by Mark Goodwin
“Not a wink,” Josh replied.
“Yeah, me, neither.” Brian looked around at the other agents slowly coming through the door. “I doubt any of us did after last night’s revelation.”
Josh chugged the remainder of the coffee he’d brought from the hotel. “I can’t believe they didn’t see this coming. A middle-school kid on the chess club is always thinking three moves ahead. Why in the world would we sell tactical nukes to Israel knowing this was going to blow up in our face with the Saudis?”
“I’m sure the people who approved it never thought it would come to light that we were the sellers. And you have to remember, the Israelis live in a bad neighborhood. They needed those nukes.”
“Even though it’s not official, everyone knows they have nukes. Why couldn’t they use their own?”
“Traditional warheads make a mess of the environment. That’s especially a concern when you’re hitting targets on your own border; as was the case with the strike against Iranian military assets in Syria.”
“I don’t know. Something doesn’t smell right about all of this. How does this open-borders thing sit with you? How can she say America is still a sovereign country when we no longer have borders? And how are we still sovereign if we have to start changing our laws to appease the Global Union?”
“It is what it is. America’s days of preeminent influence over the rest of the world have come to an end.” Brian walked beside Josh toward the processing tables. “We’ve been on this trajectory for some time.”
“Yeah, but it ended rather abruptly, don’t you think?”
“Like it or not, we have to play the hand we’ve been dealt,” said Brian. “I spoke with the deputy secretary. Our office is going to be operating under the command of the Tampa FBI field office for the time being.”
“Who will be in charge? You or Don?”
“My people will be under me, but Don Nelson will be the SAC.”
Josh shook his head. “I can’t work with that guy. I’d rather go back to Tampa PD.”
“Quitting isn’t really an option during the transitional period.”
“Oh, you mean because we know too much?”
“Something like that.”
Josh shook his head. “What about a transfer?”
“They’re looking for people to move to the heartland. That’s where we’re anticipating the most resistance.”
Josh exhaled a long slow breath. “Stephanie will freak out if I tell her we have to move.”
Brian looked Josh in the eyes. “If I had the option of transferring to mid America, I’d jump on it. Things are going to get ugly. Steph will thank you for it when she’s watching footage of the food riots in downtown Tampa.”
Josh looked at the rows of HR people working with individual agents for reassignments. “Maybe I should take your advice. What’s going to happen to Emilio?”
Brian shrugged. “He didn’t get a golden ticket. And remember, you can’t say anything to him. I know you two are friends, but this is serious stuff. They’ll send you both to Guantanamo until the smoke clears. You have a family to think about.”
“Could you put in a good word for him? You said they’re looking for people in the fly-over states.”
Brian pressed his lips together. “Come on. I’ll walk over to the HR coordinator with you. I’ll see what I can do.”
Josh took a seat at the first available opening. He handed his credentials to the representative. The plain young blonde with glasses looked at his ID and entered his information into the computer. “Good morning, Agent Stone. I’m Alison.”
“Good morning, Alison. I understand you need volunteers to move to areas of concern.”
“We do,” she said with a chipper voice. “In fact, we’re issuing a $10,000 check to cover moving expenses. But you have to be ready to report for duty no later than next Thursday.”
“Spend it if you’ve got it, right? I guess it won’t be worth anything by the end of the month anyway.”
Her face soured. “We’re not supposed to discuss that.”
“Oh, right.” Josh looked down. “Next Thursday? That’s four days to move.”
“I know. If it’s not doable for you, we can keep you in Tampa working with your local FBI field office.”
“No, I’ll make it work.”
“I’ve got Kentucky or Nebraska.”
“What about Georgia? That’s a lot closer.”
“One of the other HR representatives might be able to help you out with that, but this is all the system is giving me right now.”
“I guess Kentucky then.”
“Okay, you’ll be reporting to the FBI field office in Louisville. Carole-Jean Harris is the SAC. You’ll need to take up residence in or near Midway, Kentucky. It’s about an hour outside of Louisville. We’ve got a group in that area that we’re concerned with. Your SAC will help you develop a cover once you get there, but you’ll have to move fast.”
“I understand.” He looked back at Brian standing behind him. “This is Brian Smith, he’s the Tampa SAC.”
“Good morning.” Alison looked up at Smith.
“Good morning, Alison,” he said. “Listen, I’ve got a tactical coordinator back in Tampa. He’s the best of the best. Is there anything you could do to have him reassigned? I’m afraid the country will lose a great asset if we don’t do something for him.”
“He’s willing to relocate? Obviously, you can’t give him any details.”
“Yes, ma’am. He’s already expressed an interest in relocating,” Brian said.
“Would he be willing to go to Kentucky also?”
“That’s one of the places he’s mentioned, yes.” Brian nodded.
“Let me get a supervisor.” She stood up from the table.
Josh watched the young lady walk away. “Emilio has been talking about moving to Kentucky?”
“Tradecraft.” Brian patted Josh on the shoulder. “You’re going to have to get up to speed on that.”
