The Secret Target

by Dean Atwood

  “Thank you for your concern, but I have a security detail that follows me everywhere I go. I’m perfectly safe. What makes you think I’m in danger?”

  “I know this may sound crazy but hear me out. I used to be with military intelligence. Even though I’m retired, I have connections and I hear things. Listen to me very carefully. Mind control equipment has been installed in your home office.”

  “What? Are you completely nuts? Who would do that?”

  “The NSA, the DIA, and maybe some other three-letter-acronym intelligence agencies.”

  “Why?”

  “I don’t know all the rationale behind it. I do know that you and your staff are under suspicion of committing treason through your interactions with Chinese agents.”

  “That’s a lie. My Chinese dealings are above board and legal.”

  “I didn’t say you were guilty of anything, only that you were suspected.”

  “Who are you? Why should I believe you?”

  “It should be easy enough to confirm. Have your security team check your office for bugs and a psychotronic device.”

  “Show me an ID to prove you are who you say you are.”

  “The only ID I have with me right now is my phony Sandy Foot ID.”

  “That’s not good enough. I’m leaving and I’m going to warn Ted to stay away from you.”

  Anne started to get out of her chair. The lieutenant held her by the wrist. One of the brawny guards took a step toward the two women.

  “Wait! Please don’t go. Do you see that good-looking guy sitting at the table down there? The one pretending not to look at us.”

  “I see him.”

  “He’s an FBI friend of mine. Let me call him over. He’ll show you his badge and confirm what I’m telling you is the truth.”

  Anne sat back down and nodded her head. “OK, let’s hear what he has to say.” She held her hand up to signal the bodyguard to stop his advance toward her.

  The lieutenant motioned for QT to join them at their table. He rose and walked toward them.

  “His name is Quinton Target,” she said. “You can trust him. I do.”

  Chapter 52

  B laire procrastinated as long as she could before she went to Special Agent Warren’s office. She knocked on the door with authority.

  “Enter.”

  “Good morning, Special Agent Warren.”

  “Come in and sit down, Analyst Saunders. Did you sleep well.”

  “Reasonable well considering the circumstances.”

  “Of course, you must be traumatized by everything that’s happened over the past few days. It was too bad about Thomason. He wasn’t one of the FBI’s best and brightest, but you hate to lose a comrade in arms.”

  “Yes, it’s unfortunate.”

  “I assume you got all of the equipment installed before the incident.”

  “It’s installed. Who’s going to operate the mind control transmitter, now that I’ve put it in place?”

  “That isn’t your concern. You’ve done your part. Others will take it from here.”

  “I believe it is my concern. Whoever ordered the installation of that equipment might be the same person who had Jeremy and Thomason killed and made two attempts on my life.”

  “I know who ordered the installation and believe me when I tell you that person had nothing to do with the murders.”

  “With all due respect, I’m not sure who I can believe anymore.”

  “What on earth do you mean by that?”

  “I talked with Agent Target a short while ago.”

  “What did he want?”

  “Like you, he wanted to know the circumstances surrounding Thomason’s murder. He also had questions about you that I couldn’t answer.”

  “Why didn’t he come directly to me with his questions?”

  “Perhaps, he didn’t think you’d answer them.”

  “What possible questions of importance to his case could he have for me?”

  “Apparently, he gained access to some of Ted Danziger’s emails. You know who he is, right?”

  “You know damn well I know who he is.”

  “There were emails between Danziger and you that indicate the two of you were working together to discredit Anne Upshaw.”

  “That’s a lie.”

  “You deny communicating directly with Danziger at the same time you were having me bug his home?”

  “No, what I deny is being partners with him. He called me out of the blue, claiming Anne Upshaw was illegally working with the Chinese. It was my responsibility to follow up on a charge like that.”

  “Why didn’t you let the rest of the task force know about it?”

  “I didn’t want it to get back to Danziger that we were investigating him at the same time we were looking into his claims.”

  “According to Agent Target, Danziger also told you that Jeremy was having an affair with Anne Upshaw and covering up her illegal Chinese activities.”

  “Yes, Danziger did claim Jeremy and Anne were sleeping together. But, he left out some crucial details.”

  “What details?”

  “You’re better off not knowing.”

  “If there’s one thing I’ve learned at the NSA, it’s that you’re always better off knowing.”

  Warren paused for a moment and then said, “I confirmed that Jeremy and Anne were having an affair, but they broke up a couple of months ago. Apparently, Jeremy’s loyalty could be bought more easily with money than sex. We were able to trace the source of payments to his offshore account. He was being paid by Ted Danziger through a holding company.”

  “Jeremy was on Danziger’s payroll?”

  “I assume he was bought to keep Danziger informed about our investigation and plant evidence against Anne Upshaw if necessary.”

  “If you know she’s innocent, why’d you have me proceed with putting equipment in her home.”

  “Two reasons. First of all, we’re still not certain she isn’t conducting illegal activities with the Chinese. It’s true Danziger wants to discredit her, but maybe she deserves it.”

