Red Paint

by Valerie Van Clieaf

  “Tell me where Kirigin is?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Is Severall with him?”

  “They left together,” said Sullivan.

  “You don’t know where they were headed, or you’ve decided not to cooperate?”

  “I dropped them in 100 Mile House late this afternoon. They took their suitcases with them. They didn’t say where they were going.”

  “Are they returning?”

  “No.”

  “Why didn’t you drive them?”

  Sullivan said nothing and looked uncomfortable.

  “Kirigin has another attempt planned to kill Sergeant Desocarras. Didn’t he? He left you here in charge.”

  Sullivan said nothing.

  “Answer the question,” said Brandeis.

  “Kirigin is obsessed with the idea that the sergeant will track him down. Severall tried to talk him out of it. He was worried that Kirigin had already exposed himself in North Vancouver, moving on Batlan personally like that. And there’s Kirigin, sure that if he’d taken control of the hit, the sergeant and his wife would be dead. Severall wasn’t happy about the latest plan, but Kirigin is his golden boy. He only agreed to it, if Kirigin wasn’t directly involved.”

  “What was the plan this time?”

  “It was planned for the Red Coach Inn, but then the cop moved out last night and no one knew where he was.”

  “How did you know he was staying there? What do you mean, no one knew where he was?”

  “I have a source at the detachment office.”

  “What source? An officer?!” shouted Brandeis.

  “No. One of the support staff. I date her off and on. We’re friends.”

  “What’s her name?” Brandeis demanded.

  “Jamie Babcock. She mentioned that the sergeant had moved his wife to a motel. Jamie didn’t know which one, but it was easy enough to find out.”

  “What was the plan?”

  “Kirigin lined up Bob to storm their room. It was supposed to happen late last night. Instructions were to kill the guard outside his door. Kill him and his wife. I was to pay him once the job was done.”

  “I gather this was meant to be the final solution?”

  Sullivan nodded.

  “Answer the question,” said Brandeis.

  “Yes, that was the final plan.”

  “The dead man on your porch. Was he the hire?” asked Alex.

  “Yes. Bob. He was there to touch base,” said Sullivan.

  “We have a man in custody, the man hired to kill Sergeant Desocarras and his wife. What can you tell me about him?”

  “He works for my company.”

  “A mining company has need for a hired killer?”

  Sullivan didn’t answer.

  “Was there anyone else involved in the final hit on Desocarras and his wife?”

  “I didn’t have a choice.”

  “You always have a choice,” said Brandeis. “What’s the other guy’s name?”

  “Bob mentioned a guy named Winston. I don’t know his last name. It was up to Bob if he thought he needed another guy. He’d have to share the payout with him. Mind you, it was a big payout.”

  Brandeis thought for a minute.

  “There was a hit planned on Sergeant Desocarras, but Bob was your point man. With him gone—”

  “There wouldn’t be a hit. Guy’s not gonna work for nothing.”

  “Okay. Back to Kirigin and Severall. You stated earlier that you didn’t know where they were going when they left 100 Mile House. They didn’t give you any clue as to where they were headed?”

  “They were flying up to Prince Rupert,” he said, defeated now. “Most likely out of South Cariboo Regional. I think Kirigin is overseeing because he hasn’t had enough time to replace MacLeish. Wherever they were going, Severall wasn’t happy about the accommodations. Said it was a filthy dive. I think it was someone’s house.”

  “So. Not their first visit.”

  “Prince Rupert is classified as an airport of entry by Canada Border Services,” said Ray, looking up from laptop. “They wouldn’t risk flying in there.”

  “Yeah. The Terrace Airport is regional. It’s only a couple of hours from there to Rupert.”

  There was a knock, and Kumari poked her head in. “I’ve got something.” Brandeis joined Kumari in the hall. Alex was with her.

  “Alex must be psychic. He told me to check the Killam account. Someone with the nickname p.g. george was logged in. Really lucky break for us. The guy was logged in from his home computer, uncloaked. Long enough for me to track him. Can you believe it! How stupid is that. We have his address. He lives in Prince Rupert.”

