The Analyst (Emily Lee Series Book 1)

by K. A. Bragonje

  Xander walked over to the big screens and tapped away on his tablet. A moment later an overhead photo of the city popped up. The image zoomed in from a bird’s eye view to an overhead view of a suburb and the bay to the right.

  Schultz stepped closer to the screen, concentrating on what was in front of him. “Where’s this?” He pointed to the image of suburbia Melbourne.

  “Just a minute.”

  The screen zoomed in further. Air conditioning units and roof peaks became visible. The image moved a little farther south, and a shoreline and rows of boats appeared.

  A red dot flashed on the screen.

  “Don’t tell me-” Schultz turned to Xander.

  “Things just got worse. What you’re looking at there is Melbourne’s first sea port, now bustling Williamstown. Now, if I zoom in a little further you should see a boatshed butting onto the bay.” He tapped his tablet. “I’ve sent the coordinates to your phone.”

  “Send them to all available personnel. Get everyone out there.” His phone buzzed as he started stepping towards the door. “Also, send out the chopper and the dogs. Now.”

  Schultz paused at the door and looked back at Xander, who was busily tapping away at his tablet.

  “Xander,” Schultz called to him in his stern voice. He waited for Xander to look up, then, with a smile, he said, “Good job,” and the doors closed behind him.

  “Smith, White. With me,” he ordered as he marched through the room full of detectives.

  “What’s up, boss?” short but fit middle-aged Smith asked.

  Both men scrambled after Schultz, who was already waiting at the elevator.

  “We have a ping on Lee. Check your phones.”

  On cue, their phones buzzed.

  “We’re off to the beach,” White joked as he looked up from his phone, pushing his black-rimmed glasses closer to his eyes.

  “It’s going to be far from a picnic.” Schultz wacked him over the back of his head.

  White’s glasses fell back down his nose. He pushed his glasses back up when the elevator doors opened.

  “What do we know?” White asked as they took their places inside.

  Schultz tapped the close-door button before turning to White. “We’ll find out when we get there.”

  Chapter 39

  Schultz plugged his earphones into his cell phone jack, placed one ear bug in his right ear and dialed Xander.

  “Xander, talk to me,” Schultz asked the moment the call connected.

  “Okay, you’re about ten minutes out. She’s hasn’t moved.”

  “Ten minutes! Put your foot down, White.”

  White planted his foot on the accelerator and the momentum pushed them all back into their seats.

  “Make that five,” Schultz returned to his phone call. “How’s the surveillance in the area?”

  “Sorry, boss, it’s a dead spot. There’s only the one camera next door, but that’s facing into their yard.”

  “Shit.” Schultz thumped his door panel.

  “Chopper is about three minutes out,” Xander advised.

  “Okay,” Schultz spoke in a calm voice. “Get them to stay back a bit. We don’t want to spook them, not when there’s open water at their back door.”

  “Before you go, boss... We’ve just lost signal to Lee’s phone.”

  “You’ve got to be shittin’ me.”

  White pushed the car further. Schultz held on while White swerved in between traffic, blaring his horn for anyone not getting out of their way fast enough despite their lights flashing and sirens blaring.

  It was times like this Schultz didn’t like traveling in undercover vehicles. The seconds ticked by slowly as they waited for cars to get out of their way.

  “Right, stand by. I’m switching over to the earpiece.”

  Schultz unplugged his earphones and threw them to the floor before placing his ear piece in position and syncing it with his phone.

  “You there, Xander?” Silence. “Xander?” he repeated.

  “Receiving you loud and clear. You’re less than a minute away. There’s been no reported movement.”

  “How about out the back?”

  Schultz listened as Xander spoke to someone in the background.

  “Nothing there either.”

  “Let’s hope we’re not too late.” With Xander still on the phone, Schultz turned his phone’s screen saver on and tucked it away in his shirt pocket.

