The Grey Zone

by Easton, Don

  Quaile’s fingers clicked away on the keyboard. He paused to frown, then clicked some more. Finally, he looked up, stunned. “They both got exactly 50.”

  I’m surprised neither of them adjusted their score slightly to make it less obvious that they’d seen through every question. Lexton cleared her throat. “Bring Stone in.”

  “Give them some rope to see if they hang themselves?” Quaile sounded optimistic.

  “Let’s hope that they don’t, but if they do, I’ll deal with it. It’s often the hard workers who attract the most attention from Internal. Those who sit on their asses doing nothing never receive much attention.” Take yourself, for example.

  Quaile stared back blankly. Perhaps trying to digest what she’d said.

  “I’ll make it my business to keep an eye on the both of them,” Lexton continued. “I’d like to clear up these rumours and innuendos about Sergeant Taggart once and for all. If either one of them is dirty, I’ll see to it that they go down … and go down hard.”

  CHAPTER FORTY

  Jack had barely settled in to work on Monday morning when Mason phoned.

  “How’s it going?” Mason asked cheerfully. “You find an apartment for me?”

  “Yes, you’ll be moving into it on Saturday, September first. Also have a car lined up for you. It’s a Mercedes-Benz Cabriolet, a red two-door convertible. The plates will be registered to a company offshore but with a post office box in Vancouver.”

  “Sweet.”

  “That’ll be temporary, though. You’ll be falling on hard times, and after the bad guys see it once, you’ll be driving something a lot cheaper.”

  “Damn, I hate these downturns in the economy,” Mason joked. “What’s the apartment like?”

  “Luxury one-bedroom suite in Vancouver that overlooks a golf course on one side and the Fraser River on the other. Secure underground parking and secure access for all entrances, including a locked gate on a footpath leading into the property.”

  “Sounds nice. I can live in it while I’m looking for my own place,” Mason added gleefully.

  “Your own place?”

  “Staffing called an hour ago. They wanted to know if I’d like a transfer to the Vancouver Intelligence Unit.”

  “You’re kidding!”

  “Nope. So I told them I’d like a month to think about it.”

  “Oh.”

  “That time I was kidding. Hell, yes, is what I told them! The transfer is effective immediately.”

  “That’s great news!”

  “I’ll have a bit of running back and forth for court, but basically all I have to do is give my apartment manager thirty days’ notice and pack my bags. Might sell my car, too. It’s rusting out. Can’t wait to get away from all the snow.”

  “We get some snow. You’ll need an umbrella, for sure.”

  “Rain I can put up with. By the way, I’ve booked my flight for the UC. I’ll be arriving Thursday morning. The flight gets in at ten.”

  “I’ll have Laura and Alicia meet you at the airport and bring you your new set of wheels. I’ve got an appointment then to sign some papers and get the keys to a covert office we’ll be using. It’s a commercial space on the ground floor of an apartment complex in Surrey, which is close to Burnaby.”

  “Great.” Mason paused. “When I arrive I’d like to go see Sally. She’s stressed about how Greg’s going to be when he’s brought out of his coma on Friday. Me, too, for that matter. Maybe we could hold off getting together until after that?”

  “Take whatever time you need.” Jack paused as feelings of guilt came back to haunt him. “I’ve been wondering whether or not I should be at the hospital, as well.”

  “I don’t think Sally wants anyone else around. She said she doesn’t want everyone staring at him or to see other people’s reactions until she’s dealt with her own. Greg’s mom will be there, of course … and Sally wants me there for support, but that’s all.”

  “I understand.”

  Mason paused. “I sure am looking forward to being transferred out there,” he said in a desperate change of subject.

  “I’m pleased, as well. We could really use another experienced operator on our team. With you here, there’ll be four of us.”

  “I’m still not certain exactly what it is you do.”

  “We’re like a thorn in the side of organized crime families.”

  “A thorn, eh? Guess I’ll have to change that. Wouldn’t a dagger be better?”

  Jack smiled. He and Mason were going to be good friends.

