He picked up the second phone to call Luke. He decided against it, at least until he got closer into Washington. It wouldn’t take Luck long to pinpoint his location on the new cell; GPS capable or not.
-----
Pat and Emily peered out the windows of the private jet as it landed at Groom Lake. Collins met them at the plane and drove them to the headquarters building. The rest of the team was waiting in the conference room.
Pat walked over to the coffeepot, poured a cup and took his place at the end of the oval table. Watts positioned herself toward the other end, sitting beside Doliver. He immediately sat up taller in his chair and smiled as she sat down.
Pat took a sip of his coffee and looked over his team before speaking, “Yesterday morning Director Lake and I went to the Oval Office to brief the President on our investigation thus far. As you can expect, the meeting could have went better.
“That is in no way a negative for our team, we had hoped the mission would have brought this to a conclusion.
Doliver speaking, “Pat, we wished the same. Finding Lang dead was not the way we wanted this to end.”
Looking toward Agents Lansing and Wilson, Pat asked, “Has the DNA confirmed; was it Lang?”
Cole answered, “Yes Sir, we got it back this morning; the remains were Jimmy Lang’s.”
“I am not sure if we had found him alive he would have been able to tell us the identity of the writer. What is frustrating is that he was our only solid lead,” Collins said.
“Agent’s Wilson and Lansing, have you been able to find anything useful on Donald Rayburn?” Pat asked.
Cole looked at Brad to provide the update, “Sorry, not much. Once he admitted he gave Charles King money from both his business and personal accounts it is hard to tag any of the funds to any illegal activity.
…..What Charles King did with the money is not Donald Rayburn’s legal concern. As far as being criminal, Cole and I agree he is dirty; even if we have no evidence to prove it.”
“While I am interested in your two’s intuitions, let’s find some hard facts to back them up. The President, not ten hours ago, told me to travel lightly on Donald Rayburn.”
Brad took over the conversation, “What Cole is saying is that Donald Rayburn has no problem bribing people in various positions of power to get what he wants. And usually what he wants is expanded fields to drill for oil.
“He travels constantly, taking a long list of Congressman, Senators, and his own lobbyists, to beautiful remote places where he can buy their votes.”
Greg breaks into the conversation, “You two are just pissed that he hasn’t taken you with him.”
…..Pat replies, “Brad, I am not interested in pinning Donald Rayburn to corruption charges; I need to tie him to the conspiracy that assassinated President Stephens. Do you have anything that can tie him to that?”
“No Sir, aside from his jaunts with people of power, he likes to stay close to home. He made one trip to Florida to play golf, California to go to the Oscars, and a trip a couple of years back to Vancouver. And he traveled to New Orleans this year during their festival season.”
“Collins looked toward Kenny Waits, who was also looking at him. “Brad, did you say Vancouver?”
“Yes Sir,” Brad answered. “Why?”
Pat, it may be nothing, but the man Kenny and I intercepted in the desert mentioned he was from Vancouver. Probably just a coincidence; Kenny, do you remember his name?”
Kenny replied, “His name was Gabriel Frazier; it’s in my mission notes. Brad, you and Cole did a scan on him; I remember it came back clean.”
Cole answered, “Yes, we checked into him. We even called the company he said he was working for in Phoenix; he checked out.”
Pat asking, “Ron, anything fishy about the guy? Do we need to take a second look?”
“He appeared to be just what he said; a tourist out for a drive. He did ask questions about the Osprey, and about bases in the area. Seemed like an OK guy.”
Pat asking, “Kenny, did you get any vibes from the guy?”
“I didn’t talk to him; I stayed back in the Scorpion covering Collins. I didn’t mention it to Collins, but he carried himself as if he had once been in the military. I can’t put my finger on it, but I did get that sense. Maybe he used to be a Mountie, or something,” Kenny replied.
“Let’s do a quick recap,” Pat said. “Ron, your team came across a subject in the proximity of Jimmy Lang’s house. He identified himself as Canadian, and showed you documents that substantiated his story.
“Agents Lansing and Wilson, using the information provided, as well as the on-scene pictures taken by the body camera on Collins, you were able to confirm his identity?”
Cole answering, “Yes Sir, we then called the Adven Corporation to be told that Gabriel Frazier was working at the headquarters in Phoenix. That he was due to return to their office sometime later that day.”
Pat saying, “Allow me to play the devil’s advocate; if Gabriel Frazier is tied to the group responsible for President Stephens’s assassination, why would he be within a thousand miles of Jimmy Lang’s residence? Didn’t you say that Lang had been dead at least a month?”
Chance adding, “Maybe we aren’t the only ones searching for the writer. They may be just as surprised as we were when the theory surfaced. I heard the name Gabriel plenty of times as a kid back in Sunday school. The dude’s always sent to warn somebody when God’s about to hit the scene. Didn’t Charles King say they all used biblical names?”
Everyone was trying to speak at once; Pat raised his hand to stop the commotion. “OK, this is what we are going to do. Brad, I want you and Agent Watts to head to Adven in the morning and speak with everyone who knows Gabriel Frazier.”