  Looking out his window towards the bay, he spotted their chopper hovering.

  “Too close,” he whispered, shaking his head.

  “What’s your gut tellin’ ya?” Smith asked as he sat forward in his seat.

  Schultz let out a dry chuckle. “The facts are there’s been no reported movements.”

  “Not since the boys have been up there. How about before?”

  Schultz craned his neck forward. Police cars blocked off the street. White pulled to the side as he was directed by a uniformed officer.

  The car was still rolling to a stop when Schultz hopped out. He checked his holster; still there.

  “Schultz,” he showed the local officer his credentials, “and White and Smith.” They also flashed her their badges.

  “Good. We’ve been here about ten minutes. There’s been no movement,” the female officer said, nodding at the detectives’ identification.

  “Okay.” Schultz glanced up at the line of sheds converted to a variety of boating shop fronts.

  “Second shed,” Xander’s voice came through on the earpiece.

  Schultz moved his eyes to the second shed.

  A simple roller door on one side and a double glass door with head-level windows on either side of the door. Corrugated iron requiring a fresh coat of paint adorned the front.

  “Only the one entrance?”

  “Yes, sir,” the officer replied.

  “How about the two side gates?”

  “That side,” she pointed to the side gate on the left side of the sheds, “is blocked. No way anything can get through all that crap. But there’s a security gate to the right.”

  “Who controls that gate?” White asked.

  “They do,” she pointed to the last building, the one alongside the gate.

  “Anyone spoken to them?”

  “My partner is in there. Ah, here he comes.”

  A tall officer with a developing paunch stepped out of the shop. He glanced to the middle building as he walked directly to them.

  “Pretrove, this is Detectives Schultz, White and Smith.”

  Nods were exchanged between them.

  “Did you find anything?” Schultz asked, cutting the pleasantries.

  “No one has been through those gates today, except for employees.”

  “Employees of all these?” Schultz swung his arm around, highlighting the neighboring buildings.

  “No, just theirs.”

  “How ‘bout the building in question?”

  “A corporation took over a short-term lease two months ago.”

  Schultz stared at the buildings, thinking.

  “The owner did say...” Pretrove had Schultz’s full attention again. “They saw a group of people enter the middle shed a few hours ago. And they haven’t seen them leaving yet.”

  “Do they have access to the bay?” Schultz asked.

  “Yes. There’s a marina out the back, and they’ve seen the tenants arrive and leave in a boat almost daily since they’ve taken on the lease. While I was in there, we checked their security cameras, and their boat is still docked.”

  “Good. We need to get the rear of the sheds covered.” He directed the order to White and Smith before continuing, “Up above isn’t going to cut it. Not with these guys.”

  “What do you need us to do?” the female officer asked.

  “Just stay here and keep the traffic away. Pretrove, is it?” Before Pretrove could reply, Schultz was giving more orders. “Evacuate all neighboring buildings. Get them well out of the control zone.”


  “You think there could be something big about to happen?” Pretrove asked.

  “Don’t underestimate these people,” Schultz replied.

  “Geez, we don’t usually get these people out here in the ‘burbs.”

  Schultz raised an eyebrow. Pretrove took the hint and quickly walked across the street.

  Schultz returned his attention to the middle building. “Just hope we’re not too late.”

  Chapter 40

  Emily kept her eyes focused on Fu as he circled around her limp father. His gun pointed at her father’s head while the other hand held the timer.

  Her body was covered in numerous bruises and cuts, and while she was unable to see her own face, she knew it must be inflamed. Her lips and cheeks felt puffy, and she was unable to see out of one eye.

  But she was able to see her father’s chest rise as he inhaled — not a lot. Just enough to know he was still alive. She couldn’t stand losing the last of her family, all on the same day.

  “Don’t worry, Emily S, your father is still alive. Only just.” An evil laugh erupted from deep within Fu’s belly.

  Emily’s eyes narrowed as she glared at him. “Emily S?”

