Disruption: A River Of Secrets And Betrayal

by J. B. Jamison

"OK, I'll have Lennie do some digging as well." Emily said.

  "Well," Chambers said, "that’s another thing. I recommend that we not trust anyone, and I mean anyone. Somebody stinks in this thing, and we need to smell 'em out. We only bring people into our conversation when we are absolutely certain they're clean. Agreed?"

  "Agreed." Emily and Reyes said.

  "Graham, are you comfortable with Agent Ryan in this?" Chambers asked.

  "Lennie?" Emily said. "You think Lennie might be our mole?"

  "I'm not saying that.” Chambers said. “But we need to be careful; that's all."

  "Yeah," Emily said, "I think we're OK with Lennie. He's the least of my worries right now. But I understand, so I'll be careful."

  "I do have one more thing before we go," Reyes said.

  "Yes?" Chambers said.

  "Tomorrow morning, the Francis B. reaches the place where the river goes in two directions; the Mississippi continues north, and the Ohio cuts to the east. If we're going to keep ahead of these people, we need to know which way they're going."

  "That actually might be what I need to hold off more military action Reyes." Chambers said. "But yeah, we need to figure that out. Let's follow up this evening after you get those pictures."

  The two men stood and moved toward the cashier. Emily paused, looked at her empty plate, and tried to remember tasting any of it. She hoped it was good.

  Chapter 80

  Bravo Team began tailing the pickup as it turned west out of Dyersburg. Alpha Team turned at Halls and was slowly moving up Route 181 waiting for guidance from Bravo. Delta Team was sitting on the Great River Road just north of the bridge, ready to move as needed. Echo Team was watching things from the Missouri side of the river at Cottonwood Point, just in case. Based on previous drops, the best guess was that the fishing boat would go in the water on the Tennessee side near Echo Team; a place called Mitchell Point where barges were frequently tied.

  Emily sat in her car as she watched the video stream show the fishing boat pull away from a small dock west of RT. 181, leave their glowing objects on a barge tied across from Cottonwood Point and return to the dock. As Bravo Team followed the truck back to the highway, Alpha Team was in the water moving north from the Bunge Grain terminal to Mitchell Point.

  "Center, this is Alpha Team, do you read?"

  "Read you clear Alpha, go ahead," Reyes said.

  "Eyes on the target. Permission to make contact."

  "All teams report status," Reyes said.

  "Bravo moving east and clear. Confirm go."

  "Delta confirm go."

  "Echo confirm go."

  "Alpha, you are cleared for contact."

  Emily watched as the small craft approached the barge, and a half-dozen men climbed aboard.

  "Echo, maintain eyes to the south," Reyes said.

  "Affirmative center."

  "Echo Team is watching for the Francis B," Reyes said to the people at their laptops. "They are still downstream, but when they come around the bend there, they could spot us."

  "Center, Alpha has contact. Two targets in hand. Video should be live now."

  The screen flickered, and Emily was looking at the live feed from the barge showing the two pieces of the device. The men took them from their bags and began taking photographs of all sides.

  "Center, Alpha has images."

  "Confirmed Alpha," Reyes said.

  "Center, it appears that the two pieces have covers held in place by screws. Permission to attempt to remove covers?"

  A brief hesitation.

  "Confirm Alpha; you are go for covers."

  "Keep your fingers crossed people," Reyes said to those at their laptops. "It’s a risk, but if we can get a look inside it might pay big dividends."

  Emily leaned forward to watch as the first screw was removed, then the next, and finally the small round cover was removed."

  "Center, Alpha. First cover is clear. Photos in progress."

  "All teams report status," Reyes said.

  "Bravo now westbound on I-five-five. Confirm go."

  "Delta confirm go."

  "Echo confirm go."

  "Alpha Team, center. You are clear to continue. Bug out is ten minutes." Reyes said.

  "It should be at least thirty minutes before the boat gets here," Reyes explained to the viewers, "but we need to get them out of there early enough to make sure they're not spotted."

  "Center, Alpha. Cover one is secure, cover two is clear. Photos in progress."