Brad Wilson raised his hand to speak, “Yes, Agent Wilson, would you like to add something?” Pat asked.
“Yes Sir, I have never been on a mission before. Are you sure I’m the best choice?”
“Frazier is supposedly a software designer and I would think that you or Cole would best talk the language.”
“I didn’t think about it that way.” Brad replied.
“Agent Watts, will you please make sure that Wilson gets back to Groom Lake in one piece? It would be hell to pay if one of the dynamic duos didn’t return.”
“I will do my best.” Emily replied.
“Agent Collins, I’ll arrange with the State Department for you and your team to fly into Vancouver to meet with the Royal Mounted Police. It will probably mean having to share something with the local detectives; let’s say that we suspect that Gabriel Frazier may be involved in corporate espionage.
…..“Let’s do a loose surveillance of his home and once you locate him, please get back with me. What we don’t want to do is move on the man until we have ironclad proof he’s bad.
“Agent Lansing, I am leaving you here to find a solid connection between Donald Rayburn and Gabriel Frazier. You can start by checking to see if Gabriel ever worked for Execo Energy. If true he is a software developer, Execo may be where he and Donald Rayburn crossed paths; if in fact they have.
“Ron, you can take my jet to Vancouver; I will catch a ride back to Washington out of Vegas. Agent Watts, you can commandeer one of the agency choppers to take you and Agent Wilson to Phoenix.
“OK, it would seem we have another couple of rabbit trails to go down. It’s been a tough week for all; let’s put everything on the backburner tonight. Chance, why don’t you pull out that grill I saw in the back of the building.
“Agent Watts and I didn’t fly in empty-handed. We left Washington with a Yeti cooler full of T-Bones and Sausage. Greg, could you eat a big ole steak brother?”
“Who’s cooking it?”
“You are!” Pat said smiling.
Doliver smiling back, “I’ll tell you all one thing, I refuse to cook a steak above medium. If you want a burnt steak, you are going to have to cook yourself. Well, except maybe for Agent Watts here. How do you like you
r steaks, Agent Watts?”
Agent Doliver, Greg, I like my steaks medium rare.” Emily answered.
He wished he was the one chosen to go with Agent Watts to Phoenix. Computer nerds; they get all the luck.
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
He called Luke once he hit the I-495 loop around Washington. He apologized to Luke and explained he had accidently left his phone back in Vancouver.
Luke told him, after making sure that Gabriel’s new phone had received the over the air encryption code, that his mission in Washington had changed. Luke no longer cared about the Congressman, or the hit on the second target. There was a new target and Gabriel would find the information at the hotel.
Luke explained that if he screwed up this mission, it could be his last. He wanted it to take place at the earliest opportunity. He also warned Gabriel about going off the rails again with another stupid gadget.
He told Luke not to worry; it would be handled. He hung up the phone, stopped the car on the side of the loop, and placed the phone under the front tire of the rental. After running back and forth over it a couple of times, he was content.
Gabriel would have no idea who his new target was until he reached the hotel. He would then decide if he would carry out this mission. He still had to appear one hundred percent with them. If he did make the hit; it would be his last. Then his energy would turn to getting personal.
When he arrived at the hotel, he started to look for the file, and decided it could wait until morning. Gabriel was tired and went to sleep thinking of Chloe; dreaming of their new life together.
-----
Their helicopter landed at Sky Harbor International Airport a little past ten the next morning. Watts and Wilson rented a car and drove to the Adven office building, located on Deer Valley Highway.
The two went to the security desk, flashed their credentials, and asked to speak with the companies HR manager. The Guard at the desk felt the need to call his manager over his two-way radio, and after a couple of minutes, another man approached them.
Emily smiled her biggest smile and the man made a quick call to the HR office and then requested they accompany him. At the HR office the security manager left the two alone in the waiting room. After a few minutes, a lady approached.
“I believe that you have asked to speak with me. My name is Linda Cross, I am the Corporate HR Director; how may I help you?”
Showing their credentials again, Agent Watts spoke, “Ms. Cross, my name is Emily Watts, and this is Agent Bradley Wilson. We are doing a background clearance on a contractor bidding on a government contract.”
“And this person who you are vetting; I take it they are an employee of Adven?” Linda Cross asked.
Brad speaking, “Ms. Cross, from the information we have, we believe that this individual may be a contract employee for Adven; possibly working in your software development group.”
“You can understand that we try to be cautious when it comes to giving out employee information. Did they not list our company under their job history on the bid proposal?”
“That’s just it; we can’t just trust that an application is correct. You would be surprised how many times we find applicants lying about employment records. If you would be more comfortable in our gaining a court order before we speak; we fully understand. We are down from Washington and would need to find a Federal Judge here in Phoenix. That shouldn’t take but an hour or so; then we’ll return.” Emily replied.
There was a moment of silence, “There is no reason to hold you folks up. Please follow me to my office and I will do my best to assist you.” Inside her office, she asked, “What is the name of the employee?”
“His name is Gabriel Frazier.” Brad answered.
“How do you spell Frazier? You wouldn’t happen to have his Social Security number, or date of birth, would you?”
“His name is spelled, F R A Z I E R, first name Gabriel.” Emily answered.
