by Bob Blink
The open engagement between the two groups present at the bar that Mark had reported suggested they were not working together, so if the infiltrator that Ed suspected inside the Bureau was real, the organization wasn't entirely controlled by him. All evidence suggested it was either the Director or his assistant.
The matter was something to think more about later. Now it was time for his team, Team 2 to do their part. Ed was lead on the acquisition of the Senator and his bodyguard, with FBI Agent Burrows secondary. This would be a real test of Burrows loyalty and real beliefs, and was an element of risk that Ed would have rather done without. Janet didn't like the arrangement, and was suspicious of the agent, but Ed and Jessie had talked at length with the man and were convinced he had joined their effort. He'd seen enough to realize there was a real threat lurking undetected, and also believed that threat had burrowed its way into his organization.
Mitch was serving as their driver and communications center, while Janet, whose sniper skills were superior, was offsite prepared to deal with any unexpected complication in the whole plan. The bodyguard, a six-foot, two hundred twenty pound former marine, was gay, with a boyfriend who would be expecting him home later in the evening. They couldn't abduct the Senator without dealing properly with the bodyguard. Leaving him behind or killing him would quickly reveal the attack against the Senator, and if he didn't go home to his boyfriend, other complications would develop, ultimately casting unwanted light on their action. Janet would be in position to handle the situation, whichever way it developed.
The Forest Grove Retirement Home was situated just over the state line in Virginia, in a wooded area that suited its name. It was a large facility with well over a thousand permanent residents. The extensive parking lot was open, which worked well for them. They hadn't needed to check through any security to approach the building, and were now parked close to the facility in one of the resident's spots that had been empty. From the interior of the white van they could see through the oversized windows into the entertainment room of the home, and with the large lens on the digital SLR camera, had easily identified the Senator at a table toward the back of the room playing cards. His white curly hair, thick and full given his age, made him easy to spot, even in a crowd of old, gray-headed elders. Dressed in casual clothes rather than his usual business suit, one wouldn't have realized who he was had they not known him. Across from him was an elderly woman who was his partner, and they assumed his mom. Two other woman of the same approximate age as the Senator's mother played against them.
"How long are they going to play?" Mitch asked, getting tired of the waiting, and worried that the van might be spotted. It was obviously a vehicle that didn't belong, but there wasn't any roving security in the parking area to detect it.
"People have been drifting away," Ed said, still looking through the telephoto lens. I'm guessing that they start to shutdown pretty soon. Formal visiting hours are posted to close at nine PM, which is just fifteen minutes from now. Getting restless?"
"We only have a narrow window to get this done," Mitch complained. "We want to take the Senator to the cabin, make our pitch, and get him back in time for his meeting at the Senate tomorrow so no one suspects what happened. The longer he sits in there, the harder that is going to be."
Ed was very much aware of the timetable that they were up against, but they couldn't very well burst into the facility and drag him out. Any secrecy would be lost by such a move, not to mention the trauma it would inflict on the seniors inside. Before he could formulate a comment, he saw that the group had finished their game and was breaking up. The Senator was helping his mother into the wheelchair that had been set back against the wall.
"Game time," he said. "Burrows, are you ready to do this?" Ed listened for any sign of uncertainty in the man's voice. Ed would have preferred that all members of the team were individuals he'd worked with before, but this whole situation was far from ideal.
"I'm good," the FBI agent replied. Up to now the agent hadn't done anything that would have repercussions for him later, but this would be a crime, firmly putting him outside his organization and into Ed's camp. It was a critical moment. Ed wondered if Burrows suspected that Mitch would be watching and prepared to take down the agent if he in anyway faltered or hesitated in performing his part. There was little choice. Ed could have assigned him Mitch's job, but the risks of doing that if he wasn't really with them were apparent.
