Chimera

by Orion Gaudio

  “Anything happen in the restaurant?” Rhys asked.

  “Nope. He sat at a table, got a call, and got up and left.”

  “I still think we should have taken him down. He’s gotta have that flash drive on him.”

  Smith ignored the foolish statement.

  “Can you get a little closer? I want to get the plate.”

  Rhys closed the gap just enough for Smith to write down the license plate number. He opened the VPN app on his phone and wrote out a message.

  Amur

  Requesting a license plate owner check. Virginia. VNK-8199.

  “You can back off a little,” Smith said.

  Rhys eased off the throttle and put some distance between the two cars. Smith looked down at his phone as a response appeared.

  Gyr

  Car registered to Neil Trivet, Senator from Maryland. Former US Ambassador to China. Follow. Do not engage.

  “Oh, shit.”

  “What?” Rhys asked.

  “The car is registered to a Senator, and he used to be the ambassador to China.”

  “What are we supposed to do?”

  “They want us to follow them. We have instructions not to engage.”

  24

  Turner reached for his phone as the screen lit up. It was a text from Alice.

  Hey, I was wondering what you’re doing.

  He smiled, wrote a response and hit send.

  Nothing, just sitting on my lazy ass watching some bad TV. What’s up?

  She responded a few seconds later.

  Do you want to hang out?

  Turner smiled.

  Sure, do you want to come over?

  She didn’t respond. Turner stood up from the couch and went into the kitchen. He opened his fridge and shook his head. It was empty, and he’d have nothing to offer her if she was hungry. It was still early enough that they could go out to dinner if she wanted. She had mentioned she would like to take him out to thank him for helping her with her mattress and boxes.

  A knock on his door. Turner walked over and opened it. Alice smiled at him and held up a bottle of wine.

  “Come on in,” he said.

  He let her in and closed the door.

  “How are you?” she asked.

  “I’m OK, you?”

  “I thought you might be working since you pulled off the highway near the mine.”

  “Oh, right… I just had to stop in and talk to my boss.”

  “Everything OK?”

  “Yeah, not a big deal.”

  Alice walked into the kitchen and started to look through his drawers. He smiled and leaned against the wall as he watched her.

  “Corkscrew?” he asked.

  “Yeah.”

  “Third drawer on the left.”

  She held it up triumphantly and smiled. Alice cut the foil and popped the cork on the bottle.

  “What about wine glasses?” she asked.

  “Uh… I hate to say it… but I don’t have any.”

  She raised an eyebrow and shook her head.

  “What are we going to do with you? You have a corkscrew and no wine glasses?”

  “Sorry. I can run out and try to buy some if you want.”

  “No, it’s fine.”

  She opened the cabinet and pulled out two water glasses.

  “You won’t get the full experience of the wine, but it’ll still taste good out of these.”

  “You’re sure?”

  “Totally.”

  She grabbed the bottle, and they headed back to the living room. They sat down on the couch, and she poured a glass for each of them. He picked his up and clinked it against hers.

  “Cheers,” he said.

  “Santé.”

  Turner smiled and lifted the glass to his lips.

  “What do you think?” she asked.

  He nodded.

  “It’s really good.”

  “Just good?”

  Alice smiled.

  “Sorry… I’m not much of a wine drinker.”

  “It’s OK, I’ll teach you. Lift your glass, close your eyes, and just smell it. Tell me what you pick up.”

  “Fruit?”

  “OK, what fruit?”

  He frowned and stuck his nose back in the glass.

  “Some kind of berry? Like… maybe blackberry.”

  Alice squealed in delight and nodded.

  “That’s perfect. Fruit, especially blackberry, cherry, currant… those are all common for Cabernet Sauvignon. What else?”

  “It’s weird… but I feel like I’m smelling tobacco.”

  “Yes!”

  Turner took a sip of the wine and smiled.

  “I’ve never paid attention to the smells of a wine before.”

  “It’s cool, right?”

  “Very interesting.”

  “So,” she said, “this is a Cabernet Sauvignon, like I said. Very popular wine from France, but also Chile and the United States.”

  He nodded and took a small sip. Turner had learned about whiskey tasting years earlier, so the experience wasn’t entirely foreign to him.

  “Thanks for the lesson.”

  “You’re very welcome. Do you like the wine?”

  “It’s good. Maybe a little strong?”

  “Yeah, Cab is usually better with food… but it’s all I had at my house. Sorry.”

  “No worries. I could offer you something to eat… but I don’t have anything in my house.”

  “Typical bachelor.”

  Alice smiled and drank a sip of wine.

  “We can order something if you want.”

  “I don’t care, I’m not really that hungry.”

  “You sure?” he asked.

  She nodded and smiled.

  “I’ll let you know if I change my mind.”

  Turner leaned back and smelled the wine. He wasn’t sure if it was his mind playing tricks on him, but he felt like the aroma of the wine had changed and become smoother as they sat there.

  He was glad she had texted… even if they had already spent most of the day together. She was fun to be around and he was glad for the distraction because her presence kept him from thinking about Howard and work.

