Dark Secrets

by Doug Pountain

  “I hate fucking Wop’s. All right I will call you back later”, I told him that I will contact him tomorrow and I ended the call and broke up the phone and threw it off a bridge”.

  “Well done, so he can’t trace the call, he can only track it to upstate, so we are fairly safe for the moment, how about you Carl?

  “Well it really was pretty boring until Carol spotted Aslanov’s Daughter Cathy, leaving the Embassy with a lot of other girls who work there, when she was a few blocks away she got into a cab and we followed her to a side street where she got out and walked several blocks before she went up to a small apartment building in Greenwich Village. It was the same building that Roger and I checked out last night, it was Fermi’s apartment block, and it was very strange that before she rang the bell she put her gloves on. She was in there for about 20 minutes before she eventually reappeared and walked several blocks before she got another cab and made her way back to the Embassy”.

  “How strange, I think Carl and I should go and have a closer look”. Said Graham, but let’s wait until it gets dark first, how many apartments do think the building has”?

  “I would have thought no more than four”. Replied Carol.

  “Right has everyone had lunch”?

  “Lunch, we haven’t had a thing all day”. They all replied.

  “That’s such a shame as Joyce and I have”. Joyce very excitedly said. “And Graham took me up the Empire State Building”.

  “Oh it’s alright for some said Carol, were you sucking up to the boss”. And everyone eased the tensions of the day with a good laugh.

  “Talking of wop’s, isn’t it about time you bought a round of drinks Roger”. And in his best Pigeon English he replied, “I know a not wat a yu mean English man”.

  As they sat with their drinks in the grand comfort of this beautiful Hotel, the conversation turned to the events of the day. Progress had been made and it was obvious that Aslanov still wanted his money, but they knew he would not cancel the contract on Graham. But fortunately he didn’t know the group were in the city or they would all have been dead in a few hours. They needed to find out more about Firmi’s apartment that Aslanovs Daughter had visited earlier, maybe that could help provide a little more information for them when darkness fell across the City. The group finally made their way to their rooms to shower and change ready for some food later,

  “I will meet you about 6pm in the lobby”. Said Carl to Graham. “Ok see you later”.

  In their room David undressed and showered while Joyce sat and pondered the day. I am still certain that Director Colby knows more than he is saying, she thought to herself. David eventually emerged from the bathroom, and Joyce looked at him and paying no attention to the fact that he was naked, and said.

  “David, if as we believe some top Politicians and Forces personnel are involved, would you not think it very strange that the FBI doesn’t know about it”.

  “Yes I would, after you told me about your video call with Colby I thought it odd that no one here appears to know anything and I think that’s why Graham decided to tell them very little, but you are right not to trust them”.

  “Now on to something much more important, as a matter of interest and curiosity I would like to check out your body to make sure that the long flight hasn’t affected the size of your breasts, you know with the pressurisation in the plane”.

  “I bet you would, and so what I am going to do is have a shower with the bathroom door firmly closed and get dressed in there so you cannot see anything”.

  “Where’s the fun in that”?

  “Well, what I haven’t told you is that when we eat this evening, I am not going to wear any knickers, so that thought should occupy your mind all night”.

  “What about later”?

  “Well let’s see how good you are shall we”? And she took her change of clothes into the bathroom and locked the door much to the annoyance of David who was getting very used to seeing a beautiful naked woman on a regular basis.

  About an hour later they all met up in the bar for a drink just as Graham and Carl hailed a cab to take them to Greenwich Village so they could investigate this apartment further. The traffic was as usual very busy at that time of night and it was after 7pm when they finally arrived there. They stopped the cab about a block away and walked through this very trendy area of the city with all its bars and restaurants, and with the streets very busy they didn’t look out of place as they looked at this rather upmarket block of apartments. The building was only two stories high, so at least they wouldn’t have to check out many apartments, and to make life a little easier there was only one that was in darkness, so this would be their starting point.

  They walked up to the door and looked at the names on the door bells, they were all very obvious apart from one which was a little faded but it appeared to begin with an F and end in an I and they looked at each other, “surely it’s not as easy as that”. Said Graham.

  “Well there’s only one way to find out”. Replied Carl, put your gloves on first before you press the bell, but they received no response, he tried several times more before Carl stepped forward and took from his pocket a small tool and in seconds the door was open. They stepped quietly inside and closed the door behind them and walked over to the entrance of the front apartment that was in darkness, and again Carl very soon had the door open.

  “I will lock the door and you close the curtains Graham before I put the light on”. They looked around this very well furnished room with beautiful works of art everywhere, and on the side were pictures of Fermi’s Daughter, but in the bin was a photo of his Son in Law who he had murdered.

  “There’s nothing in this room so let’s check out the rest of the apartment. Graham made his way to another room but the light didn’t work, and so he moved slowly forward until there was a mighty crash as he fell over.