  "Confirmed Alpha."

  "The image on Emily's screen flickered briefly and showed video from the drone following the Francis B. up the river. They were about one-half mile from the long curve leading to Mitchell Point."

  "Alpha, Center. Status."

  "Center, Alpha. Cover two is secure. Two pieces are in their bags and back in their nests. Alpha Team requesting permission to come home."

  "Alpha, permission confirmed. All teams report status."

  "Bravo north on eighty-four, entering Caruthersburg."

  "Delta standing by."

  "Echo standing by, river still clear."

  Moments later.

  "Center, Alpha Team is home."

  "Confirmed Alpha. Congratulations."

  "Bravo and Delta Teams, this is Center. Job complete. Report to base. Echo, maintain watch to confirm pickup."

  "Bravo confirmed."

  "Delta confirmed."

  The laptop video continued to show the boat moving north, stopping briefly to secure a new barge and then moving on up the river.

  "Center, Echo. Pickup confirmed."

  "Pickup confirmed. Echo, you are clear to return to base."

  "Echo confirmed to base."

  "Congratulations Reyes, your teams did a good job," Lennie said.

  "Absolutely!" Goodwin said.

  "Thanks,” Reyes said. “I'll pass that along. We'll get those photos and the video to the lab and see what they can learn."

  "One more question Reyes," Emily said.

  "What's that?"

  "Is it OK if I breathe now?"

  Chapter 81

  Emily drove back to the muddy road under the bridge and watched as the Francis B. passed by. She saw the activity on the stern of the boat, and while it was too far to see clearly, it looked about the same as the videos from the other bridges. She pulled her phone from her pocket and pressed the button.

  "Hello, Agent Graham."

  "Hello Dennis, I see you are still moving ahead with your plans."

  "Of course. Are you here? Where are you watching us from?"

  "Look to your right, to the Tennessee side of the river, just below the bridge," Emily said as she raised an arm.

  "Ah, yes. How nice of you to come and see us at work. I'm sorry we don’t have a crowd this time."

  "Well, this is a few miles from Caruthersville you know."

  "Yes, and I see you have taken the steps of providing us with an escort now as well. That is fine. I expect we'll have quite a different reception as we move on up the river."

  "You mean St. Louis?"

  "Ah, not yet Agent Graham. It’s too early to reveal our long-term plans. You will learn that sometime around noon tomorrow."

  "Look, Dennis, whoever you are, you do realize this plan of yours is not going to work, don't you? You surely have to realize that we can never allow that to happen. We need to figure out how to bring this to an end before things get completely out of control. You need to know that the military may get involved."

  "The military? Oh my, that would be most unfortunate."

  "You don't understand..."

  "No, Emily, it is you who does not understand. You say that our plan is not going to work, and I am telling you that it already is working; it has worked. The reality is that there is nothing that you, the military, or anyone else can do to stop that plan; nothing at all. I am sure it is difficult to accept, Agent Graham, but all you can do is stand along the riverbank and watch as we pass by. As a wise man
once said, it is finished."

  "What if I told you they were talking about destroying your boat, and everyone on it?"

  "And what if I told you that it wouldn't matter? Oh, a few of us would die, of course, along with the innocent crew of this boat. But it would not stop what is happening."

  Silence.

  "But enough of this talk," Dennis said. "I must go to the galley and have dinner. The cook is preparing ribeyes for us this evening; I've asked for medium-rare. As always, Agent Graham, I have enjoyed our conversation."

  Click.

  Emily stood until the Francis B. passed out of sight in the curve near Caruthersville. She looked at her watch and decided it was too early for a motel. She got into her car and headed up I-55 toward New Madrid.

  Chapter 82

  "Where did you say you were Emily?" Reyes asked.

  "New Madrid. I know, but it seemed like the place to be."

  "Graham," Chambers said, "I have to say, the more I get to know you, the more I like you."

  "Thanks, Colonel. Listen, there's something I need to tell you before we get into anything else. I talked with Dennis again."