They would use special agency guns that shot darts loaded with a relatively quick acting pharmaceutical that would render the Senator and his bodyguard unconscious. Once both were under, Burrows would drive, and Ed would ride along. Mitch would follow in the van, and they would drive to a wooded area they had scouted earlier to transfer the two victims into the van. Then they would proceed to the cabin. The Senator's car would be out of sight and very unlikely to be spotted before morning, when they hoped to have him back here.
All the gear, the special guns, the satellite comm gear, and other critical supplies had come from Jessie's storage unit earlier in the day. Without the items she'd squirreled away, their options would have been much more limited.
Ed led the way, with Burrows following. The bodyguard was parked in one of the empty valet parking slots, close to a rear entrance to the facility. He was sitting in the car, suggesting the Senator hadn't yet informed him he was about to exit the building. Once the man stood and went around to open the door for the Senator, they'd know their target was on the way. Luck was with them. No one else was around to put their plan at risk. They slipped in behind a couple of the decorative trees where they could see easily, but would be difficult to spot. Half a dozen steps would take them to the car.
They'd chosen this time as the only reasonable place to perform the snatch. Breaking into the facility made no sense for the reasons Ed had been thinking earlier, and taking out a moving vehicle without damaging the occupants or creating a situation that drew a lot of attention was all but impossible. Once the Senator arrived home, he'd quickly be inside his secure home, and they couldn't be certain they could get at him without triggering all manner of alarms. No, it had to be here and now.
The bodyguard was opening the door, and walking around the back of the vehicle to the right rear passenger door. This was their signal. They would wait until the Senator walked up to the bodyguard, probably exchanging a few words. They expected no trouble at a place like this. Ed and Burrows would fire the darts from essentially point blank range after stepping away from cover.
Ed detected the motion of the door opening with his peripheral vision. The Senator was speaking with someone, and for a moment Ed feared that whoever it was would come out and see the man off. But, no, once the Senator was outside, the guard inside waved, closed the door and turned and walked back toward the game room.
Moving easily, a bit of a smile on his face from whatever the guard had said to him, Senator Conroy headed toward the familiar figure of his bodyguard.
"Good game, Senator?" the bodyguard asked.
"We lost," the Senator replied. "Mom is losing her focus, and makes some tactical blunders, but she had fun, and that's what matters."
The brief exchange gave Ed and Tom Burrows all the opportunity they needed to move into position. Burrows actually fired first, according to their plan. The bodyguard was the one who they didn't want to have any warning. Burrow's nearly silent shot struck the man perfectly in the side of the neck. He grunted and reached up to find the dart. He must have known what it was, but by then his brain wasn't functioning well. It would be another fifteen seconds or so before he was fully out, but his muscles simply wouldn't function for him now.
"Jack?" the Senator asked uncertainly, having heard the unfamiliar sound and sensed something wrong with his bodyguard. Ed didn't give him any more time to panic, and fired his own dart, duplicating the shot Burrows had made.
They let the bodyguard crumple to the ground, but Ed was ready to catch the Senator as he lost control, and eased him int
o the back seat of the vehicle. Once the Senator was in place, Ed quickly searched the bodyguard, relieving him of his service weapon, some Mace, and a nasty looking folding knife. Then he and Burrows lifted him into the front passenger seat, strapped him in place with the seat belt, and closed the door. Burrows hurried around to the driver's side, and Ed slipped into the back seat where he could support the Senator and keep an eye on the bodyguard. One never knew when someone might be resistant to the drug in the darts.
Moments later they were driving away. Ed spotted Mitch and the van following as they made the wide turn from the retirement home's wide driveway onto the two-lane country road that would take them to the spot where they'd make the transfer. Ed heard Mitch make the update to Janet, who was waiting patiently outside the residence twenty-five miles to the east.
"Wake up," Ed said, a couple of minutes after injecting the drug antidote into the bodyguard. The man was securely restrained and wouldn't be able to take any action, and while he wasn't muffled, any sounds he made wouldn't be heard in this out of the way spot at this time of night. The Senator and the bodyguard had been transferred to the van.