***
Back in Tampa, Josh walked into the door of his house late Saturday afternoon. Stephanie came out of the bedroom. Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a ponytail. Her yoga pants and workout top showed her toned body. “Hey, welcome home. There’s a rotisserie chicken in the fridge.”
“Where are you going?” He dropped his laptop bag by the wall.
“Your sister is teaching cardio kickboxing on Saturdays now. I told Micah he could drop me off at the gym and take my car. He has a date with Kendra tonight. Nicole will bring me home after class. She might have a personal training client if he shows up. If so, I’ll do some weights until she gets finished.”
“Hey, Dad.” Seventeen-year-old Micah was taller than his father. His sandy hair was a perfect mix of both parents, but his eyes were brown like Josh’s. And like his mom and dad, Micah was attractive.
“Hey, how was the game?”
“We killed them! Coach thinks we have a shot at the state championship this year. He’s not one for compliments. So if he says something like that, he means it.”
“Yeah? That’s great. I’m sorry I missed it.”
Micah waved his hand. “That’s okay. Most of the other guys’ dads don’t come. Good seeing you. We’ve gotta go. Mom, are you ready?”
Stephanie grabbed her gym bag and tossed the keys to Micah. “Yeah, let’s roll.”
“Hang on, guys.” Josh’s voice was somber.
“What’s wrong?” Stephanie continued toward the door.
Josh took a deep breath. “Something has come up. I need you both to cancel your plans for the evening.”
“Are you serious?” Micah sounded incensed.
“Yes. I’m afraid so, son. I’ve been reassigned. We’re moving to Kentucky.”
Micah lifted his broad shoulders. “That’s fine. I’ve got one more year of school before college. Once I’m out of the house, you and mom can move where ever you want. I won’t be out late. Kendra has to be home by eleven. We can talk about it when
I get home.” Micah opened the door.
Josh pushed it close. “We’re moving this weekend. I’m sorry, but I need both of you to cancel your plans for tonight.”
Stephanie’s eyes opened wide. “Josh! What are you talking about? Micah has practice or games all the time, Kendra has cheerleading practice. They have a hard time scheduling time together. Just let him go. If you’re upset, I’ll skip class tonight. We can figure this out.”
“I’m not upset.” Josh felt frustrated at not being able to convey the urgency of the matter to his family. His voice grew louder. “But we have to move this weekend. I need you and Micah to start packing tonight.”
“Dad, what are you talking about? We can’t move in twenty-four hours!”
Stephanie opened the door once more. “Micah, just go. I’ll talk to your dad. We’ll have all this sorted out when you get home.”
Micah stormed out the door. “I sure hope so. It sounds like he’s losing his mind.”
“What are you doing?” Josh yelled.
“Lower your voice!” Stephanie demanded. “What has gotten into you?”
“I’ve been reassigned and we’re moving. That’s all I can tell you right now.”
“Is this about your shooting yesterday? Are you in some kind of trouble?”
“No, no.”
“Okay, then. You’ve been reassigned. But Micah and I have lives here. We can’t just uproot in the middle of the night. Take a deep breath. You go to Kentucky. I’ll stay here with Micah until he finishes school. You can come to visit on the weekends or whenever. Once Micah graduates, we’ll decide what direction we want to move in.”
“What direction we want to move in?” Josh shook his head. “This isn’t open for discussion. We’re not splitting up our family.”
“Josh, this isn’t the seventeenth century. Your wife and children aren’t your personal property. I don’t want to have to fight you over this, but don’t push me into a corner.” Her head tilted to the side the way it always did when she was angry.
“Steph, it’s not like that.” He stepped closer to her with arms open. “It’s not safe here. You need to be with me.”
Her eyes grew wide and shifted from side to side, as if unsure whether to trust him. “Is this like witness protection or something? Did someone threaten us?” She looked toward the door. “Is Micah in danger tonight?”
“No.” He softened his voice and slowly put his arms around her. “No. It’s not an immediate threat. But we have to go. I wish I could tell you more, but I need you to trust me. Can you do that?”
She pulled back. She looked into his eyes. Her lip quivered and tears ran down her cheeks. “I don’t know, Josh.” She wiped her face with the bottom of her palm. “By modern standards, you’re a good man, a good husband and father. I mean, you provide for your family, you don’t drink or hit us.” She looked away to finish drying her eyes. “You don’t run around on me—at least I don’t think you do.” She turned back to him. “You’re not cheating on me, are you? Tell me that’s not what this is about.”
“What?” He felt sick over the accusation. “No!”
Her eyebrows tilted outward. “I’m sorry, but this is all very abrupt and exceedingly vague. You’ll have to forgive me for trying to make sense of it. And you have to admit, you’re not around much.”
“Just trust me for now. It’s going to become crystal clear in a matter of time.”
“Is it a nuclear threat? They told you something when you were in DC.”
He stared at her, wishing he could read her in on what was going on. “I can’t say anything more.”
“They did tell you something. You’re not denying it. It’s nuclear. Should we leave right now? Should I call Micah and tell him to come home?”
“No.” He pulled her close to calm her. “It’s not nuclear.”
She pushed him back enough to see his face. “Biological? Some kind of pandemic? What if Micah comes across an infected person?”
