malachi.

  “Uh, no. No, nobody has come in yet, or at least by this entrance,” Landon Schwartz, an FBI agent, replied.

  Oliver, Malachi, Levi, and Landon were involved in an FBI-CIA joint stakeout of the warehouse. During the time they were watching, nobody went in or out. Finally, at 3 a.m., they raided the warehouse. They didn’t find anything except a note. The leader of the group read it out loud.

  “I said no police or agents. Just know you will never see your son again!”

  ҉

  As the President sat in his office contemplating what he had done, his phone rang. He picked it up. “Hello, this is the President.”

  “Mr. President, this is your phone operator. You told me to patch any calls from your son’s kidnapper in to you, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “Alright.”

  The President pressed a button under his desk that started a recorder and angrily asked, “Why are you calling? Where is my son?”

  The voice on the other end said, “To give you a second chance. Here are your instructions. You will deliver the missile tonight to the same location, same time, as last time. No police, agents, or military personnel except for those who deliver the missile. The people who deliver it are to leave within ten minutes. Just remember: if there are any tricks, your son will be the first to pay!” With that he hung up.

  As soon as the man had hung up, Timothy called another emergency meeting. He poured some tea in his special cup. “What will we do now?”

  Joe pounded the table. “We can’t just give them a nuclear missile! That would compromise national security and could also endanger any of our allies.”

  Daniel said, “If only we knew who took Jordan. Then we would be one step closer to finding him and staging a rescue.”

  Bill shrugged. “We know it’s either a Middle Eastern country or terrorist group.”

  “Actually, it could be an American gang that had only Middle Eastern operatives involved in the kidnapping mission to throw suspicion on a Middle Eastern nation or Islamic terrorist group,” reasoned Trent.

  “I think Bill’s theory is correct, although yours is a distinct possibility. Three of the operatives found have been identified as having been involved in Islamic terrorist groups in the Middle East.” Frank paused. “In fact, they’ve been involved in a certain terrorist group lately. Therefore, it is most probable this group is the guilty party.”

  “Which group are you referring to?” asked Timothy.

  “ISIS,” answered Frank.

  ҉

  Malachi, Levi, and Landon had met at a small café to talk.

  “That was a great service the other night,” said Landon.

  “Indeed,” agreed Levi. “The Lord really moved.”

  “The message was great,” said Malachi, “The Lord convicted me of my sinfulness, and because of it, I accepted Christ.”

  “That’s great, man!” Landon slapped him on the back.

  “What are you guys talking about?” Oliver had walked up and now looked at them with a curious expression on his face.

  Landon smiled. “We were talking about revival services at my church. It’s the little Pentecostal-Holiness church on 13th street. Do you want to come sometime when this is over?”

  “I don’t really believe in that stuff. I’m not really a church person,” said Oliver.

  “Do you believe there is a God?” Landon asked.

  “No,” said Oliver.

  “Do you believe that Jesus was God?” asked Landon.

  “No. If there is no God, how could He be God? He was a great man, don’t get me wrong, but I don’t think He was God.” Oliver shook his head.

  “Jesus said He was God,” said Landon, “so, if He wasn’t, then was He crazy? Was He lying? Or is He really God?”

  “I don’t know. Just leave me alone. I told you, I don’t believe that stuff. Now stop bothering me,” Oliver huffed.

  “Well, Oliver, I—,” started Landon when his walkie-talkie went off.

  “Agent, this is Headquarters. Do you copy?” squawked the radio.

  “Headquarters, this is FBI Agent Schwartz. I’m here with CIA Agents Haselry, Richardson, and Jefferson,” replied Landon.

  “Agent Schwartz, you and the men with you are to proceed to Langley. There you are to report to Deputy Director for Intelligence (DDI) Agent Harkens. He will give you the details of your new mission.”

  “Will do,” said Landon, “Over and out.” He turned to the agents. “We’re needed at Langley. We’re to report to the Deputy Director of Intelligence.”

  ҉

  They reported to Agent Harkens at headquarters and met Drew Martin, an NSA agent. Agent Harkens led all five of them into a small room and shut the door.

  He sat in a chair and said, “Let’s skip the small talk and get right to the point. You five have been placed on a special joint mission of the agencies located at Langley, provided by a special executive order signed by the President the other day. Agent Schwartz is part of the FBI. Agent Martin is part of the NSA. Agent Jefferson, Agent Richardson, and Agent Haselry are all part of the CIA.”

  Oliver interrupted, “What’s the mission?”

  Agent Harkens smiled. “I like you. Right to the point. You five are on a mission to recover the President’s son. The mission is called Mission Boomerang. Agent Haselry, you have been chosen to be the ground commander of this group. You are to report directly to me on all progress. Treat every detail as if it’s a vital clue. Remember, national security is being threatened.”