Ed watched as the man's eyes became focused. Suddenly he tensed, recalling the last moments of consciousness.
"The Senator," the man said, speaking highly of his professionalism. His initial thoughts were not for himself, but for his charge.
"The Senator is fine," Ed assured him. "He's just sleeping."
The guard tested his restraints, then glanced at Ed.
"I know you," he said. "You've been on the news of late. Kidnapping a U.S. Senator isn't going to help your situation."
"Let me worry about my situation," Ed replied. "At the moment, I have need of your help."
"Go to hell," the bodyguard replied.
"Now Jack," Ed said, recalling the name the Senator had used. "We don't mean the senator any harm, but the situation is very critical, and unless we can be certain of your cooperation, we can't decide what to do about you."
"You'll have to kill me," Jack replied, his eyes hard. "I won't help you."
Ed simply nodded, and turned on a flat screen monitor. He spoke into the secure net of his communications gear, "Janet, are you ready?"
"All set," she replied. "Standing by."
"I want you to look at the monitor," Ed instructed. "I believe you will recognize the residence."
Uncertain, the bodyguard turned toward the display, his eyes widening when he realized what he was looking at.
"I see you do recognize the location," Ed said. Then into the mic he added, "Okay Janet, zoom in."
The picture on the monitor changed, the camera centering on a living room window. By the time the window filled the screen it was easily possible to see a young man in his middle twenties, sitting in a lounge chair, watching television. Shortly thereafter, a set of crosshairs appeared on the monitor, centering on the man's chest.
"You can't," Jack said hoarsely.
"Yes, we can," Ed replied. "Janet is just over two hundred yards away. She is an excellent shot, and you are experienced enough to know that your friend wouldn't be able to move from his seat before she could fire multiple rounds into him."
"How did you know?" he asked.
"That doesn't matter, does it?" Ed answered. "The question is simply what are you prepared to sacrifice? Shouldn't you simply hear me out first?"
"What do you want?" Jack asked, the anger easily detectable in his voice.
"Cooperation," Ed said. "We don't mean the Senator any harm. We need his help, but his help will be restricted if others know about this meeting. We don't know if he will agree, but what we want from you, is your word, that if he directs you to keep this incident secret and work with him, and us, that you will do so. If he doesn't agree, I give you my word that both of you will be set free to tell the world about the next dastardly deed on my resume. Before you answer, consider the consequences if you refuse, and realize I'll be putting you back to sleep in a minute, regardless of your answer, and you will be unable to act until after we've had our chat with Mr. Conroy."
"You don't give many options," Jack said. "But how do you know I'll go along?"
"It's simple. Your friend expects you home. We need you to call and inform him that the Senator has unexpected business and needs you to standby tonight. Most likely all night. Then he won't worry and cause trouble. If you do this, you go back to sleep, free to act as the Senator directs when you wake up. Disagree, and refuse, then we have to make certain your boyfriend can't make trouble for us tonight, and Janet will have to take him out. You see?"
Ed could see the man sorting through the options.
"I make a call, you leave Harv alone, and later I can do what I want?" he asked, finding it difficult to believe. "I don't believe you, but give me the phone."
Ed handed him a sheet of paper.
"You read this. Don't improvise, and make it short as if the Senator is waiting. Understand?"
Afterwards, Ed injected the bodyguard with a dose of the same medicine which would keep him out for three to four hours. He'd lied to the man, but didn't feel too bad about it. Janet wouldn't have shot his friend, but would have kidnapped him as well and brought him along. Now that wouldn't be necessary, making matters much simpler. She would be headed toward the clinic where the MRI scans would be performed. They would need all their manpower to make that part go easily. Then they could go on to the cabin, assuming the scans worked out as hoped, probably arriving about the same time as Mark and his group. They were taking a much more circuitous route, ensuring no one might be tracking them to the hideaway.
Mitch pulled the van into the parking lot, sliding into the slot next to the car Janet was using. Three other cars were parked in slots well away from the clinic. Probably the staff, he thought.
