The neighbor told him that both had left days before, and that he noticed luggage with them. Neither had mentioned a trip out of town, though it wasn’t unusual for Gabriel to travel. His wife, Chloe, was more of a homebody.
They waited until after dark and made entry into the home. In the main bedroom they found clothes in the closets. It looked like the couple might have taken a short trip out of town. Searching the home, they found nothing that would tie Gabriel to a life other than what he portrayed. Pictures in the house showed a pretty wife, and an average upper class family.
Ron Collins stepped outside the residence and called Director Drice. Ron relayed their findings, and Pat told him about what Watts and Brad found in Phoenix. Gabriel was now their key suspect. He told Ron to pull out of the house without leaving any evidence they had been there.
Ron was to continue to monitor the home in case Gabriel returned. If he did, they were to take him alive. Pat said that he would have Director Lake call the Canadian government and have their people pulled from the case.
Pat reiterated that Gabriel Frazier must be taken alive, and brought back to the U.S. He said that the twins were still searching for a connection between Gabriel and Donald Rayburn. He was unclear if it would pan out. For the moment, his only concern was capturing Gabriel.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Gabriel had showed and ordered room service before retrieving the file. The file was unusually thin, containing only a note and a photograph. He recalled seeing the photo before and reading the name he now understood why his picture seemed so familiar. His target was Secret Service Agent Pat Drice.
Scanning the sheet, Luke read that Drice was now with the Central Intelligence Agency, serving under the guise of Deputy Director. Luke gave no hint why Drice was the target; but then again, Luke never did.
Absent was the cell phone that often helped Gabriel complete a hurried mission. Included on the sheet were Drice’s home address and a list of locations Drice was known to visit. The note also had the address of the hospital where Drice’s wife worked. While there was no picture included, Gabriel closed his eyes and pictured what Beth might look like. Then he let his mind rest on Chloe for a moment.
He studied the photo of Drice again, and remembered that it had been Agent Drice who went to arrest Charles King, or as Gabriel knew him; Matthew. It was during the arrest that Matthew took the high drive from one of his office windows.
He wondered if the hit on Drice was retaliation for the death of King or for something more recent. After learning that Matthew had been responsible for his grandfather’s death, Gabriel felt a tinge of remorse that Drice was his target.
He thought about his close call with the Commando team in Arizona. He questioned whether that was tied to Drice also. This hit had to be more than retribution for Matthew’s leap. Gabriel sat the photo down, finished his BLT, and began to dress. He looked out the window of the hotel, seeing it was going to be a beautiful summer day; a great day to retire.
After dressing, he took the stairs down to his car and opened the trunk, to make sure his case was intact .Driving into Washington, it was a little past nine in the morning, and the traffic into town was horrible.
Before 9-11, most security around the government buildings was lax; at best. Since, the chance of going undetected throughout the city was slim. Cameras that used to be located at major points of interest now seemed randomly placed throughout. But Gabriel knew there was nothing random about their placement.
Shot Spotter detection systems were being used in Washington soon after they were invented. This system, first used by the U.S. military during the first Afghanistan war, uses software technology to signal where a gunshot was fired.
System software instantaneously directs a camera to the exact location of where the gunshot originated. Often, the shooter is captured on video milliseconds after pulling the trigger. Newer models can also determine the caliber of weapon fired; by the sound and velocity of the bullet.
Gabriel looked at the roofs of the adjoining buildings and determined the risk was too high. He would have to fall back to plan B; the residence. He left his car parked, placed additional coins in the meter, deciding to spend some time in the Air & Space Museum. He had been there once on a high school field trip.
-----
Pat caught the shuttle flight from Groom Lake to McCarran Airport in Vegas. First Class was full so he was assigned a seat in the rear section of the Boeing 777. He had to fill out a form with the TSA, allowing him to carry his weapon on board. His credentials as a Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency caused the gate agent to halt boarding, while she tried to accommodate her VIP passenger.
Pat kept stating that he was fine in coach but she offered one of the First Class passengers a chance to fly first class on a flight leaving fifty minutes later. She also offered a free upgrade to First Class status on their next flight. A passenger took her up on the deal.
He called Beth before his plane took off to tell her he would be home for dinner that evening. He would have to stop by his office at Langley, but would head home after that. Once at his office Pat checked in with Collins to see if they had seen any hide or hair of Frazier. Ron said that he had sent Doliver to see if Gabriel’s wife was at work; he had not heard back.
He then checked with Emily to see if she and Wilson had returned to Groom Lake. The CIA had a team on the ground in Phoenix, but was no closer to finding out how Frazier had infiltrated the phone systems; and who had been handling the call requests on the other end.
Cole and Brad had locked themselves into Twinsville. The only thing they said was it had to be a new form of firmware embedded in all the affected PBX systems. And it could only have been accomplished at the manufacturing level.
Pat called Director Lake and gave him a quick briefing. The Director asked about Donald Rayburn and Pat told him that Mr. Rayburn was on a back burner while they tried to close in on Gabriel. He promised the Director that he would keep him up to date, and then headed home.
