Discreet Activities

by Claude Bouchard

  “I’ll just grab a booth by the window,” Chris laughed, “While you make yourself useful and go get me a Rickards Red and a club sandwich.”

  “Fries with that?” asked Serge as he moved towards the kitchen.

  “Well, duh,” Chris replied before heading towards the booth immediately past the one occupied by Mahmood’s party.

  He hung his ski jacket on one of the pegs protruding from the post inset between the two booths then slid onto the worn leather seat with the Sutton foursome behind him.

  “So, you will finally tell us what is going on?” he heard Fahad ask.

  “We will wait until we have been served,” Mahmood replied, “And then I will explain some details.”

  Almost immediately, Serge arrived at Chris’ table with his beer and said, “I’ve finally received the plans for the remodelled terrace, Chris. Do you want to see them? You’re going to love the new layout.”

  “Sure,” Chris agreed, grabbing the beer bottle as he slid back out of the booth.

  “I asked Hélène to bring your lunch to my office,” Serge informed him as they moved away. “I hope that’s okay?”

  “No problem at all,” Chris reassured the pub owner. “I’ve been looking forward to seeing what you’d being doing out there.”

  Chris, in fact, really did not mind being called away from the dining room as it made no difference. The live microphone in his ski jacket would capture every word which would be spoken at Mahmood’s table.

  * * * *

  Mahmood: To start, I will tell you the plan we had discussed for next week was a fake.

  Fahad: What do you mean, a fake?

  Mahmood: Keep your voice down. I do not want others to hear this conversation.

  Fahad: Okay, I will keep my voice down even if there is practically nobody here. Now, please explain this fake plan.

  Mahmood: The original plan was for us to be decoys while the real plan would be carried out by others. When we discovered the cottage was bugged, this made even more sense as we could feed false information to whoever was listening in.

  Fahad: You said ‘we’. Who is ‘we’?

  Mahmood: Fahad, I was given a device to detect bugs in the cottage and when I found some, I happened to mention it to Nasir. That is all.

  Fahad: So, Nasir is worthy of your trust but Saad and I are not?

  Mahmood: I was not to tell Nasir either but he caught me by surprise and he promised to keep it to himself. I should not even be speaking to you here and now as I swore to JayQ that, uh…

  Fahad: You swore to who? Who did you just name?

  Mahmood: You are now making me angry and I am saying things which I should not. You will be quiet and listen to what I can tell you now or we shall leave immediately. We have too much at stake to waste time with your childish behaviour and jealousy. Do you understand? If I must, I will report that your attitude will be a problem.

  Nasir: Yes, Fahad. Please stop this arguing and let Mahmood tell us what we must do. Saad and I want to know this as much as you do.

  Fahad: Fine. Go ahead and I will not say a word.

  Mahmood: Very well. The actual plan will take place tomorrow and we have been entrusted with it.

  Nasir: Why aren’t those who were supposed to execute this plan not doing so?

  Mahmood: I do not have these details as I also am not told everything. All I know is that those people are no longer available and we have been chosen to replace them for which I am honoured.

  Saad: And I am as well. So what is the plan, Mahmood?

  Mahmood: What is important for now is that you pack whatever you do not want to leave behind. We may be returning to the cottage tomorrow or perhaps not. I will tell you the details of the plan tomorrow as we drive to our destination. Once again, this is to make sure none of us mention anything by mistake which our listeners might hear and jeopardize our plan.

  Fahad: So, once again, you are keeping us in the dark because you have no faith. I do not understand why we even came here if you had no intention of telling us anything.

  Mahmood: I have told you this will happen tomorrow and that we are in charge. You should be pleased to have this knowledge.

  Fahad: I will be pleased when I know exactly where we are going and what we are doing. If you have nothing more to tell us, I will go take a walk as I am too angry to eat.

  “And that’s the gist of their discussion,” said Chris as he stopped the recording. “Fahad did return to eat the lunch he’d ordered but there was very little further conversation from then on and nothing of importance.”