  * * *

  Mason arrived on schedule Thursday morning and was met at the airport by Laura and Alicia, who gave him the keys to his undercover car. It was almost noon the following day when Jack, Laura, and Alicia saw the arrival of the rented furniture for their new office. They were still putting it in place when Rose entered.

  “Got you all a housewarming gift,” she said, removing a coffee maker and half a dozen mugs from a shopping bag.

  “Much appreciated,” Jack said. “Although a fridge in my office to store olives would’ve been nicer.”

  “Yes, and a widescreen television for the rest of us,” Laura added.

  “Okay, you assholes, it’s not too late for me to return this,” Rose said, making a pretense of putting the coffee maker back in the bag.

  “Only kidding,” Jack said quickly. “Thanks, it’s a thoughtful gift.”

  “Yes, thank you,” Laura and Alicia chimed in.

  “You’re welcome.” Rose looked around. The space consisted of a large front office with a smaller office toward the back. There was one washroom alongside a sink and a few cupboards. She nodded in apparent satisfaction. “Looks good. What did you tell the property management that you do?”

  “I said we’re a collection agency that works for lawyers tracking down people who’ve skipped out on their alimony payments.”

  “That’d cover your comings and goings at odd times,” Rose noted.

  “Exactly. I said I wouldn’t be putting any name on the door because of threats we’ve received from the people we located, plus because we already have more business than we can handle and don’t want to advertise.”

  “How’d they respond to that?”

  “They promised to keep our business to themselves.”

  “Perfect. Your office number is 111, so I guess I’ll start referring to you as the triple one team.”

  “Works for me,” Jack replied. “Our guys are supposed to arrive soon with a safe and to install alarms. I’ll get them to cut some extra keys and give you a copy.”

  “About the UC, did you arrange a meeting with Special O?”

  “Yes. Monday’s a stat holiday, so I booked the boardroom for Tuesday at one p.m., plus I invited MCU and I-HIT to attend. They won’t be involved in any of the surveillance, but I figured they should be kept in the loop.”

  “Good.”

  “I’ll make sure everyone is familiar with the areas we’ll be in and give Special O a chance to figure out where they can watch from.”

  “Are you going to have Special O tail Derek?”

  “No, I don’t want to risk heating him up. On Thursday I’ll call him to set up an appointment and get the ball rolling.”

  Rose nodded solemnly, then glanced at her watch. “Lunchtime. How about I spring for pizza?”

  “Hey, buying us a coffee maker and lunch — sounds to me like you’re missing us already,” Laura said.

  “Like a dog missing its fleas,” Rose retorted.

  * * *

  Rose departed lunch, and the others waited for the RCMP members specializing in property security to arrive.

  “Can we talk about the actual undercover operation?” Alicia asked.

  “Sure,” Jack said, leaning back in a swivel chair with his hands clasped behind his head. “Tomorrow Mason will move into his apartment, so I can fill him in then about what his role will be.”

  “What about Laura and me?” Alicia asked. “What parts d
o we play?”

  “I’ll tell you how I hope things will go,” Jack replied. “On Thursday I’ll rent a suite at the Pan Pacific Hotel. I’ve got a contact there, and she’ll give me a good deal. Once there, I’ll use a cellphone the UC coordinator got me from Alberta to call Powers at his office and arrange to meet him. Without coming out and saying it, I’ll give him enough information to figure out I’m in town to buy dope and that the person I’ve been dealing with for the last few years has suddenly made me suspicious.”

  “That being Mason,” Alicia noted.

  “Yes. I’ll say he has new business contacts who I want to identify. Then I’ll meet with Mason someplace where it’ll be easy for Powers to follow him afterward. The licence plate on his UC car is connected to a post office box, so that won’t give Powers any info, presuming he can access that type of information.”

  “He’ll have to follow Mason to find out his address,” Laura said.

  “Right. I want Powers to see that Mason lives in a very secure location. A location that wouldn’t be suitable to try and kidnap him from. However, prior to Mason going to his apartment, I’ll have him stop at a restaurant to help set up the story. Hopefully someplace that isn’t crowded at that time of day and that has booths.”