Janet rapped lightly on the window, of the passenger side, and Ed rolled down the window.
"No patients inside," Janet said. Been a quiet night since I've been here. Three people inside. So long as it stays this way, we should have no trouble."
"Let's do this," Ed said.
He, Mitch and Burrows would control the staff. Janet would take over the reception desk in case someone came in. Both the Senator and the bodyguard would be scanned, but their faces would be concealed behind the hoods that were now in place. The staff would report that the wanted felons had brought in two people and forced MRI scans to be made, but would have no idea of the reason or who the mysterious subjects were. It was the best they'd be able to do.
They all had handguns, the rifles set away for the moment. Burrows carried one of the dart pistols, but the hope was for him to remain unseen. His involvement should be kept secret as long as possible. If needed they could probably put one of the crew under, but hopefully that wouldn't be necessary. Heading inside, Ed walked up to the receptionist desk. The young man looked up from the novel he was reading, his eyes widening at the sight of the large bore pistol pointed at his face.
"How many are back there?" Ed asked, pointing to the examination rooms in back. He wanted to verify Janet's intelligence.
"Just a doctor and a nurse," he replied nervously.
"Good. Call them to come out here," Ed said.
The young man swallowed, nodded, and made an announcement over the internal PA system. Janet and Mitch took positions on either side of the double doors that led to the examination area, while Burrows continued to wait outside where he could come in if needed, but otherwise wouldn't be seen.
The nurse stepped through the doors first, with the doctor coming close behind. Both were women, the nurse in her fifties and the doctor much younger, somewhere in her thirties. Both froze when they spotted Ed holding a gun on the receptionist. It took only a moment for both to realize they had guns pointed at them as well.
"The nurse looked close to panic, but the doctor was surprisingly calm.
"The drugs are in the back," she said. "I assume that's what you have come for."
Janet smiled.
"Actually no," she said. "Can either of you run the MRI machine?"
Surprised by the question, the doctor nodded.
"We've done so before. Usually we have a tech on hand, but I can run a scan if needed. Why?"
"We have two patients. Both require a scan of their brains. You will perform that for us, and we'll be on our way. Understand?"
"No," the doctor replied honestly. But I don't see where we have a choice. Where are the patients?"
"We'll bring them in momentarily. For now, let's all go back and have a look at the setup.
The receptionist they locked in a storage room. Janet grabbed one of the smocks, and took up a position at the front desk. Ed watched the nurse and doctor, while Burrows and Mitch used a pair of gurneys to wheel the Senator and bodyguard, still unconscious, into the facility. Mitch took the Senator back.
"Who is this man?" the doctor demanded, seeing her patient was bound, hooded, and unconscious.
"It doesn't matter," Ed replied. "Just tell me what to do, and let's get this done."
They hooked up an IV containing a special solution that was supposed to enhance the image that the MRI would produce. Ed told the nurse to prepare a second solution and planned to have the bodyguard prepped in advance while the Senator was being scanned. The timing might be off a bit, but it was really the Senator they needed to examine. The bodyguard was simply insurance, and Ed didn't really believe he was affected. Why both Pam and a bodyguard for the same man?
"How long will this take?" Ed asked.
"Forty five minutes," the doctor said. "Maybe a bit longer."
It took just over fifty minutes before they were finished. Ed quickly removed the Senator and put the inert body of the bodyguard into the machine so that the test could begin on him. As the banging for the test of the second subject proceeded, Ed had Burrows have a look at the scan. They had a copy on a CD just in case and could look at it later if they wished. The FBI agent had been given a crash course in looking at the outputs when he was told about the anomaly for Pam Chou and Monica Parker. He wasn't an expert, but knew how to spot the anomaly they were concerned about. It would show up clearly on both the T1 and T2 scans. The T1 showed the electron transitions from hydrogen atoms in water molecules, while the T2 showed the electron transitions in hydrogen in fat molecules. He was relieved to see nothing unusual.