“I’m sorry; we have no one of that name working for our company as an employee, nor as a contractor. Maybe he did lie on his application form.”
Emily was looking at Brad hoping that he could come up with an explanation as to why the name hadn’t shown up. He said they had called Adven five minutes after Collins and Waits encountered Frazier in the desert. Did they not call as they said they had?”
Ms Cross, before we arrived we called your company to ask if Gabriel Frazier was in. We did this because, if here, we didn’t want him to find out we were performing the clearance check. We try to keep all finalists in the dark until the choice is made.”
“I understand, but we have no Gabriel Frazier in this office; or any office.”
Bradley replied, “The receptionist we spoke with told us that Gabriel Frazier was scheduled to be in the office today, but had yet to arrive this morning.”
“That is not possible; why would anyone say that he is here?” Ms. Cross replied, now slightly getting perturbed.
“That, I can’t answer. Maybe he is paying someone on your reception staff to cover for him. Maybe it’s all done for our benefit.”
“Again, highly unlikely; we have a room full of call takers on the second floor and you would never get the same person twice. He would have had to bribe fifty people in order to pull this off.”
Brad excused himself for a moment and went into the hallway to make a call to Cole Lansing. A short conversation later, he returned to the HR Director’s office. “Ms. Cross, would you be so kind to escort us down to the Call Center? I have a little experiment I would like to try. It may possibly clear this whole thing up.”
Emily gave Brad a “what’s up” look as they headed back to the elevator. Once inside the call center, Brad took out his cell phone and dialed the main number into the Adven offices. His phone rang two times before a woman answered, “Good Morning, Adven, how may I assist you?”
“Yes, good morning, I would like to speak with Gabriel Frazier please.” Brad replied.
The call taker hesitated, while she searched her computer for the name in the directory. Almost immediately another person returned to his line, “Who would you like to speak to again, please?” the new person asked.
“Brad smiled, and replied, “Yes, I was waiting to speak with Gabriel Frazier.”
…..“Sir I just checked, and it seems that Mr. Frazier hasn’t made it in yet this morning. I do expect him; may I connect you to his voice mail?”
“No that’s fine; I will try him again later; thank you.” Brad said, hanging up the phone.
Both ladies were staring at him when he put the phone back into its holder on his belt.
Emily waited a couple of seconds, and said, “What?”
Brad asked for the room’s attention for a moment. He asked if one of the call takers had received a call in the last couple of minutes for a Gabriel Frazier. A small woman stood in a small cubicle, and raised her hand. The three walked over to the woman.
Brad introduced himself and Emily. The call taker told them she had received a call for a Gabriel Frazier, and while searching he database for his name, her line went dead. Unable to find his name in their database, she figured the caller realized their mistake.
Back in the hallway, Brad spoke to Ms. Cross, “Thank you for your assistance; I believe we have the answers we need concerning Mr. Frazier.”
“Not so fast; I heard you speaking with someone other than Mary on that call. How is that possible?”
“To be perfectly honest with you, I have no idea whatsoever. PBX systems are way outside of my job description. I understand that we have some pretty good IT people in the government. We will check with them, and get back to you with our best answer. Again, it was good to meet you.”
Outside the building Emily Watts walked ahead of Brad and stopped him in his tracks. “Do you two,” speaking of the call he had made to Cole Lansing, “have any explanation of what just happened in there?” Just then his phone rang, and he answered it. After a short conversation, he hung up.
“That was Cole. Playing on a hunch he just called five of the Fortune 500 companies asking to speak with Gabriel Frazier. In every instance he was told that Gabriel was out of the office; but that he could leave a message.”
Emily stood on the street corner in silence for some time before speaking, “Brad, how is that even possible?”
…..Walking back toward the car, Brad answered, “The thing is, I wasn’t lying to Ms. Cross. We have absolutely no idea how Frazier could have pulled this off. There is not a country on this earth that wouldn’t kill to have this technology.”
“Cole is already relaying this to Director Drice, and I would expect that Adven will soon have a small army going through every operating system the company uses.”
-----
Ron Collins, and his team, arrived in Vancouver to a cold reception from the Canadian Government. Cordial enough, but there was no hiding they weren’t keen on having this group of barbaric interlopers seeking information about a Canadian citizen.
After an hour of going back and forth on why the American Government was so interested in Gabriel Frazier, they finally started to believe they were investigating possible corporate espionage. There was evidence that connected Mr. Frazier in selling both American and Canadian trade secrets through intellectual software piracy to foreign governments.
They explained that they needed to determine if Gabriel Frazier was currently in Vancouver as U.S. surveillance had lost him a few days earlier. If he was in Vancouver, they would pick up surveillance of Frazier. Also, the American government had requested, and gained approval, by the Canadian government, to search, and place audio devices in the Frazier home.
If the Frazier’s were home, they would set up surveillance and search the house once it was unoccupied. When they arrived at the Frazier home it was clear the house was empty due to the number of newspapers littering the doorway. One of the plain cloths Canadian officers went to the next door neighbor’s house asking if they knew where the Frazier’s might be.
The Iscariot Factor (Half Staff Book 2) Page 16