“I can’t play twenty questions with you. I’ve already said too much.”
“What are we going to do?”
“We’re going to start packing. Bring everything that’s important to you. Assume that we might never be back. I’ll get a moving truck first thing Monday morning. We’ll load it up and be in Kentucky by Monday night.”
“Are you still with DHS?”
He paused to consider what to say. He could see no harm in telling her the truth about that. “Technically, I think I’ll be working for the FBI. But it’s fairly vague right now.”
“What am I going to do with the juice bar?”
“Try to sell it. Whatever it’s worth, see if you can get half for it. I’m going to list the house also. But only take a cash offer. And try to close within a week or two if you can.”
“What am I going to tell my friends?”
He looked deep into her eyes. “You can’t say anything. Once we’re gone, you’ll send them all a text saying I had to relocate for work. If the government so much as thinks I breathed a word to you, I’ll be arrested for treason. That much, I can tell you.”
She examined her nail polish. “All our friends know you work for the federal government. I suppose most will assume it’s something top secret.”
“Then they won’t be wrong.”
“What about Emilio?”
“He doesn’t know it yet, but he’s coming, too.”
“When are you going to tell him?”
“I’m going to call him right now.” Josh took out his phone. “Why don’t you get started packing?”
She looked around the house they’d lived in since Micah was a baby. “I don’t even know where to begin.”
“Start with your clothes and personal effects. We’ll tackle everything else together.”
She nodded and started back to the bedroom.
Josh selected Emilio’s number in his phone.
“Josh?” she called from the hallway.
“Yes?”
“I’m sorry about overriding your decision with Micah.”
“That’s okay. This was a bombshell.” He proceeded to make the call.
***
Forty minutes later, Josh was in the bedroom packing his clothes.
“I don’t wear half of this stuff.” Stephanie packed a suitcase with certain clothing items while tossing others onto the floor. “We’ll need a convoy of trucks to haul everything in this house.”
“Nope. I’m getting the smallest truck they have. We’re taking the stuff we need and the things that are important to us. Everything else is going out to bulk trash. We’ll get new furniture when we get there.”
“But a lot of this stuff is brand new. We could donate it.” Stephanie held up a top that still had the tags on it.
“We don’t have time for all of that.” Josh paused when he heard the knock at the door. “That’s Emilio. I’ll be back.” He walked to the living room and let his friend in.
“Bro, what are you doing?” Emilio smiled wide.
“I told you. I’m packing. Come on. Help me haul some of these boxes from the garage out to the curb.”
Emilio laughed. “You’re going to keep this up, huh? Okay, I’ll play along.”
“Did you call Brian?” Josh led the way to the garage and pushed the button for the automatic door opener.
“He texted me on the way over here. He wants me to call him, but I’m still not buying it.”
“Not buying it?”
“No! You’ve come up with this crazy story about me getting transferred to Kentucky to get back at me for hanging on to that phone at the raid. Which, by the way, I had Melanie dump all the contacts, deleted texts, location history, and search history.”
“You’re going to get her in trouble, too.” Josh picked up a box labeled Christmas decorations and began walking it to the street.
“The investigator won’t investigate, so I guess I have to.” Emilio carried another box. “Everyone at the office thinks I’m just a big dumb
hammer. No good for anything except hitting stuff.”
“It’s no longer the investigator's case. That’s why the investigator isn’t investigating.” Josh put the decorations on the ground. “And no one thinks that about you. They think you don’t follow protocol. You’re lucky that you’re still allowed to function as a hammer.”
Emilio followed him back to the garage for another load. “So, tell me, how did you get Brian to play along with your little charade?”
“It’s not a charade. We’re going to Kentucky.” Josh hauled a second box.
“Okay. I’ll play along. But once you admit that it’s a prank, you get to put all this stuff back in the garage by yourself.” Emilio picked up a plastic bin. “And why Kentucky? Anywhere would have been more believable. How about Wisconsin? I might have fallen for that.”
Josh paused from his work. He took out his wallet and retrieved the check from DHS. He handed it to Emilio. “This is for moving expenses. Do you think I’d forge a check from DHS just to play a prank?”
“I would, but no, you’d never bend the rules that far.” Emilio read the memo aloud. “Moving expenses.” He passed the check back to Josh. “Okay, so why the sudden move? I never requested a transfer. How does Brian know I’ll agree to it?”
“You have to trust me on this. Just go along and stop asking questions. Brian has a check just like this one for you. Cash it as soon as you get it.” Josh folded the check and put it back in his wallet. “Brian went out on a limb for you. You’ll be thanking him for the favor soon enough.”
“You’ve talked to Steph already?”
“Yeah. She’s packing up now.”
“Obviously, it’s a localized threat. You have to tell me what it is. Is it terrorists? We might have the key to stopping the attack on the phone we took. Work with me here.”
Josh looked into Emilio’s eyes. “It’s way beyond terrorism. It’s not something that can be stopped. I’m not saying anything else, so don’t ask. Just call Brian, get your official paperwork from him, and start packing.”
“You’re starting to scare me on this one. I hope you’re not playing around.”