  “Well, we still did learn a couple of things,” Jonathan replied from the leather couch where he relaxed in the Barrys’ den in Knowlton. “Unless they were throwing us another curve, we know it’s going down tomorrow and Mahmood’s contact with the AFI is someone called JQ.”

  “Any idea who that might be?” asked Leslie.

  “By sheer coincidence, the Consul General of the Diplomatic Mission of Pakistan, is named Jabbar Qalat,” said Jonathan with a grim smile. “However, based on any intelligence gathered on this side or south of the border, the man is clean.”

  “Maybe the man is simply smart,” Chris suggested, “But we’re certainly getting solid indications he’s involved in this.”

  “All I know is we can’t just barge in on him and rough him up, Chris,” said Addley. “Chances are, even if he is involved, this will be pulled out of our hands at some point.”

  “Only if you bring it up with your government buddies,” Chris grinned.

  “Let’s start by figuring out what these idiots have planned for tomorrow and take it from there,” Jonathan laughed. “You know that if we can find a way to handle this other than politically, that’s the route we’ll take.”

  “How are we doing this tomorrow?” Chris asked. “Are you planning to fly?”

  “If you are, can I go with you?” Leslie piped up. “That little chopper is sweet.”

  Jonathan and Leslie had flown from Montreal to Knowlton in HeliPro’s smallest helicopter, a two seat Robinson R22 Beta II.

  “I hate to disappoint you, young lady,” Jon smiled, “But we’re best to keep most of our people on the ground to handle these terrorists.”

  “Okay,” Leslie grinned. “That’ll be fun too.”

  “Indeed,” Jonathan chuckled then turned to Chris. “To answer your question, yeah, I’ll be flying cuz eyes in the sky might be handy. That’s why I took the Robinson. I can land practically anywhere with that little thing.”

  “We have no idea where they’ll be going?” asked Leslie.

  “My guess is their target is in Montreal,” Chris surmised. “For one, the explosives were left there and hitting a smaller town somewhere just wouldn’t have the same impact.”

  “I agree with Chris,” Jonathan nodded. “Crossing the border with the C-4 doesn’t make any sense either and if that was the plan, why would they leave it at Omar’s place? Their target’s in Canada and logically, in Montreal. If it was Toronto or Ottawa, the boys wouldn’t be hanging out in Sutton.”

  “They might if the cottage was simply rented to let us in on their decoy plan,” Leslie challenged.

  “They had no way of knowing we’d be bugging the place, Les,” Chris disagreed. “And if they voluntarily let info out to bait us into doing so, they still would have chosen someplace closer to Toronto or Ottawa if those were the real targets.”

  “Not if the Sutton boys were to be strictly decoys in the original plan,” Jonathan offered, “And that’s what I believe they were at first. I also believe Mohsin Rahija and Omar Kalpar were the real hit team or at least part of it. In the wake of their demise, the juniors have been called up to the big league.”

  “Makes sense,” said Chris as Leslie nodded.

  “And that also supports Montreal being the target city,” Addley continued. “If it was further, they wouldn’t be hanging around here when the big day is tomorrow.”

  “It’s all supposition but I agree,�
� Chris replied.

  “Best guesses are all we’ve got,” Jon shrugged. “What kind of crowd attracting events are we looking at for tomorrow, Les?”

  “Way too many,” she muttered, scrolling a list on her iPad, “Even when we’re just looking at one day. Big venue events include the Habs against Anaheim at the Bell Centre with Saku Koivu making an appearance, the auto show ends tomorrow night at the Palais des congrès, there’s some franchise show at Place Bonaventure over the weekend, the final Igloofest rave at the Old Port, Chromeo is at the Metropolis and the list just goes on. Besides these and other big venues like Place des Arts and Théatre St-Denis, both which have concerts tomorrow night, there’s a ton of smaller venues and clubs which will be packed. We’re talking Saturday night here.”

  “Nobody ever said identifying their target would be easy, Leslie,” Jonathan concurred, “But if we can narrow it down somehow, it could give us an extra edge.”

  “If I could interrupt for a second,” said Chris as he grinned at them.

  “By all means,” Jon replied. “The floor is yours.”