  “Good work, Kumari,” said Brandeis. He left her to arrange for one of the teams in Rupert to do a recce on the Smythe address.

  She turned to Alex. “I’m certain someone else was online with me when I checked the PG server. I tried to track him, but he was cloaked.”

  “Another perp?” said Alex.

  “I don’t think so. Why would one be cloaked and not the other?”

  “Who do you think it was?”

  “It could be our friendly hacker. Or Kirigin. What if Smythe is one of the drivers? If he is, we’re in luck.”

  “I’m thinking he’s more than just a delivery boy,” said Alex. “He has access to the Killam account. Who else have you spotted checking the account?”

  “No one. And I check regularly.”

  “Exactly,” said Alex. “Smythe might have a bigger role. Maybe he worked with MacLeish? Maybe he takes care of greasing the wheels at the docks? Who knows? Can you monitor Smythe’s computer?”

  “I planted a keystroke program that will copy his every move and send it to us.”

  “Good. No chance that he’ll notice?”

  “No. It’s in his system files. Judging from his behaviour, I doubt he has that kind of computer know-how. In the meantime, Stuart is copying everything on his hard drive. Those files go back ten years. He’ll be done soon.”

  Brandeis was back. “Get everything you can on Everett Smythe. I heard you say you spotted someone lurking on the PG server. What are the chances for an ID?”

  “Real slim. I think it was our friendly hacker and he is a smart one,” said Kumari, with grudging respect. “And that’s good! For the hacker I mean,” she added lamely. “Because Kirigin is scary and if he was to spot him—” She didn’t bother finishing, made a face instead.

  “Who’s monitoring the dock traffic at the Prince Rupert port?” said Alex.

  “Stuart. He says if the storm is bad enough, they’ll have to shut down the port for the duration. It’s too dangerous to operate the container winches in high winds and icy rain.”

  “What if the ship can’t put in at Rupert?” said Alex. “Is Kitimat an option for them?”

  “Harvest has notified the Port Authority that their destination port is Prince Rupert,” said Kumari. “It would look suspicious for them to switch. What reason would they have? Besides, if Rupert shuts down, so will Kitimat.”

  “Right,” said Alex. “If they don’t use the port, they’ll need a location we haven’t identified.”

  “We’re looking for other viable options for the exchange, but nothing yet. It would be great to talk with someone up there.”

  “It would, and we will,” said Brandeis. “Desocarras and I are flying up to Rupert as soon as there’s a plane ready for us. Ottawa just called. They want you and Stuart there, Kumari. They’re trying to get a handle on how bad the Kirigin breach is. But I want you both in Rupert with us. We’re leaving in a few hours. Once we have control in Rupert, you’ll both fly to Ottawa.”

  She couldn’t hide her pleasure at being summoned. “I should point out sir, that if it’s bad enough, the storm may affect communication. Neither of us will be of much use to you. Stuart would tell you that himself,” she hastened to add.

  “What’s the latest
on the storm?”

  “It’s over northern Alaska now. It’s supposed to hit the south coast of Alaska sometime later this morning and Rupert and the northwest coast of BC by mid-afternoon. Once it hits Anchorage and points south, we’ll have a better idea of what we’re dealing with.”

  “We need to be ready in the event the storm arrives early.” Brandeis turned to Alex.

  “The Nelson ERT team is staying here with your wife, Sullivan and the cook. We’ll take the other team with us.”

  “We’ll have four men here then.” The relief on Alex’s face was plain.

  “Gwen will be safe here, Alex. I’m just about to text Kirigin that you and Gwen have been located and the hit is planned for tomorrow. He’s keeps texting, wanting to know.”

  Alex’s face flushed with anger. He said nothing.

  “I’m going to have a quick meeting with the team that’s staying. Alex, let Ray know the interview’s over. A couple of the ERT can take Sullivan to one of the rooms. They can take turns guarding him.” Brandeis headed back to the main room, Kumari right behind him.