  “Yeah, you heard me. You’re stripped of the family name. You don’t deserve it, not after continuously betraying the family.”

  “S?”

  Her father stirred. Fu stopped behind him and pressed the gun to the back of his head.

  “They were my same thoughts when I saw your adoption papers. What parents give their child a single-letter surname? Pretty pathetic, if you ask me. You’re not even a legal citizen.”

  Emily clenched her fists and pulled on her cuffs. After all her attempts, she’d only made a few indents into the arm rests. Her wrists were another story. They had taken the full brunt of the torture and were streaked with weeping wounds where the handcuffs had cut into her skin.

  Emily had known all along she’d been adopted, but that was all she’d been told. It was all she wanted to know. She didn’t care who’d given birth to her. All she cared for was that her adoptive parents treated her as if she was one of their own blood.

  “I don’t believe you. I don’t believe anything that comes out of that trap of yours.”

  “Brian, show her.”

  Without a word, Brian walked over to her, tapping away at a tablet. He presented her with a birth certificate.

  It looked like hers.

  “How do I know this is real? Anything can be forged these days. I’m sure Brian could’ve easily done that.” She glared at Brian.

  Brian shifted uneasily, not making eye contact.

  “Thank you, Brian. If she can’t be gracious...” Fu nodded to Brian before turning to Emily. “I thought you’d want to know who you really are before you die.”

  “Oh, I know who I am. I don’t need a piece of paper to tell me that.”

  “We all need to know where our roots are. And yours aren’t in this family.”

  “As you keep reminding me. If I’m such a disgrace to your family name, why don’t you just kill me? Get it over and done with. Come on. You know you want to.”

  Fu held up the timer. It now showed forty-five minutes.

  Emily’s hopes were dwindling fast. She knew she needed at least twenty minutes to get back into the city, and then she needed time to locate the bomb, and more time for defusing it.

  Emily felt the barrel of Fu’s gun press against the back of her head. She closed her eyes and the room fell silent. Even Brian’s soft tapping on the keyboards faded away. Emily kept her eyes closed, waiting.

  With her other senses blocked out, her hearing was sharper. In the distance, she could hear the faint rumble of a hovering machine. Still a way off, but not moving. A helicopter.

  The barrel moved away from the back of her head. She let out a small breath of relief through her nose, still on alert, as they wouldn’t have moved too far away. Probably getting ready to kill her now.

  Behind her she heard metal being screwed onto metal. A silencer? She grabbed the arm rest and looked at her father.

  Sorry, Dad. I’m so sorry for everything I’ve brought to the family. I love you, Dad. Please don’t forget that.

  Her father stirred, groaning in pain. A single gunshot echoed through the shed. Instinctively, Emily closed her eyes, bracing herself for the impact.

  A few seconds passed with no pain. Her eyes swung open. She looked herself up and down. No blood. Nothing.

  In front of her, her father’s head stooped. Fresh blood poured down his shirt.

  “You bastard,” Emily screamed, tears streaming down her face.

  “It was long overdue. He was always the weak one. Even our father saw him as the runt of the family. He was ashamed Tao shared the same DNA as him.”

  “He didn’t deserve this.”

  “We often believe we don’t deserve things. I’ll leave this with you.”

  Fu placed the timer on the table, the seconds ticking away.

  “Everyone,” he clicked his fingers over his shoulders. “Time to move out.”

  “Don’t think you’ll get away with it that easy.”

  Chapter 41

  “Gun shots, guns shots,” Schultz yelled into his handheld radio. “Move in, now.”

  Around him, heavily armored officers moved in. Schultz stayed by the vehicles and watched. The officers rushed over quietly, their knees slightly bent, guns poised, ready. They were about five meters from the shed... Two meters... Everyone was in place.

  Silence fell over the radio.

  Schultz silently mouthed “Three, two.” Then in his radio, “Now.”