  “Thank you,” Chris bowed and continued. “Just keep in mind that we’re going to be following these guys and, should we lose them, we’ll pick them up with the tracking devices you had installed in the remote control devices. In the end, they will lead us to wherever they’re going, regardless where it is.”

  “True,” Leslie conceded, “But we do want to get wherever that is before it’s too late, Chris.”

  “Or what happens, Leslie?” Jonathan laughed as he realized where Chris was going. “Our terrorists will force people to smoke cigarettes?”

  “Right,” Leslie grinned as she blushed. “They won’t have real bombs. I kind of forgot about that.”

  “You and me both, kiddo,” Jonathan admitted. “It’s been a tough week, which brings us to what we should do next.”

  “And that would be?” Leslie asked.

  “Convince our fine host to offer us a drink,” Addley replied, “Cuz I certainly could use one.”

  Chapter 18 – Saturday, January 22, 2011

  “Come on, Fahad,” Nasir called up the stairs. “We are waiting for you.”

  “Yes, yes, I am coming,” snarled Fahad as he stomped out of his bedroom. “I am growing tired of being told what to do but not what we are doing.”

  “Mahmood asked us to be ready at noon,” Nasir growled. “Now it is twelve-fifteen. We were all ready to leave except you.”

  “I had to go to the bathroom,” Fahad shot back as he descended the stairs. “I cannot make my bowels work on demand. Maybe you are Mahmood’s cowardly puppet but I am not.”

  In response, Nasir grabbed Fahad by the front of his sweater and yanked him in the air off the steps, swinging him around and throwing him to the floor.

  “What are you doing?” Fahad screamed in fear as Nasir bent over, grabbing his sweater again and pulling him to his feet then driving him backwards until he slammed into the wall.

  “Who is a cowardly puppet now, Fahad?” Nasir asked, holding the smaller man up against the wall with his feet dangling several inches above the floor.

  “Put me down, Nasir,” Fahad begged, panic etched on his face.

  “You will change your attitude immediately,” Nasir commanded. “You will stop complaining and causing trouble and you will follow the orders you are given. Is that clear?”

  “Yes, yes,” Fahad nodded, his eyes wide. “Just put me down.”

  “Many people will get hurt this evening,” Nasir continued. “Do not make it so that you are one of them, Fahad.”

  He released Fahad and added, “Get your coat. The others are waiting in the truck.”

  * * * *

  “Discord among the ranks,” commented Jonathan as they watched the two men leaving the cottage.

  “There nothing wrong with that,” Chris grinned. “We now know Nasir can get physically aggressive and Fahad scares easily.”

  “Assuming he’ll have a better idea of what the plan is later today,” Leslie suggested, “He may very well make a good source of information.”

  “Indeed,” Chris agreed as he turned off the flat screen. “So, shall we go see what kind of mischief these boys are up to?”

  “Sounds good to me,” Jonathan replied, “And it’s a gorgeous day to fly. I’ll see you kids later once we know where we’re going but we’ll talk before then.”

  * * * *

  “Okay… They’re at the 10 and, yes, they’re heading west,” Leslie announced, gazing at her iPad as she tracked the GPS signal from the Explorer.

  “Montreal, here we come,” said Chris as he headed for the appropriate ramp from Lakeside Road. “They’re fifteen kilometres ahead of us. We’ll catch up to them in no time. Jon must already be on them.”

  As if in response to his comment, a call came in through the integrated hands-free system in the SUV.

  “How’s it going down there, folks?”

  “We just got on the 10 heading for Montreal,” Chris replied. “Can you see them?”

  “Yep. I’m hanging back about half a kilometre and just south of them,” said Jonathan. “How far back are you?”

  “We’ll be up there with them in a few minutes,” Chris confirmed, shifting into the left lane and accelerating.

  “Sounds good. Keep in touch,” Addley replied before cutting the connection.

  Moments later, Leslie indicated the chopper up ahead to their right and shortly after the black Explorer was in sight. Chris pulled back into the right lane, leaving a handful of vehicles between them and their prey as they cruised in silence towards Montreal.

  Some forty minutes later, as they neared the Champlain Bridge, Jonathan called again.