  Alex poked his head in and told Ray to pack it up, then waited with him for a couple of the ERT to collect Sullivan. That done, he went up to his room and found Gwen sleeping. He slipped into the washroom and checked the protonmail account. There was nothing new. Alex added a note:

  We have the Prince Rupert address. Smythe is gone. I’ll be up there in a few hours. We’ve discovered links to other ships: Red Dragon, which left Seattle sailing south a few hours ago and Shanghai Sunset. Sunset left Vancouver a few hours ago, leaving behind eleven people being trafficked for their organs.

  He read through his message and felt a wave of futility wash over him. The police were grasping at straws. His gut instinct was that the perps wouldn’t be transferring the people at the port in Prince Rupert now. He suspected Brandeis felt the same. What he didn’t need to know was that they were getting some extra help on the side. Alex left the Tor browser open and returned to the room.

  He doubted he’d get any sleep but set the phone’s alarm for a one-hour nap, put the phone beside his pillow and climbed in beside Gwen. She reached for him sleepily and pulled him close. He covered the hand that rested on his chest protectively. In his years of police work, nothing like this had ever happened. He’d never put Gwen in harm’s way, and he would never be able to forgive himself if anything should happen to her.

  Alex was exhausted but his mind spun in circles trying to get a handle on Kirigin and what drove him. By now, Kirigin would have the good news that their execution was imminent. A man with a demonstrated and insatiable need to dominate: trading in strangers, selling parts of them for profit; childish tantrums with those that did his bidding. They really didn’t know the extent of his reach. He’d infiltrated Canada’s national police force. What else? Where else? What was his end game? Right now, they were only guessing. Kirigin was a man who moved people around on a game board of his own creation. His game and his rules. And he didn’t like to sit on the sidelines.

  He’d stepped into the action: killed Batlan, tried to kill him. That he could understand. He’d upset his carefully orchestrated apple cart. But Gwen. Why Gwen? She’d done nothing! It was senseless. Severall was the real mystery, though.

  According to Sullivan he was the leader, and they knew nothing about him. They knew about three ships. Were there more?

  It was a short flight from 100 Mile House to Rupert. They’d be meeting with logistics as soon as they got there. A team was on the ground at the Prince Rupert port. Men were posted at Smythe’s place in case he returned. They were doing everything they could with the information they had. It seemed to him that the moment he closed his eyes the alarm went off.

  He reached for the snooze button, then rolled over to be greeted by a sleepy Gwen.

  “Hey you. What’s up?”

  “We’re going to Rupert.”

  “Are you leaving a few of those brawny guys behind?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “Are you wearing your suit of armour?” Their long-standing in joke.

  “They won’t let me bring it on the plane.” She teared up and pulled him close. He kissed her gently.

  “Please be careful, Alex.”

  “I will, sweetheart.”

  Chapter 10

  It was just past midnight. Levon had been online for thirty hours. News of the winter storm that threatened BC’s North Coast showed up on all the news services earlier in the day. He was worried about the women captives on Harvest. What if it didn’t dock in Rupert as planned? Where else could it dock or worse, what if it didn’t make it to shore. He suspected the cops had few leads, or no leads. Why else would Desocarras be keeping communication open or feeding him information he might not have. Levon suspected that Smythe was the first solid lead the cops had. News about the other two ships was scary, but there was nothing he could do about that. It was the uncertain fate of the women on Harvest that pushed him to ask for help.