  “Why booths?” Alicia asked.

  “To make it easy for Powers or his people to sit nearby and listen,” Jack said. “We’ll make it nighttime and out of the city so there are fewer customers and it’ll be easier to spot their surveillance and identify any new faces.”

  “Out near Langley would be good,” Alicia said enthusiastically. “I know just the place: Jessie’s Diner. I go there for dinner sometimes on my way home and it’s usually half-empty.”

  Jack shrugged. “Jessie’s Diner it is. Before Mason arrives, I’ll make sure Special O has one of the booths so they can vacate it for Derek’s people. Laura will already be waiting in the booth next to them, and she’ll play the role of Mason’s sister. Their conversation will confirm to Powers’s mind that Mason comes from a rich family. Laura will also drop the name of the cemetery Mason will be visiting in a couple of days, the ideal spot to later kidnap him from. There will be minimal risk to the public, and our Emergency Response Team can easily move in and make the arrests.”

  “That’s after you pretend that Mason ripped you for half a mil,” Laura said, “to get Powers to suggest kidnapping Mason when he goes to the cemetery.”

  “Exactly,” Jack replied.

  “But what about me?” Alicia protested. “What’s my role?”

  “I’m going to get you to buy Mason’s car from him so they won’t be able to keep following him in the event they put a tracker on it.”

  “That’s it? That’s all I get to do? That’s bullshit!” Alicia’s face reddened. “This was my case from the beginning! There hasn’t been a day over the last two years that I haven’t thought about what happened to Tommy. Did you know the little guy was going to be a pianist? That is, until someone blindfolded him, kept him in a trunk for two days without food or water, then chopped off his fingers!” She glared at Jack. “It isn’t fair to relegate me to being some background player. I’ve invested too much into this file. I should at least be able to play the sister.”

  “It’s nothing personal,” Jack said evenly, hoping to calm her down. “This is a serious case, and you don’t yet have the UC experience that Laura does.”

  “I’ve had the course, and how the hell do I get experience if you cut me out of things? I’ve never testified in court as a UC operator, either. In fact, it’s been over a year since I’ve been to court, and whenever I do go, I put my hair up in a bun. There’s no way I’d be recognized, especially not just popping in for a moment to pretend to be Mason’s sister.”

  “Listen —”

  “And come on! Laura as Mason’s sister?” Alicia looked at her. “No offence meant, but you’re at least ten years older than Mason. He’s only two or three years older than me,” Alicia went on. “I’d be far more believable as his sister.”

  Laura’s eyebrows knitted. She mauled her lower lip with her teeth, then looked at Jack. “She does have a point.” Damn it, Laura. “And don’t you be saying, et tu, Brute,” she warned. “You know I’m right. Besides, it’d be like a cameo appearance. In and out. Give the kid a chance.”

  Maybe that’s it. I feel like she is a kid. My kid … who I need to protect.

  Alicia was staring at him, waiting for a reply.

  “Okay, you can do it.”

  “All right!” Alicia shouted.

  Jack smiled at her enthusiasm, despite his misgivings. “I’ve rented a BMW for you to drive. How does the name Ally Jenkins sound?”

  “A Bimmer! That’s great. I’ve always wanted to drive one.”

  “The name?” Jack reminded her.

  “Sure, Ally Jenkins is fine.”

  “The story is that you’re divorced, so if Derek searches for your rich mother, he may think Jenkins is your married name. The address on your plate will be another post office box.”

  “What colour is it?” Alicia asked.

  “Don’t know yet. Hang on, my phone.”

  “Jack, uh, this is Mason. I’m at the hospital. Greg’s … oh, Christ …” He paused in an apparent attempt to control his emotions. “Greg’s out of the coma. It’s not good. He didn’t recognize Sally, or his mother, or me. It’s really bad. They’re both bawling their eyes out.”

  Jack wanted to say something and opened his mouth, but couldn’t find the words.

  “The neurosurgeon said he may improve in time,” Mason continued, “but he warned us that Greg may never even be able to feed himself.”