  “What the fuck? Are you ok Graham”?

  “I am, but the man on the floor who I have just tripped over doesn’t appear to be very well, hang on I have just found a table lamp”.

  Graham turned on the light and they looked at a very dead man lying in a large pool of congealing blood, this must be Fermi and there is no sign of a struggle, so Aslanov’s Daughter, Cathy must have killed him earlier. It looks like she shot him at point blank. But not only that, she also cut a very large hole in his chest and removed the bullet. We can’t help him now, so let’s finish looking round. But looking at the mess in here it looks like she has already done that, but you never know. I thought she was bad, but I didn’t think she was a killer, the problem is you can never tell, but I am getting more concerned about the scale of this operation”.

  Carl picked up a book from the floor that was about mass killings and showed it to Graham.

  “That’s a strange thing to be reading, even for a killer”. He said.

  He quickly flicked the pages of the book and suddenly a piece of paper fell out, it was a shipment received document complete with tracking number. “Whatever this is for it arrived yesterday and it was delivered to a warehouse in the Lower East Side and Fermi signed for it”.

  “Does the document state its point of origin”? Asked Carl.

  “Well it has been round the world a little bit, but it looks like Russia, and if I am reading this correctly it weighs 1000 pounds, that’s nearly half a ton”.

  “Bring that book with you, it’s the only thing we have, I think Cathy had everything else of value”.

  They replaced a few things before leaving the building and walking a good distance away before getting a cab back to the hotel. The others were still in the restaurant as Graham and Carl arrived and told them what they had found in the apartment.

  “I was hoping that Fermi might have been of some use to us but that was before your friend Cathy put a large hole in his chest. Look, we will have a quick bite and then we will meet up in the bar later. Carl again looked at the delivery document.

  “Whether we like it or not we will
need to have a look at this crate of “Machine Parts” before it leaves the store. We need to find out exactly what’s in it, but our problem is knowing who we can trust, and I think that we should rule our new friend Director Colby out of the equation at least for the moment”.

  “I completely agree, do you know anyone else Carl”?

  “Well fortunately I think I do and I also think you will like him. I have known this man for over twenty years and he lives and breathes patriotism, he was there on the front line on 9/11, he is the Chief of the city Fire Department, and if anyone can get us into a building then it’s him, let me give him a call. And Carl took out his diary and thumbed the well-worn pages, here it is, I knew I had his number somewhere, and he called him. “Is that Peter”?

  “Yes it is, who is that”?

  “It’s Carl, we met at a charity event about 6 months ago for some of your men who are still affected by 9/11, and we spoke about the state of readiness of America should there be something similar in the future”.

  “Yes, I remember you now, how are you”?

  They had a brief chat about things in general and the state of the nation in particular before Carl said “Look this is not a curtesy call, can we meet? I have something to tell you and maybe a favour to ask, and yes it does possibly connect to our discussion. I am at the Jolly Madison”.

  “Alright Carl, I will meet you there later”.

  “Thanks Peter”. Carl replied.

  The group had some food and then made their way through to the lounge where they told of their visit to Fermi’s apartment.

  “It just goes to show how lucky you were when you were taken Joyce, these people are ruthless, and so I am now even more concerned as to exactly who we can trust, but let’s see what Peter can do for us first”.

  The time was nearly 11pm before Peter finally arrived at the hotel and he was introduced to everyone by Carl who then said. “Look I need to tell you exactly who we are and what we are doing before I ask you for a favour, and I am going to trust you implicitly as our lives are at stake, plus we also believe that your Country complete with all its values and freedoms may also be at great risk, but at this moment in time we have no proof of anything”.

  Carl told Peter everything about the group’s involvement to date including how their original brief had changed beyond all recognition.

  Peter looked at them all, “Look, my Country comes before anything else and I lost too many good men on 9/11 who were all patriots and they gave their lives for the protection of this great nation, and so if you can help me with that great cause then I will most certainly do all I can to help you”.

  “We would like to get access to a warehouse on the Lower East Side, we could break in but that would also alert the very people we are trying to discover more about, so can you help us get in”?

  “Getting you in is not a problem, but what is in the crate”?

  “Well that’s the problem, we don’t know”.

  Peter sat thinking for a moment. “Alright you four men can come with me to central and we can get you in the store dressed as Fire Fighters”.

  “What special equipment do you have, bearing in mind the crate could contain anything”? Asked Graham.

  “I can see from the expression on your faces the concern you have, so let me tell you we have gear for checking radiation and many other hazardous materials. Since that awful day when the Twin Towers were attacked we have learned a lot about the potential threat we face, so we can take everything, now let’s get going”.

  “Oh, just one more thing Peter, “What about secrecy”?

  “If you question any of my men’s integrity, they will take your fucking head off, is that clear enough for you”? He replied.

  “Please forgive me Peter, but I had to ask”.

  “Joyce you stay with Carol until we get back”.