  “What’s the other reason?”

  “Since we had approval to monitor Anne Upshaw’s communications, some of the higherups in our intelligence agencies saw that as the perfect opportunity to install mind control equipment that can be used to control Anne’s interactions with the Chinese. It will allow us to gain valuable access to their sensitive information and feed them misinformation when it’s to our advantage.”

  “What you’re doing is not only illegal, it’s unamerican.”

  “Don’t be naïve, Saunders. This type of thing goes on all the time. I had no obligation to share any of this with you. I had hopes you’d be a team player.”

  “If being a team player means I have to blindly break the law and violate the rights of ordinary citizens, then you’re right, I’m not a team player.”

  “If you want to continue to have a career at the NSA you better think long and hard before you reveal anything we’ve discussed.”

  “In spite of everything, I’m still loyal to my country and I won’t break the law by releasing classified information.”

  “There are very powerful people who wouldn’t think twice about destroying the reputation of a lowly NSA cyber analyst. I’d be very careful if I were you. You saw what happened to Snowden when he released information, claiming to be morally superior.”

  “You and your powerful friends need to know if anything bad were to happen to me, a very damning audio recording will find its way to the NY Times.”

  Blaire held up her iPhone, so Warren could see she’d recorded their conversation. “Don’t even think about detaining me to obtain my phone. I’ve already uploaded copies to several secure storage locations in the cloud.” She slammed the door as she exited.

  Chapter 53

  A nne Upshaw looked at QT in a way that let him know she liked what she saw. The handsome FBI agent was accustomed to having beautiful women check him out
. He used it to his advantage. He could see the tension in her face lessen when he smiled at her.

  “Sandy, or whatever her real name is, tells me you’re an FBI agent who wants to talk with me. If I were to picture an FBI agent, you’re exactly what I’d envision. But, looks can be deceiving. Show me your badge.”

  “You look nothing like I’d expect a billionaire CEO to look like. It’s a pleasant surprise,” he said as he took out his badge and raised it to her eye level.

  She grabbed his hand and moved the badge back to a comfortable reading distance She looked at the photo on the ID and then glanced at him to compare the two.”

  “Agent Quinton Target?”

  “You can call me QT.”

  “OK, QT,” she said and let go of his hand. “You can call me Anne.”

  “I hope we can help each other, Anne.”

  “Sandy, told me a wild story about a mind control device and me being in danger.”

  “It’s not a story. It’s the truth. I have it from a reliable source that the device, along with communications tracking hardware and software, was installed at your home last night while you were here at the hotel.”

  “Why would anyone want to do that?”

  “One of your senior executives has accused you of providing the Chinese with banned technology and giving them secrets about laser weapons you delivered to the US Military.”

  “Let me guess which executive — Ted Danziger?”

  “That’s right.”

  “What a lowlife. I knew he didn’t like me, but I never thought he’d stoop this low.”

  “Are you denying you have connections with the Chinese?”

  “I have connections, yes, but nothing illegal. I wouldn’t betray my country to obtain money from the Chinese or any other country. Do I look like I’m desperate for money?”

  “Do you know an FBI Agent named Jeremy Glover?”

  “He was killed recently. It was in the news.”

  “Did you know him?”

  “Yes, I knew him.”

  “Were you having an affair with him?”

  “What if I was. There’s no law against having an affair with an FBI agent, is there?”

  “Only if the FBI agent was helping you to perform illegal activities.”

  “What? Our relationship was purely physical. It didn’t take me long to figure out he wasn’t the type of guy I’d want a permanent relationship with, so I broke it off several months ago.”

  “Are you aware that money was being funneled through an Upshaw Corporation holding company to an offshore account in Jeremy Glover’s name.”

  “No, you must be mistaken. I picked up a few dinner tabs, but I never gave him any money.”

  “That same holding company, it’s called Lighthouse Technology, owns a house in Charlottesville, Virginia that was occupied by Jeremy. Are you aware of that property?”

  “I don’t own any property in Charlottesville.”

  “Who in your company has the authority to set up a holding company?”

  “Our Executive VP of Finance, Jim Stallings, would have to be involved and our legal staff. Ted Danziger could approve it. Proper procedure would be to review it with me and the board of directors if the cost was going to be more than twenty million dollars. That was never done.”

  “Payments to Jeremy would’ve been far less than that.”

  Anne shook her head. “If Jeremy received money directly or indirectly from Upshaw, it was done without my knowledge.”

  “I appreciate your candor.”

  “I have nothing to hide.”

  “One more thing. We have reason to believe that a contract killer has been hired to make an attempt on your life.”

  “What?”

  “I recommend you cancel your speech. You’ll be an easy target standing on an open stage in front of all those people.”

  “I can’t do that. I’ve made a commitment.”

  “I was afraid you’d say that. If you insist on doing it, I suggest you put your security team on high alert. Explain to them that there’s been a death threat and it needs to be taken seriously.”