  One group of men stormed the front door and another set forced the roller door open. They were all in.

  Schultz held his breath. He wiggled at his collar and wiped his forehead. Without a cloud in the sky or breeze off the bay, the sun beat mercilessly down on them.

  The helicopter moved into position near the water’s edge, a sun glare from one of its windows blinding Schultz. He shielded his eyes until the chopper moved slightly.

  As the daze disappeared, he was now able to see the armed officers with their guns pointed at the shed, waiting.

  “All clear in the front room,” a scratchy voice came over the radio.

  “No movement on the water,” another voice reported.

  Schultz kept his eyes on the building.

  “All clear, boss,” a voice over the radio said. “We have one deceased.”

  “Shit. Come on. Let’s see what we can find.”

  The armed uniforms moved in first, their guns sweeping around the room. White and Smith followed Schultz towards the boat sheds.

  “And one alive.”

  Schultz’s step quickened, the other two detectives almost jogging to keep up. He stormed past the men sweeping the area one last time. Schultz, White and Smith pulled their guns out, ensuring they were loaded and ready to go.

  “Eyes out. You just never know.” Schultz paused outside the roller door.

  It had been a few months since he’d completed his last sting, but he knew it was nothing compared to what they faced today. His usual stings involved drug manufacturers and dealers, and the worst they’d experienced were some unstable concoctions and gunfire. But those were visible and the locations had been well monitored. They knew exactly what they were going into.

  Here, he had no idea. The unknown was making him feel anxious.

  White and Smith nodded.

  “We’re coming in,” Schultz reported into the radio.

  He scanned the room. It was devoid of any furnishing. The only thing in the room was one van. Schultz signaled White and Smith, who swept around the van.

  From the front of the van, White whispered into the radio, “Still warm.”

  “All clear.” Smith signaled to Schultz.

  Schultz motioned for them to move towards the only other door at the rear of the room. Standing either side of the door, White and Smith both nodded at Schultz, who slowly opened it.
They moved in first, their guns sweeping around. Schultz was right behind them.

  His eyes fell on the two chairs and table in the center. One occupant he could only see an arm of, but the other person was slumped in their chair and covered in blood.

  Seeing their men surrounding the victims, the armed officers lowered their guns.

  “Schultz?” Emily turned to look at him.

  “Lee. Shit, look at you.” He ran over to her side. “Get her out of these things.” He rattled the handcuffs. “Now.”

  “It’s okay. We have bigger problems than these bracelets.”

  Schultz followed her gaze to the center of the table.

  “Forty minutes till what?” He reached for the timer, looking sideways at the cell phone alongside the device.

  “I wouldn’t touch it,” a nearby officer advised.

  “Why?” He looked between the officer and Lee. “Is that phone a detonator?”

  “No, that’s my phone, and according to my charming Uncle Fu, it’s connected to a bomb. Or maybe several. Both here and at the Bank of Victoria HQ. The button your finger is hovering over reduces our time.”

  Schultz looked around the room.

  “Where is your uncle?”

  “They made an exit out the back somewhere. Behind the machinery.” She gestured with her head towards the rear of the building. “Just before you guys stormed in here, I heard a splash and a motor.”

  “Smith.” Schultz moved his head towards the rear of the building.

  Without a word, Smith swept around the machinery and was out of sight.

  “Shit. How many are with him?” His attention was back on Lee.

  “Can I have my phone back?” She nodded towards the table.

  “I’ll need to take it in for evidence. You know, fingerprints.”

  Lee raised her eyebrow and repeated, “I want my phone. Wrap it in plastic if you must but I want my phone back.”

  Schultz nodded to someone behind her and a moment later an officer was placing her phone inside a labelled evidence bag and handed it to Schultz.

  “This isn’t leaving my eyesight.” He held it out towards Lee.

  “Yep, whatever.”

  Schultz hesitated for a moment before placing it on her lap.