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Gabriel was in position when he saw the black suburban turn down the street in Georgetown. He had never grown accustom to big city life. Vancouver was too large to ever feel like he could put down roots. He did however like the feel of Georgetown, with the older homes and large live oak trees.
In a different time, this might be a place where he and Chloe could feel at home together. He cleared his head and took a few quick breaths. Now his focus was fully on his target; his mission.
The suburban stopped in front of the house, and one, of the two agents exited the front passenger side. He was moving toward the rear door to open it, but the target was already half way out. He motioned for the bodyguard to get back inside the vehicle; he could take it from here.
The man stopped and looked into the window of the house. Gabriel sensed that the man was pleased to find life in it. Gabriel noticed the lights inside the home gave off a soft yellow glow to the outside. These older homes seemed to have a life-pulse of their own.
He hoped the agents would drive off before his target reached the front door. The thick glass would make a window shot too iffy, and he didn’t want to move from his perch and enter the house. He would not hesitate to kill both agents if needed to complete the mission.
Fortunately, his target decided to check the mailbox, which gave the suburban time to reach the first block and turn left. Gabriel waited until the man bent forward, looking down into the mail box, when he sent the 308 bullet from his MRAD sniper rifle screaming into the back of his skull.
The impact of the shell slammed the head of the man forward into the mail box, knocking it off its brick structure. Any sound deflection from the silencer on the weapon was voided by his loud impact with the mailbox.
Gabriel backed off the roof of a house, some eight hundred yards west of the residence, and made his escape. He drove in silence as he made his way to his chartered jet at Dulles. Earlier in the day he had been able to track
down a cell phone number, and now was ready to make the call.
The man answered on the second ring, “Hello.”
“Is this Director Drice?”
“It is. How can I help you?”
“I called because I thought that you might want to thank me.”
“Thank you for what? Who is this again?” Pat said, not sure who would have this number.
“A few minutes ago I fired a bullet intended for you, and, well let’s just say that I sent it another direction. I expect that you will hear about it soon enough.”
Pat’s mind began to race, wondering if he had a lunatic on the line, or if the man was speaking the truth. Worse, what if it were both? He took a second to compose himself before he asked the next question.
“Is this going to be a guessing game, or are you going to tell me who took my so-called bullet?” Pat said aggressively.
“Tell you what, let’s play a game of Simon says.” Gabriel replied. “You do know how to play Simon says, don’t you Director Drice?”
“Look, I don’t know who you are, or how you got this number, but I think that this conversation is over.” Pat said bluntly.
“I guess you didn’t get the connection with the name Simon. I should have been clearer. Perhaps if I said the name Matthew, it would mean something to you.”
Pat hoped the caller couldn’t hear how fast his heart was beating, “You have my attention now. I don’t know anything about Simon; I only know of Matthew.”
“To be honest with you Director Drice, I don’t have all the answers either. But unlike you, I know several of the players. If we can come to an agreement we can probably both get out of this alive.”
Gabriel could hear a small change in Drice’s voice, and asked, “What, tired of speaking with me already?”
“No, I was getting another call.”
“Answer it; I will hold. It may be important to our story.”
A few seconds later Pat was back on the phone with his caller, “You expect me to believe the Secretary of the Treasury, Randal Hargrove, is this person Simon?”
“You say tomato, I say tomahto. Believe whatever you wish, but I knew him as Simon. I figured that would be a call about your old boss.”
“And why would you kill one of your own people?” Pat asked.
“First, they are not my own people. I am a hired gun; not a true believer. I chose Simon over you because I recently found out those people had been lying to me for years.”
“Not sure if Simon was included in that group, but I wanted to show them that I am not happy camper. I plan on retiring after today. Now the agreement we discussed.”
Pat thought for a second, and then replied, “Mr. Frazier, I am not sure that I can enter an agreement with the man who just killed Randal Hargrove.”
“Again, tomato-tomahto; Gabriel Frazier is just a name. Good work though, I wondered if your people would go beyond the standard follow-up after our meeting.
“This call has taken a little longer than I wished, but I promise that I will be in contact soon. Before I go however, I feel compelled to say this to you. I am not the only hired gun within this group. I don’t know names, or how many there are, but I know that I am not the only one.
“My decision to trade you for Simon is not going to set well. Whatever has been going on between you and the group just intensified tenfold. I would suggest that you do whatever you need to do to protect yourself, your wife, and your team.
“I do plan on aiding you where I can; but trust me when I say it will be on my terms. My second suggestion in our little alliance is that you will forget about me; I have more bullets than just that one.
“When the timing is right, I will vanish. Let me repeat, I have nothing to do with whatever is going on between the group and the government. I would appreciate it; no, I demand that you leave me out of it. I have my hunches, and they are probably true. Believe it, or not; in some ways I am a victim also.”
Before Pat could reply the call went dead. Beth, who had been listening to Pat’s end of the conversation, looked totally confused as to what had just taken place. She wasn’t alone.