  He left, and they turned toward the desk in the middle of the room. On it were stacks of papers. There were three laptops sitting on the desk as well. Oliver walked over to the desk and looked down. He saw a list of five tasks. The list included using one computer to watch videos from satellite passes, one to compare voice prints of various criminals and terrorists to see if there were any records that matched the kidnapper’s voice, and the other computer to research various ISIS locations and operations. The other two tasks were reading foreign transcripts of cell phone intercepts, and reading over the details of the case to see if there was anything the other agents had missed.

  Oliver pondered the list for a moment. “Landon, I’m going to have you watch the videos from the satellites. Drew, you read the cell phone intercepts. Levi, you look at the voiceprints. Malachi, you research ISIS. I’ll read the details of the case.”

  ҉

  Frank met Agent Harkens. “Is everything set up?”

  Agent Harkens replied, “Yes, I’ve got them working.

  “Let’s hope they will find out something our older agents haven’t been able to,” said Frank. “Well, I’ve got to go.”

  “Goodbye, sir,” said Agent Harkens.

  After Frank left the building, two men carefully looked both ways and followed him. As they went along, they heard running footsteps behind them. They turned to look and were both struck down. Two men grabbed the unconscious men and threw them into a black van idling by the curb. They jumped in an
d the van took off.

  Within ten minutes, the place was swarming with police. Agent Harkens walked up to the man directing the investigation. “What’s going on?”

  The police officer answered, “Two men were knocked unconscious and kidnapped.”

  Agent Harkens asked, “Have you notified Daniel Smart yet?”

  The police officer stared. “You mean the director of the FBI? No, but why are you asking?”

  Agent Harkens answered, “Because the men kidnapped were his agents.”

  Chapter 5

  “Have you called his residence?” Timothy Michaels set his cup on the table in the Situation Room.

  “Yes,” replied Daniel. “He has not answered repeated calls at all the numbers we know to call.”

  An icon came up on Daniel’s computer. He frowned considerably.

  Bill walked in right then. “Sorry I’m late. Hey, what’s wrong?”

  Daniel answered, “We are not completely sure, but it looks like Frank Jones has disappeared.”

  ҉

  “This one looks interesting. It says, ‘We are moving the bird to a new coop,’” said Drew.

  Oliver looked up and nodded. “Yes, that sounds like it could be an important clue. Look for others from that same number.”

  “Hey, Oliver, I’ve got some bad news,” said Malachi apprehensively.

  “What is it?”

  “Well, I was researching ISIS, like you said, when I came across an online news article. It was uploaded twenty-four minutes ago,” answered Malachi.

  “What did it say?” asked Oliver.

  “It said two FBI agents had been kidnapped and the Director of National Intelligence has gone missing,” said Malachi.

  “What!” Oliver stood abruptly.

  ҉

  “How did the media find out about this so soon!” Timothy exploded.

  “I’ll tell you how!” shouted Joe. “The story said they received an anonymous tip! That means somebody with high security clearance is tipping off the media about what’s happening.”

  “Well, the story’s out. There’s nothing we can do now,” said Bill.

  “What I want to know is how he disappeared. Where was his Secret Service team?” asked Timothy.

  “He told them to go home without him, because he wanted to go on a walk alone. This definitely puts Frank Jones in a suspicious light,” Daniel explained.

  “And they let him go off by himself?” Timothy asked incredulously.

  “Apparently,” Daniel said.

  “What’s important right now is what we are going to do tonight about the ransom,” Jackson stated.

  “We can’t risk national security by giving terrorists the most dangerous weapon in the world!” Joe hollered.

  “Calm down,” Timothy ordered. “Here, have some coffee.” He poured Joe a cup and then poured some into his cup.

  Dan said, “I think I might have a solution to this problem. Why not sabotage the missile?”

  “If they find out, they will kill Jordan,” Jackson reasoned.

  “But how would they know?” asked Joe. “There are ways of sabotaging it so it is not noticeable by looking at the outside.”

  “They’ll know when it doesn’t blow up,” Trent pointed out.

  “By then we should have Jordan back, so it wouldn’t matter,” said Bill.

  “Well, it’s the President’s call.” Daniel leaned forward in his chair.

  “Let’s do it.” The President stood.

  ҉

  The men who delivered the missile carefully carried it inside and set it on a table. There they found a note which said, “Come back at 4 a.m.” They left.

  When they came back they found another note on the table. “Nice try. We don’t want a sabotaged missile. Strike Two.”

  ҉

  As Levi leafed through the files of voice transcripts, he suddenly sat straight up. “I’ve found it!”

  Oliver asked, “You’ve found the matching transcript?”

  “Yes.”

  “Who is it?” Oliver leaned forward.

  “Marcus Tolliver, an American gangster who escaped prison two years ago. But most importantly, while he was in prison, he was converted to Islam and is reported to have joined ISIS.”

  “I need to talk to Agent Harkens.” Oliver stood.

  ҉

  The phone rang. Timothy picked it up without hesitation. “Hello.”