  25

  The Mercedes slowed and turned into a driveway. A large metal gate swung open and the driver headed for a massive house obscured by ancient trees.

  “Pull over up there,” Smith said.

  Rhys complied and brought the car to a stop just down the street. Smith took out his phone and posted a message for NIA.

  Amur

  Car arrived at destination with target still inside. 291 S Audubon. Please advise.

  Gyr

  Home of Trivet. Do not follow. Wait for further instructions.

  “What did they say?” Rhys asked.

  “We’re supposed to wait for orders.”

  Rhys sighed and shook his head.

  “This is some bullshit.”

  “Relax. We know where Rollins is. If he leaves, we’ll just follow him.”

  “Yeah, and in the meantime… he could leave the flash drive here and then we’re screwed.”

  “Just chill. We’re not going to disobey direct orders.”

  He was starting to grow tired of repeatedly telling Rhys to calm down and behave himself—Smith was tired of babysitting a grown-ass man.

  “Whatever, you’re the boss.”

  Smith rolled his eyes. Neither of them was in charge of the other, but he felt like the role had been thrust upon him by default. And he was admittedly fine with it because it meant they were less likely to screw up the mission and get themselves killed.

  A car pulled out of the driveway they were watching, but it wasn’t the Mercedes.

  “Now what, boss?” Rhys asked.

  “Follow them.”

  “You realize it’s not the same car, right?”

  “Yes, Rhys… I’m not blind.”

  “Just checking, boss.”

  “Cut that shit out.”

&nb
sp; Rhys turned the car around and followed the Toyota.

  “You realize Rollins might not be in that car, right?”

  “I know,” Smith said, “but this is the best lead we’ve got right now.”

  “Or we could have taken him earlier when he was in his apartment or standing in front of it.”

  “Those weren’t our orders.”

  They followed the car for the next half hour to the south-east as they crossed D.C. and ended up on the other side of the Anacostia River.

  “Where the hell is he going?” Rhys asked.

  “No idea.”

  The Toyota turned into the parking lot of a warehouse and pulled inside the building. The door closed a few seconds later. Rhys drove to the next street and turned around to park the car a few hundred feet away from the warehouse.

  They sat in silence for the next few minutes, both of their gazes locked on the door of the warehouse.

  Smith took his phone out and started to open the VPN. He saw something out of the corner of his eye. Smith turned his head just in time to see the pistol aimed at him.

  Four shots rang out in the night.

  Both men slumped over in their seats.

  The hooded figure ran down the sidewalk and disappeared into an alley.

  26

  They had just finished the bottle of wine when his phone rang. Turner took it out of his pocket and saw it was Howard. It was close to ten o’clock, an unusual time for a call considering he wasn’t on active duty.

  “Do you mind if I take this?” he asked.

  “Of course not.”

  He stood up from the couch, walked into his bedroom, and closed the door. Turner wasn’t sure what Howard could want, but he certainly didn’t want to be in the same room as Alice when he answered the call. He took a deep breath and answered.

  “Hello?”

  “Turner… I need you to come in.”

  “I thought I was suspended.”

  “Just get over here right now.”

  The tone in his voice was unfamiliar to Turner. Something had happened. That was the only thing he could think. If it were pressing enough for Howard to call him in while he was suspended from duty, he knew it had to be something bad enough to bend the rules… which wasn’t a good sign.

  “I’ll be there.”

  Turner ended the call and put his phone into his pocket. He walked back into the living room. Alice had a smile on her face, but it faded as soon as she looked at him.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “I have to go to work.”

  “Seriously? It’s late.”

  “I know.”

  “It can’t wait until morning?”

  He shook his head.

  “No. I wish it could, but my boss… he said he needs me there right away.”

  Turner walked into the kitchen and grabbed his keys off the counter.

  “Well, I get it.”

  “I’m really sorry,” he said. “I was having a nice time.”

  “Me too.”

  “Can we do it again?”

  A faint smile formed on her face.

  “I’d like that.”

  Alice stood up from the couch and he walked her to the door.

  “I’ll call you when things settle down with work.”

  “Sounds good. Drive safe… and be careful. You’ve had a couple glasses of wine and nothing to eat.”

  “I will, thanks.”

  She waved to him as she walked toward the sidewalk. Turner watched her until she turned toward the front door of her house.

  “So stupid,” he said, shaking his head.

  He went into the garage and got into his car. Spending time with Alice had been a welcomed change of pace. The call from Howard had snapped him back to reality.

  Turner thought about what could have happened as he drove toward the mine. The only thing he could figure was that something had happened to the agents that had been sent after Rollins. He really hoped it wasn’t the case. Just that morning he’d been clamoring to get back to work, but Turner had felt something shift during the course of the day.

  He couldn’t quite explain it, even to himself, but the idea of doing something else with his life had been thrust into the forefront the more time he spent with Alice. It was as though she had reminded him that there was a whole world out there that didn’t revolve around his work.

  Headquarters was buzzing with activity when Turner walked through the door and headed down the hall. Jess jumped up from her desk.

  “He’s waiting for you.”

  Turner nodded and walked into the office. Howard was pacing on the other side of the room.