  “Do you have any idea who’s behind this?”

  “Our number one suspect is Ted Danziger.”

  “I’m going to inform the board about his betrayal and fire his ass.”

  “I understand your anger, but I need you to delay confronting him while we’re still investigating.”

  Anne took in a deep breath and let it out. “When will you bring your case to a close?”

  “I can’t give you an exact time, but it’ll be soon ... very soon.”

  “I guess I can hold off taken action for a little while.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Is there anything else we need to discuss?”

  “No, that’s it. Thanks for your cooperation.”

  “Thank you,” she said and reached out to shake his hand. It’s unfortunate we didn’t meet under better circumstances. I hope I see you again when we’re in a more conducive environment.”

  QT didn’t ask conducive for what, instead he said, “It would be my pleasure to see you again.” He gave her a warm smile to send her on her way.

  After taking a couple of steps, she turned around and said, “I enjoyed our chat, too, Sandy. But you’re going to have to tell me your real name if we’re going to be friends.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind.”

  “That went better than expected,” the lieutenant said to QT.

  “Almost too well. She’s a smooth character. I can see how she became successful.”

  “You don’t believe her?”

  “For now, I do.”

  “From my vantage point, you seemed to like what you heard and saw.”

  “Are you jealous? I thought we weren’t allowed to be jealous in our new downgraded relationship.”

  “That’ll be the day when I’m jealous of any man,” she said.

  “What do you suggest we do next?” QT asked.

  “I’m worried about Anne making that speech. Hopefully, she has competent bodyguards.”

  “They were keeping a close watch on us.”

  “I think I should go ahead with my dinner plans with Danziger in his suite. Maybe I can get him to confess. He likes to brag about himself.”

  “I don’t really like the idea. It puts you in danger. But, you’re not going to listen to me, are you?”

  “No.”

  “At least let me plant a bug on you and position myself nearby in case you need my help.”

  “I’ll think about it.”

  “It would best if we separate for the day. We don’t want Danziger to see us together and become suspicious.”

  “That’s fine with me. I need to make some calls.”

  “Me, too.”

  Chapter 54

  A steady stream of symposium attendees walked through the Westin lobby on their way to a late breakfast at the restaurant. Quinton made himself comfortable in a cushy chair that was located in an area of the lobby that was set up for casual lounging. At the moment, he was the only hotel guest in the lounging area. He took out his phone and made his first call.

  “This is Special Agent McCoy.”

  “Hello, boss.”

  “QT, where the hell are you? Didn’t you get my voicemails?”

  “Sorry, this is the first chance I’ve had to get back to you.”

  “I thought you’d show up in the office this morning and give me an update.”

  “I’m in Crystal City, outside of DC.”

  “What are you doing there?”

  “Remember, I told you I was going to interview Anne Upshaw?”

  “Vaguely, but I didn’t know you were going to do it today in DC. All hell is breaking loose here. I suppose you heard another FBI agent was killed last night while he was working with your girlfriend.”

  “Yes, I talked with Blaire and got the story from her, first hand.”

  “How about telling me what’s going on. The Richmon
d office is all over my ass, wanting to know the status of our murder investigation. I stalled them by telling them you were following up on some important leads.”

  “Well, you didn’t lie to them. That’s exactly what I am doing. I found out that an Upshaw executive named Ted Danziger contacted the DIA a month ago and accused Anne Upshaw of dealing illegally with the Chinese. That resulted in the formation of the Charlottesville task force that you and I were excluded from.”

  “That’s interesting, but what does it have to do with the murder of Jeremy Glover?”

  “Danziger deposited large sums of money into an offshore bank account owned by Glover.”

  “Do you know what the payments were for?

  “I’m not certain, but I suspect Glover was helping to frame Anne Upshaw and keeping Danziger apprised of task force activities.”

  “Who do you think killed Glover and why?”

  “Danziger is my prime suspect.”

  “Why would he kill his own paid accomplice?”

  “Maybe Glover was trying to blackmail him, or they had a falling out and Danziger was covering his tracks. He wouldn’t want the task force to find out he was conspiring with Glover to undermine Anne.”

  “That doesn’t explain why he’d hire somebody to kill Blaire and Thomason?”

  “He was probably unsure how much Glover had told Blaire, so he decided to have the assassin kill her, too. Thomason was just in the wrong place at the wrong time when the latest hitman came to finish the job with Blaire.”

  “It sounds like you’re onto something.”

  “There’s more. I learned from a source that a hit has been ordered for Anne Upshaw.”

  “What source?”

  “I can’t get into that right now, but it’s credible.”

  “Do you need to get local police involved to provide additional security for Upshaw?”

  “She has a private security team. I don’t want to alert Danziger that we’re onto him by bringing in more FBI agents or local law enforcement.”

  “Why would Danziger go to the trouble of framing Anne Upshaw and then have her killed?”

  “Maybe he’s desperate. His plan to discredit her is falling apart, so he’s getting rid of her permanently.”