  "On the boat?" Chambers asked.

  "Yeah, I called him at the Caruthersville bridge."

  "And?" Reyes asked.

  "I tell you, there is something going on here I don't feel good about. I told him we need to figure out how to stop this, and that we could never allow them to succeed with their plan."

  "Yeah?" Reyes said.

  "I even hinted that the military might get involved."

  "What did he say to that?" Chambers asked.

  "It didn't faze him. He told me there was nothing that I, the military, or anyone else could do to stop their mission. But that's not what bothered me the most."

  "What?" Reyes asked.

  "He kept saying we couldn't stop their plan, but then a couple of times he made it sound like it was already done, he said the mission was already finished."

  "Finished?" Chambers said, "but they're still dropping those things in the river."

  "Exactly," Emily said. "He didn't mean they were finished with what they were doing, but that the outcome was finished; somehow, there was no way anyone could stop things from playing out the way they want them too."

  Brief silence.

  "So, what do you think?" Emily asked.

  "Might just be over confident; trying to spook us." Chambers said.

  "Maybe they've decided that what they've done is enough," Reyes said. "Even if they don't get all the way up the river, they figure they've created enough trouble to make it worthwhile. What do you think Em?"

  "I'm not sure. First, have we learned anything about those devices; from the photos, I mean?"

  "I just got the first briefing on that," Reyes said. "You know about the two parts; one of them holds the canisters with the radiation and bio-stuff, and the explosives in it, and the other holds the electronics to trigger everything. They probably wait to put them together to make them easier to carry."

  "And to make sure they don't go off before they're ready." Chambers said.

  "Yeah, right. And like we thought, it looks like there is a motion trigger involved; a glass vial that is broken when the device stops moving. it releases acid to eat through the insulation, arming the motion trigger. They say it’s pretty well done."

  "Anything else?" Chambers asked.

  "Yeah, apparently there are two radios inside, maybe more. One looks like a receiver, and that might be what reacts to X-rays. The other is a transceiver, both sending and receiving signals."

  "So, these things are listening to and talking to something else?" Emily said.

  "Looks that way," Reyes said.

  "Like to each other," Emily said.

  "The good news is that while the triggers don't seem to do anything until they are armed,” Reyes said, “the transceiver was already active. They were able to capture some of the signals, and they're working on those now. If we can read those, we might just figure out what is going on."

  "You've gotten quiet Chambers," Reyes said, "something on your mind?"

  "I'll say out loud what I'm guessing we're all thinking, especially putting this together with Dennis' attitude in Emily's call. My hunch is that these devices are all talking to each other, maybe taking attendance if you will. If anything happens to any one piece, boom."

  "How does that fit with what happened at the Grammercy Bridge?" Reyes asked. "That device didn't trigger any others."

  "It was also never fully armed, remember?" Emily said. "My guess is that the link with the others was never fully established."

  "So if we take out a device, they all go." Chambers said.

  "Looks that way," Emily said.

  "Ok then," Reyes said, "anyone got any other good news for us tonight?"

  "I have one thing." Chambers said. "I made a few calls to check on Emily's report of Dasilva being in town last night. The flight records show that he traveled from D.C. to New Orleans on an early bird flight this morning."

  "That means..." Reyes said.

  "Wait," Chambers continued, "a buddy of mine at the airport tells me Dasilva was not on that flight, even though the flight manifest says he was. So I made a couple more calls, and it seems our Agent Dasilva actually came back on a transport early yesterday afternoon. Let's just say that I know the pilot, and he tells me Dasilva took a nice long nap in a jump seat on that flight."

  "So he was lying this morning," Reyes said.

  "And someone has altered the flight manifests," Emily said.

  "Then, the question is why." Chambers said.

  After a few seconds of silence, "Ok guys," Emily said, "I'm heading up to Cairo, Illinois to see which way things go tomorrow. I'll have the phone on, so call if you hear anything more."

  "You going to stick around New Madrid long enough to watch the boat go by?" Reyes asked?

  "I'm going north. I've seen enough of that boat for today, thanks." Emily said.