  “Howard.”

  He spun and looked at Turner.

  “What the hell took you so long?”

  “I came straight here.”

  Howard shook his head and sat down.

  “What’s happening?”

  Turner sat down across from him.

  “Rhys and Smith were following Rollins. Last we heard from them, they were watching the house of Neil Trivet, the Senator from Maryland. They left there, we assume they followed Rollins when he left, and they were killed. Someone shot them each twice. No witnesses.”

  “Shit.”

  “Yeah. It’s a fucking disaster.”

  “What the hell happened?”

  “We have no idea.”

  “Do we have someone else there?”

  Howard shook his head.

  “No, everything we know is from a contact in the D.C. police… but he’s… not solid. Just passes us tips when we need it, but nothing serious.”

  “Right. So what do you need from me?”

  “How’s your chest?”

  “Fine.”

  “You ready to get back out there?” Howard asked.

  “Do I have a choice?”

  Turner wasn’t asking because he was thinking of turning it down. He was just trying to gauge how badly Howard wanted him back in the fold.

  “Nobody else can handle this.”

  “I’m good to go.”

  Howard looked across the desk at him for an uncomfortably long time.

  “OK, go do your thing.”

  “What’s the objective?”

  “Track down whoever killed Rhys and Smith. I don’t care what it takes. Get it done. Take them out. Find out who they were working for. Find Rollins and get the flash drive. We were trying to figure out who he was working for. It would seem that Senator Trivet is involved in some capacity… he was the Chinese Ambassador, so figure out how he fits into this puzzle. Lean on him if you have to. Do whatever you have to do to get this done.”

  “I will. Are we sure the shooting is related to Rollins and the flash drive?”

  Howard shrugged.

  “Sure, there’s a possibility it was just an unlucky coincidence, but there was nothing stolen from the car. Not even wallets or phones.”

  “Right. I’ll go get ready.”

  “Whatever you need… just make it happen.”

  Turner stood up and walked out of the office. It was unusual for them to go after someone so prominent as a sitting senator, making the gravity of the situation more apparent.

  He walked down the hall and knocked on the office door of Dr. Harrison.

  “Come in.”

  He pushed the door open and stepped inside.

  “I wasn’t sure you’d be here.”

  “It’s all hands on deck.”

  “Right.”

  “What can I do for you?” she asked.

  “I need something for the pain.”

  “You’re going back into the field?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Is that prudent?”

  “Probably not, but we just lost two agents… and I need to find who killed them.”

  She winced and nodded. Dr. Harrison walked over to the medicine cabinet, took out a bottle of pills and handed them to Turner.

  “Hydrocodone. It should do the trick.”

  �
�Thanks.”

  He put the bottle of pills into his pocket and walked out of her office. The pain in his chest had been momentarily numbed by the wine, but it was starting to fade as he sobered up. Turner had never been a fan of taking opioids for an injury, but he had a feeling he’d need to be on top of his game… and he couldn’t afford to have the pain slowing him down once he got to D.C.

  Just down the hall, he walked into the room where Nick worked. He was sitting behind his desk, examining the license he’d just created for Turner.

  “Nick, what have you got for me?”

  Nick looked up and nodded.

  “James… didn’t think you be back so soon.”

  “Yeah, me either.”

  “You ready?”

  “I hope so.”

  Nick nodded slowly. He opened the manila envelope on his desk and dumped the contents out. Turner spread them out and check over everything to make sure the names matched.

  “Luke Ritter, huh?”

  “Yeah.”

  Turner held up the license. The picture was one taken of him a few months earlier, but with no changes. That meant he wouldn’t be flying.

  “We’ve got a credit card with a fifty-thousand limit… Howard wanted to make sure in case you needed anything. Car registration, insurance card, some various bits of mail with your name on it.”

  “Looks good.”

  “There is an Audi in the parking lot. Keys are in it.”

  “Good.”

  He put everything back in the folder.

  “Good luck out there,” Nick said.

  “Thanks.”

  Turner walked out and headed toward the end of the hall where the armory was. He knocked on the steel door and pushed it open. Lane, the man in charge of their weapon needs, was standing in front of a waist-high table in the center of the room. A dozen pistols were laid out on the table in front of him.

  “James, good to see you,” he said, his raspy voice echoing off the walls.

  “You too.”

  “Shame about Smith and Rhys.”

  “I know.”

  “Rhys was a pain in my ass most of the time, he always brought my gear back damaged and broken… when he brought it back at all… but still.”

  Rhys had been a little bit of a black-sheep at NIA. Turner had often wondered why Howard put up with his shitty attitude and total lack of regard for anyone else, but then he saw surveillance video of him in action. Rhys had dropped through a ceiling into a room with three armed guards and a target. He killed the target and two of the guards with well-placed shots, but the last guy disarmed him. Rhys proceeded to rip a chunk out of his neck. Blood was everywhere, and Rhys grabbed his gun and left the room as if it were totally normal. He was a savage, but good at what he did. NIA would miss having someone with his skills, Turner knew that, but there was nothing he could about it other than track down the killer and figure out what happened.