  Levon had spent the last few hours in a heated discussion on the IRC he hosted for redz. He was exhausted to begin with, sick of fighting with them, and growing desperate because he felt that he was getting nowhere trying to convince them to help. He left his computer to grab a coffee and check the street outside. His brother wasn’t there yet. While he waited for him, he paced in front of his computer, keeping a watchful eye in the hope that opinion swung in the direction of supporting him, but the squabbling continued. Finally, unable to restrain himself he jumped back in.

  wikem: GOLDEN HARVEST is in Hecate Strait heading for Rupert docks … carrying human beings to be sold … if Rupert is the final destination the cops have a chance to save them … otherwise … just discovered there are two other ships: RED DRAGON and SHANGHAI SUNSET. SUNSET was carrying victims who will have organs taken from them. They were taken off the boat in Vancouver. I don’t think they’ve found them yet. That’s three ships that we know about that the scum has doing his bidding! WHAT IF THERE ARE MORE?!!

  redzagain: the cops have the ammo to stop these bastards … we don’t

  wikem: ammo won’t help them if they don’t know where the ship is

  majishin: just joined you … hello all … your southern kin will be happy to be on the lookout for ships … give us some names

  wikem: majishin … be warned … evil one is high level scum with an excellent skill set

  majishin: does evil one have a name?

  wikem: Gregori Kirigin

  hatzoff: wikem what is the matter with you! WE DON’T WORK WITH THE PIGS. WE NEVER WORK WITH THE PIGS. END OF STORY!!!!

  redzagain: hatzoff is right but wikem has my attention … what if the pigs are in over their head … they would be blissfully ignorant if it wasn’t for wikem … it’s gonna be shit scary up there when the storm hits … cops might blow this chance and the innocents will be lost

  hatzoff: pigs are on it … you can bet the fuckin gov both sides of the border have their hands in … why should we risk exposing ourselves to help them

  redzagain: if we get caught we do jail time for sure. It wouldn’t matter to them if we were on their side or not. Reality was HELPING THEM for fuck sake and look what happened to her!!

  rezrozy: and she be white … bastards gave her seven years… us NDNs wouldn’t get off that easy

  hatzoff: my point exactly … they’d lose the fuckin keys

  rezrozy: or shoot us, they like doing that

  majishin: you can’t trust the state … got to admit though … wikem has me fired up … if we could help save the innocents

  bitchd: you can bet we have sisters on that ship! that’s all we need to know … no one can touch us … redz is untouchable!

  rezrozy: all women are our sisters even tho they don’t all be actin like they know that

  bitchd: we do the right thing for our sisters and the rest benefit … it’s a win-win … i say we paint the bastards red!!

  hatzoff: ladies … what pa
rt of “we don’t work with pigs” do you not understand?

  bitchd: hatzoff, we don’t need condescending motherfuckerz … redz doesn’t work WITH pigs … we work alone like we always do … we do what we do … if we find something … we share with them cause they have the ammo to stop the bastards and we don’t … then we fade like smoke

  Levon got up again to see if his brother had arrived, but Robbie wasn’t here yet. He quickly threw what he’d need into his overnight bag and left it by the door. When he returned to his computer, there were seventeen in the chat. The numbers were climbing and that was a good sign. Word was getting around.

  rezrozy: no ladies here hatzoff … instead of crawling up our asses, focus on the shitheads who are stealing our women and children and had enough dough to buy THREE SHIPS which makes it easy for them to take who they steal wherever they want on our mother earth … and you really want us to DO NOTHING!!

  hatzoff: okay … okay … back off everyone … of course I want to do something … I just don’t want to work with the pigs … they would just as soon turn their guns on us

  mercurial: none of us wants to work WITH the pigs … we would be working to free the captives

  bitchd: agreed … and if we don’t protect our own who will? … isn’t this why we’re here? … this is what we do! we protect our own … come on people! we’re running outta time … WE NEED TO ACT NOW!!!

  Levon watched in growing excitement as one after the other, fifteen indicated they agreed to redz being involved. He added his okay. But there was one hold out: hatzoff.

  hatzoff: do you even have a plan wikem? we don’t have nearly enough peeps in rupert to pull this off.

  redzagain: come on hatz get on board … we need you and we need every fucking person we can pull in to find that fucking ship

  wikem: I count 8 that can be on the ground in rupert area watching for the ship … can we get a boat out to patrol?

  revolver: i’ll ask around about a boat