  Chapter 83

  "Lennie, it’s me," Emily said.

  "Where the heck are you?"

  "Still at New Madrid long enough to grab a sandwich, then I'm heading up to Cairo; figure that's the next place we need to be watching."

  "Ok. Have you learned anything since they got the photos this afternoon?"

  "No, it’s been pretty quiet. I figured I might as well move on up North."

  "Yeah, makes sense. You driving or flying?"

  "Driving. I've still got the rental from Memphis; is that a problem?"

  "No, no. Just didn't know if I needed to keep the plane handy for you."

  "Nope, it’s not much of a car, but it rides nice. It should be less than an hour up there, so I figure I'll find someplace around Cairo to crash and get a few hours of sleep."

  "Don't know much about the place. Just be careful."

  "I will; you know me."

  "Yeah, and by the way, I never did congratulate you on how you handled that Colonel Chambers this morning."

  "Oh, yeah, thanks."

  "But be careful Em; those guys don't like to be made fools of. Have you heard anything from him yet?"

  "From the Colonel? Um, no, nothing yet."

  "Well, don't be surprised if you do. And it probably won't be friendly. Just watch your back."

  "I will Lennie; no worries. He's the least of my problems right now."

  "Ok Em; you be careful."

  It felt bad lying to him. Lennie had been the one guy she had counted on since she came to New Orleans. He wasn't Elliott; it wasn't that kind of connection. Lennie was a part of her work life; it was actually after the first interview with him that she made up her mind to take the role. They could talk about anything, and secrets had never been a part of their relationship. It just felt wrong.

  Emily was hungry, so she pulled into a convenience store for a slice of pizza and a drink large enough to last the hour up to Cairo. As she pulled onto I-55, she reached for the pizza and started thinking back through t
he day. It had just been twelve hours since her now-famous conversation with Colonel Chambers, and that time also included another bridge, a conversation with Dennis, the meeting with Chambers and Reyes, finding out about Dasilva's lie and a few other odds and ends. And now she had lied to Lennie.

  As she took the eastbound exit onto I-57, she smiled at the billboard advertising Sikeston's throwed-rolls. She was there once as a kid with her mom and dad. It was on one of those unplanned trips when he got off a boat, packed the pickup camper, and just headed out. The throwed-rolls were on a trip to Houston, Texas that ended up stopping in San Antonio, partly because dad wanted to see the Alamo and see how well it matched the movie, and partly because they ran out of time to get all the way to Houston. They had spent that time stopping at places like the gas station with the dancing chickens; put a nickel in the slot, a door opened, and a chicken came out and danced for ten seconds. Now she realized it was Pavlov's conditioning turned commercial, but then it was magic. Tonight, as she drove through Wilson City, Missouri, it reminded her of that small town in Oklahoma just after the big sign announcing they had entered Indian Territory. They had stopped at a restaurant there, and Emily spent the entire meal waiting to see someone ride up on a horse, take a seat in a booth, and lay their feathered headdress on the seat beside them. She added that evening to the list of disappointments of being an adult. The next day, her father felt exactly the same way about the Alamo.

  The highway had been banked on both sides by trees, creating a hypnotic-like view, so she was happy to see an opening in the trees as she crossed Highway 37. She reached for her still half-full drink, congratulating herself for skipping the caffeine-free version tonight. She turned the cup to find the straw...what's that?

  The large dark van seemed to appear from nowhere. In the instant that passed, Emily seemed to realize there was no intersection there; just a little dirt path leading to the line of trees; there was no reason a van should be there. She realized that it was pulling right into her path and that it was far larger than her rental, and that...

  Someone watching it happen might have noticed the van parked in the dark and might have watched it slowly pull up to the road before lurching into the eastbound lane. They might have seen the small car smash into the left rear of the van, and spin several times as it slid off the north side of the road where it overturned in a grass ditch. They might have seen the van slow, just briefly, and then continue driving up Highway 62. But no one was watching. There was no one there. Just the taillights of the van moving to the northeast, and the rental car lying in the dark.