  “I don’t know what to say,” Jack said. “There aren’t words enough express how bad I feel.”

  “I know. I feel the same whenever I look at Sally and his mom.”

  “Is there anything we can do?”

  “I don’t know. They want to … never mind. I’ll need to arrange it myself.”

  “Arrange what?”

  “A plastic surgeon spoke to us. It’ll be some time before he’s able to start his operations on Greg, but he’s asked us for some recent photos to use as a guide in reconstructing Greg’s face. Sally mentioned their wedding photographs. Maybe when I go back next I’ll get them.” Mason paused. “Fuck, I’m babbling. I don’t even know what I’m saying, let alone why I’m telling you all this.”

  “I was going to have you move into the apartment and talk to you about the UC tomorrow, but all that can wait,” Jack said. “Take a few days to —”

  “I don’t need a few days,” Mason said vehemently. “What I need is to have that face to face you talked about.”

  CHAPTER FORTY-ONE

  There was a knock at the door of the Pan Pacific Hotel’s Bayview suite overlooking Vancouver Harbour. Jack answered it.

  “Hello, I’m Derek Powers. Mr. Roberts, I presume?”

  “You can call me Jack,” he replied, accepted a handshake. “Come on in.”

  Derek entered and appeared to admire the room and the view. “Nice suite,” he said.

  Jack shrugged. “It’ll do.” He gestured to one of two sofas, each facing a Ming-style Cho-leg coffee table. “Have a seat. Would you like anything to drink? I’m thinking of ordering a beer.”

  “Uh, no, thanks. I’m fine,” Derek replied as he took a seat.

  Jack glanced at his watch. “I forgot you’re an hour behind,” he said, then adjusted his watch. “I want to thank you for taking the time to come over here. I drove out from Calgary and my engine started acting up, so I dropped it off at the Lexus dealership for them to look at. They said they’d drive it back to the hotel for me, so I wanted to wait.”

  “That’s no problem. My office is only a fifteen-minute walk away. Have they delivered it?”

  “A few minutes ago.”

  “A Lexus is a nice car. What model?”

  “An RC. Turns out I got some bad gas. It’s running smoothly now.”

&nb
sp; “So, what can I do for you, Jack? On the phone you said you wanted me to check someone out?”

  “Yeah, I’ve got a bad feeling about this guy. I’ve been doing business with him off and on for a couple of years, but lately he’s … I don’t know. He’s acting strange. I’d like you to take a look at him. Also find out who he meets after me.”

  “What sort of business are you in?”

  “Uh, I’m an entrepreneur. I invest in different things. Sort of a cash-based business. I purchase different types of merchandise or property that I can turn for profit.”

  “I see.”

  Yeah, I bet you do, asshole. “Speaking of which, I prefer to pay you in cash. Don’t know what you charge. One, two Gs a day?”

  Derek’s face brightened. “We can discuss that later. It’ll depend upon what you want and how many of my people I’ll need to use.”

  “Makes sense. Anyway, what I do isn’t important,” Jack said, giving a wave of his hand as if to brush the topic aside. “Mason, the guy I deal with, is one of these rich kids who has an overinflated sense of entitlement. About a month ago he told me his mom kicked him out of the house because she’d caught him coming out of the maid’s quarters one morning. He was all indignant and pissed off. I laughed at him. The guy’s gotta be thirty years old. What the hell is he doing living with his mommy, for fuck sakes?”

  Derek shook his head as if in disgust.

  “I think he may have a problem. Perhaps a little too much of this,” Jack said, touching his nostril with his index finger. “If not that, maybe something else.”

  “Do you have his address?”

  “I don’t even know his last name, let alone his address. The kind of business we’re in … well, no. I don’t want him knowing anything about me, either, including where I’m staying. Where he hangs his hat is one of the things I’d like you to find out. I don’t know where his mother lives, either, although I do have her number — Mason was switching phones one day and gave it to me. Mind you, it’s a cellphone, so that doesn’t really help. I’m supposed to meet him tomorrow night for a drink. I figured you could follow him after.”