  The two women looked at the men and realised the immediate danger they were about to face.

  “I know how important this is, but please be careful we would like you all back in one piece”.

  “Don’t worry we will be fine”. Replied David as the men left the hotel and got into Peter’s car.

  The Central Fire Departments headquarters was situated in Manhattan and so they arrived there very quickly and the Chief took the men into the station and introduced them to the duty watch.

  “These men are from England and they want to know if you are any good and if you can keep your mouths shut, I know what they are doing and what they want and I will also vouch for them, are there any question’s”?

  “If you say it’s alright chief then that’s good enough for us, so what do we need to do”? Asked his men.

  The chief quickly explained just a few of the details before his men gathered all of their equipment and loaded it onto the Fire Tender and got uniforms for the others.

  “When we get there I want you to stay in the engine while my men get access”. And Graham nodded his agreement and they all climbed on board.

  With sirens going and lights flashing they left the depot and headed for the Lower East Side. The chief radioed in that he had received a call regarding smoke coming from a warehouse as the engine raced through the streets with all the traffic moving out of the way until it finally reached its destination. The Chief and his men ran in to the large building.

  “I am sorry but we have had a call about smoke”. He told a night watchman.

  “I didn’t call you”, He said.

  “Well whether you did or not we will still need to check the building so for your own safety you will have to wait outside”.

  The Chief got his men in with their equipment and they went through the motions of checking the entire building while he called Graham and the others in. There were so many crates everywhere, so looking for one particular item could prove a big problem.

  “Let’s go into the office and see if there is any logic as to where they are placed”.

  In the small cluttered office Carl sifted through the many dockets before he found the documents relating to the shipment they were looking for, it was the original delivery ticket, a copy of the one found in Fermi’s apartment. “Here it is, ground floor, bay 97” and they ran through the buildings and after much searching they found the crate.

  “Let my men check it first”. Said Peter as his team examined the box. His men suddenly found there was a small indication of radiation being given off by the crate. Nothing excessive, but still an indication that something sinister could be inside the crate.

  “If you look at the size of the crate compared to its weight, then it could possibly be lead lined, we need to open it”. Said David.

  “But if we do that then someone will know when it’s eventually picked up”.

  “That’s as maybe, but we can’t take the chance, we need to get inside”.

  The Chief looked at the fastenings on the crate. “That’s not a problem, my men will be in there in seconds and you will never know they were here”. And he quickly dispatched one of his men to the fire tender and the man returned a short time later with some very sophisticated cutting equipment that made light work of opening the crate. Graham very carefully lifted the lid and it was indeed lead lined and it also did contain machine parts as indicated by the paperwork. But in the centre of the crate surrounded by all the different parts was another very well packed and supported metal box, David leaned forward and slowly opened the lid just enough to reveal what he thought to be some kind of electrical device attached to what he recognised as a flask that was widely used in the nuclear industry.

  “I think it’s a dirty bomb, and if you look at all the details on the parts that are surrounding it including on the box itself you would think that it originated from Russia, but I think that’s too obvious, they don’t want a war that they know they would lose. This is being made to look like the Russian’s, but I think that there is more to this than meets the eye. This is internal to the U.S. All of this has been far too easy, the Russians are very
clever, and they wouldn’t have been so clumsy”.

  “I agree said Roger, it looks like our friends who went to that upstate meeting are right in this up to their necks, but what are we going to do with this? We can’t just let it go”.

  “Your right, I know it’s perfectly safe at the moment, but we can’t let them have it”. Replied Graham.

  Once again the Chief stepped forward, “That container is a standard flask, and we use identical ones to that for training against terrorist attacks with such material”.

  “And I bet you just happen to have on the tender”? Said Graham.

  “Well, funny you should say that, but yes we do, it’s what we use for demonstration purposes across the City”.

  He sent one of his men out to the tender and he returned seconds later with an identical flask and a piece of very sophisticated measuring equipment to detect just how toxic the material contained within the flask actually was. The Chief carefully checked the contents as best he could and found it to be very low grade plutonium, but still very capable of killing thousands. David who had been trained in dealing with explosives when he was in the police and special branch stepped forward to examine the device.

  “That’s very strange, the explosive device that is attached to it does not have a trigger to detonate the nuclear material, it’s only large enough to burst the flask and expose the material over a very small distance, and so it would poison and not actually explode as a bomb.

  “Chief, you have probably just saved thousands of American lives here tonight but no one will ever know”.

  “That may be true, but those same people will also never know that it was Brits who saved their fucking miserable lives”. He replied.

  The container was replaced and the box very carefully resealed, the Chief was right, there was no way that you could tell that the box had ever been opened. They all left the building and told the night watchman that it was all clear and that it had been just a false alarm. Back at the fire depot, Graham thanked the Chief and his men for their actions and that they should be very proud that they had averted a catastrophe, but that it must go no further.