Pat’s first call was to Director Lake, who agreed with him as to the steps he was about to implement. The second call was to the new Director of the Secret Service. Pat told Director Watson to lock down the President until further notice. Only the most trusted agents, the most trusted staff, should reach him. If he balked, or had questions, he needed to call Director Lake.
Next call was to Agent Collins and his team in Vancouver. He ordered them back to Groom Lake immediately. He told Collins to contact his wife, who was just settling in at Nellis Air Force Base. Agent Watts would be on her way to pick her up and take her back to Groom.
Pat called Agent Hawkins, with the Marshal’s Service, and told the agent to round up the entire Morgan family. An agency jet would be standing by at Denver International to take them to Groom Lake.
He turned to Beth and told her to pack some things; they would be leaving in less than ten minutes. He suddenly remembered Lisa Grant. He called Agent Hawkins back and told him to have Lisa picked up and taken to Andrews Air Force Base. An Air Force plane would be standing by to bring her to Groom Lake also.
Agent Hawkins asked if he should make the trip with the Morgan’s. Pat said Hawkins was free to travel with them if he felt it was necessary. After hanging up Pat sat down for a minute to clear his head. Beth yelled from the bedroom. “If you want to go in ten minutes, I could use a little help here Buster!”
-----
It was after eleven p.m. when Gabriel landed at Bush International in Houston. Early summer, the air was already humid, even at this late hour. His rental was already waiting for him at the National ticket counter and he made the trip out to Riverquest Estates. Riverquest was known for its beautiful landscaped yards and mansions.
John’s, or Donald Rayburn’s, residence had been one of the first mansions built at Riverquest. At more than twenty-five thousand square feet, it was also one of the largest. A gated community, Gabriel had abandoned his car and made his way around the brick fence. As with many of these exclusive properties, most of the security measures were built to make the owners in the community feels safe. Once past the outer shell, the inner shell is usually mush.
Even at this late hour Gabriel noticed that lights were still shining in one of the bottom floor rooms. A closer investigation revealed that Donald Rayburn and his assistant, David, were in the library room.
Gabriel had learned years ago that David, John’s most trusted assistant, was the old man’s lover; his boy-toy, for lack of a better description. Boy-toy or not, David was a cold-blooded psychopath.
He entered the home from the rear kitchen door. The alarm had not yet been set, so entrance into the home was a simple pick of a lock. Holding a 9mm silenced Berretta at his side, he walked straight into the room with both men. They were enjoying a glass of wine before turning in. Both men were visibly alarmed, but after half-a-second John’s face turned into a half smile.
Gabriel said, “David, I have no quarrel with you. You can simply walk away from this; one time offer.”
David backed up two half steps, and replied, “I’m afraid I can’t do...”
Gabriel interrupted the completion of his sentence with a single shot into David’s forehead. “Can’t, is a word he probably shouldn’t have gone with; what do you think John?”
John was livid, “Gabriel, why in the hell did you have to do that! I was going to tell him to leave if you would have given me a second to get the words out.”
“I have a suspicion you won’t miss him for long. Walking over and picking up David’s glass of red wine, Gabriel took a sip, and set it back down. It seems a mite dry, don’t you think?”
“Gabriel, can you please at least put something over David’s body? Please Gabriel.”
Gabriel walked over to a large brown leather chair, picked up a red checkered blanket, and placed it over David’s head. “OK, is t
hat better?”
“Yes, thank you.”
“John, I think that I am going to call you Donald, and you can call me Kevin tonight. Yeah, I think that is what we are going to do.”
Donald Rayburn sat up higher on his couch, and said, “I take it that you got my birthday card.”
That statement startled Gabriel, but he didn’t allow it to show on his face. “I did, but are you so stupid to think that I would just lay all the blame on Matthew. I remember that you were part of that Abbot and Costello team.”
“Gabriel, I know why you are here. Honestly I can’t blame you for wanting to kill me. Please sit, and let’s get all of this horrible stuff out into the open.”
Gabriel watching John closely, moved around one of the large chairs, and took a seat directly facing John. “Its Kevin tonight; remember? OK, I am all ears.”
“I regret your grandfather’s death; I really do. But we needed someone with you natural abilities, and the opportunity came to grab you out of the situation in Iran.
“I don’t know what you really ever learned about the man you once called Matthew, but trust me when I tell you that Charles King was a true visionary; or maybe a better term would me magician.
“Charles was a master chess player. He could see how things would play out years in the future. He would cover the board with so many variations of moves; it was hard for any of us to keep up.
“You were killing civilians in Iran. I know you claimed you had some type of sixth sense about these things; that was total crap. You were still the kid who liked to pull wings off butterflies. Charles had an inside man in the Army Investigative Unit who told him about your sniper kill record. He also told Charles that he had enough evidence to take you in for a several murders occurring in the villages at night.
“Charles thought for days about how to get you home before the Army authorities picked up your scent. We settled on your grandfather because he was the only person in your life you ever really respected. Charles asked me to tag along, because he thought my presence might remind you of your grandfather.
The Iscariot Factor (Half Staff Book 2) Page 17