  “This is your son’s kidnapper. This is your last chance. You must deliver the missile in two days to the coordinates I’m about to give you. Send three people at the most. No police, agents, or military personnel beyond the three you can send. And no sabotaged missiles. Do you understand?”

  “Wait! Can I talk to my son?” Timothy pleaded. The President heard the sound of someone walking and a car door opening. The man muttered something. Then his son’s voice came over the phone.

  “Dad?” Jordan asked.

  Tears came into the President’s eyes when he heard his son’s voice. “Jordan, are you okay?”

  “Yes, Dad. I’ve been tied up and I’m…” Suddenly the phone was pulled away.

  The kidnapper’s voice came back over the line. “Do you agree to our demand?”

  “Yes, Marcus,” replied the President.

  Marcus yelled out some letters and numbers and hung up. As soon as he hung up Timothy said, “Have you traced the call yet?”

  “No. Something interfered with our tracking software. There’s no way we can catch him.” Joe slumped in his chair.

  “So where is the place where we are to drop off the missile, assuming those numbers and letters we heard were the coordinates?” asked Timothy.

  “You’re not going to believe this.” Daniel raised an eyebrow.

  “Where is it?” asked Timothy with a puzzled expression on his face.

  “It’s in the middle of the Sahara.”

  ҉

  “Hey, Oliver, do you want to come to church with us?” Landon asked.

  “Don’t we have to stay here and continue our mission?”

  “Agent Harkens has assigned other agents to take our place tonight.”

  “I told you, I don’t really go to church.”

  “Come on, it’s a big service. They usually have the best food tonight, and they have recreation afterwards,” Landon persuaded.

  “Fine. I’ll go. But I’m only going for the food and recreation.”

  As Landon, Malachi, and Levi got there, they looked around for Oliver. When the service was about to start, they went inside. About five minutes later, Landon felt a nudge on his arm. He turned and had a feeling of joy at seeing Oliver actually came.

  As Oliver stood beside Levi, he listened to the song being sung. It was “Amazing Grace”. The words touched his heart. Then they had testimonies, which was where people stood and thanked God for what He had done for them. One elderly lady said she was glad Jesus was always with her and that He saved her from her sin.

  The first three testimonies were from other elderly ladies. This made him think, The stories I heard were true. Christianity is only for the weak and elderly. But then, several men stood up and started testifying about how Jesus saved them and how he was their strength. This puzzled Oliver. But it wasn’t as shocking to him as when Malachi stood up and praised the Lord for saving him that week.

  After the offering the evangelist went up on stage and began preaching. He was unlike any preacher Oliver had ever seen. He yelled, ran around the stage, and even got off the platform.

  He preached about the parable found in the Gospel of Luke about the shepherd leaving ninety-nine sheep to go find one lost sheep.

  He said Jesus is the Good Shepherd. He wants to save all the lost sheep. He used a verse from Isaiah that said everybody like sheep has gone astray. He said if we believed on Christ, He would rescue us like a shepherd rescues his sheep. If we didn’t accept Christ, we would go to Hell. He then asked for all those who had never accepted Christ to come forward.

  Oliver
saw several people go forward. He heard a voice in his head—You should go forward. You should ask the preacher to tell you how to get saved.

  But another voice said—Don’t do it. Think of all the times you mocked Jesus and His followers. Why would he want to save you?

  Right then the preacher said, “Jesus will forgive you. He loves you and wants to save you.”

  Oliver felt he should go up, but he just couldn’t. He gripped the back of the pew in front of him and stood there. He watched as people went up and asked Christ to save them. He saw the joy on their faces. But he just stood there.

  After the service they had food, but Oliver couldn’t stop thinking about everything that had happened that night. After that they played basketball, and Oliver focused on the games. His team won the tournament, but afterwards, all the thoughts about the service came rushing back.

  He went home soon after and got in bed to try to sleep it off. But he couldn’t sleep and lay tossing and turning on his bed all night.

  Chapter 6

  “Have you made any headway on Frank’s disappearance yet?” asked Timothy as he poured himself some coffee.

  “It seems to me there are two theories as to what happened. The facts are these: he told his Secret Service team to go home without him at 7:31 p.m., left the building at 7:43 p.m., walked for about three blocks in the direction of his house, at 7:48 p.m. passed a certain camera, and disappeared before he reached the next camera. Five minutes before his disappearance two FBI agents were kidnapped, and the act caught on tape. Therefore, the two theories are: he was kidnapped, or he was working for the terrorists and escaped because he was afraid he was about to be discovered,” Joe replied.

  “Are there any clues as to who the criminals who kidnapped the two FBI agents are?” Timothy queried.

  “The kidnappers wore masks, stocking caps, and black clothes without any identification on them,” said Daniel, “and the car’s license plate was covered with mud. It was a black van. The driver was barely visible. One of the kidnappers was short and stocky, probably about five feet six inches tall. The other was probably six feet tall. Therefore, we have very little evidence to incriminate anyone.”