  “I’m going to stick with them as much as I can but it’ll get trickier if they head downtown. If that’s where they go, I’ll dump the chopper at the office and see where it goes from there.”

  “No problem,” Chris replied. “We’re on them fine and we’ve got the GPS. Have you contacted Dave?”

  “I did when we left and I’m just about to do so again,” said Jon. “He’s on standby with his team and they’re tracking the GPS as well. I was waiting to see if our boys were heading into town before giving him another heads up. See you soon.”

  They made their way across the Champlain Bridge to Nun’s Island and followed the Explorer as it exited for Bonaventure Autoroute. It continued along the short strip of highway to its end where it became University Street and three blocks later, turned left onto Saint-Antoine Street.

  “This is where it may start getting interesting,” said Chris. “Get Dave on the line.”

  Leslie placed the call and seconds later, they were in contact with the captain who was in his office at the Special Homicide Task Force Centre a few blocks away on Cypress Street.

  “We’re in the neighbourhood, buddy,” said Chris.

  “And heading our way, it seems,” McCall replied. “Joanne, Tim and Frank just left and are heading your way in my Jeep.”

  “Excellent,” Chris approved, “Cuz if these guys split up, we’re going to need the manpower.”

  “Jonathan just called,” said Dave. “He just landed and is heading for his car to come pick me up so we’ll be joining the fun soon.”

  “The more, the merrier,” Chris replied. “Later, Dave.”

  Two vehicles ahead, the Explorer’s right turn signal came on as they approached Mansfield.

  “We’ll be heading north,” Leslie announced.

  “And there are Tim, Jo and Frank,” said Chris, gesturing towards the grey Grand Cherokee reaching the intersection from the opposite direction.

  “Party time,” Leslie grinned.

  * * * *

  “This is where I will park after I have dropped everyone off,” said Mahmood as they drove by the garage entrance at Place Bonaventure. “I will park at the lowest level and will leave the doors unlocked and the key under my seat. That way, any one of us can come get the truck if we need it.
”

  “That is a very good idea, Mahmood,” Fahad piped up from the back seat.

  They moved on northward for a handful of blocks where Mahmood turned right onto Saint-Catherine Street and pulled over to the side.

  “There is Place Montréal Trust, Fahad,” he said as he pointed across the street to the entrance of the downtown shopping complex. “You can start there and move around through connecting tunnels to other shopping areas and can reach the subway from many places without even going outside.”

  “I will be fine and will contact you if I have any problems,” Fahad replied before hopping out of the 4x4. “See you later.”

  * * * *

  “Looks like this is where I’m going,” said Leslie as they rolled past the Explorer.

  Chris came to a stop several cars further and Leslie got out as Fahad reached the other side of the street while the Explorer moved past them.

  “You be careful, right?” Chris said, “And keep in touch.”

  “Yes, dad,” Leslie replied with a wink before closing the door and hurrying after her target.

  * * * *

  Chris hit the phone button and said, “Hey, Jon. Back on terra firma?”

  “Yep. Waiting for the light at Peel and Saint-Catherine. All’s still good?”

  “No problem. We’re stopped at the light at Saint-Alexandre. Our buddies are first up, Dave’s crew is two cars behind them and I’m two behind them. Fahad Jamali went into Place Montréal Trust and Les is with him. Okay, the light’s green so we’re moving again. Stay on and we’ll see what happens.”

  The procession moved a block further east, going through the green light at de Bleury Street.

  “Okay, they stayed on Saint-Catherine so they’ll have to turn left at Jeanne-Mance because Saint-Catherine is only open to pedestrians past there due to infrastructure work. Light’s green and the Explorer’s turning and pulling over. Nasir is out and crossing over towards Complexe Desjardins. Tim is stopping and Frank is after our second runaway. I just passed Tim and Jo and the Explorer is approaching de Maisonneuve. He’s probably going to head back west cuz he’s moved to the left lane. Wait, he’s stopping at the Metro. Saad is out and going for a subway ride and Mahmood is, yes, turning left on de Maisonneuve. I’m good to make the light and Tim is stopping behind me, Joanne is out.”