Disruption: A River Of Secrets And Betrayal

by J. B. Jamison

  Chapter 87

  "How are you feeling this morning?" Reyes asked as she approached the table.

  "They were right," Emily said. "I hurt in places I didn't know I had."

  Reyes and Chambers watched as she eased herself into the chair, and noticed the various colors of bruises on her arms.

  "You think that's something," she said, "you should see the rest of me. I'm pretty much one large bruise."

  "Are the meds helping?" Chambers asked.

  "Not using them. I need to keep my head clear."

  "And how's the vision?" Reyes asked. "How many fingers am I holding up?"

  "Look, I'm fine," Emily said, "let me get some coffee, and I'll be good to go. What's the plan today?"

  "Before we do that," Chambers said, "let's talk about what happened last night. Did you get a good look at the thing that pulled out in front of you?"

  "No, it was just dark."

  "I mean," Chambers continued, "was it big, or small?"

  "I really don't remember; it was just all so fast, I just saw a dark blur." Emily lied. For some reason, she wanted to keep the van a secret for a while. Maybe it was a result of the concussion.

  "Ok," Chambers said, "maybe it will come back to you. But just one more thing. Who all did you say knew where you were going to be last night?"

  Emily sipped her coffee. "Um, you two, Lennie and Dasilva; I think that's it. I had talked with Dasilva before we met in Caruthersville, and called Lennie just before I left New Madrid."

  "Did this Steve guy, or Dennis know?" Reye's asked.

  "Dennis," Chambers said, "he's the guy on the boat, right?"

  "Yeah," Reyes said.

  "I didn't tell them." Emily said, "But I guess they did know I had been following the boat up the river, so they might have figured it out. Do you still really think it was intentional?"

  "We think that's the most likely scenario, yes," Reyes said.

  “Ok,” Chambers said, “we have to make some decisions here. We've got the meeting this morning, so just how much of all this are we going to tell everybody? I don't like hiding things, but it seems pretty obvious that somebody in there is screwing with us."

  "Well," Reyes said, "they'll know about Emily's accident..."

  "But just that it was an accident," Emily said.

  "All but one anyway," Chambers said, "so I suggest we leave it at that; it was an accident. Right?"

  "Right." Emily and Reyes said.

  "And one more thing," Chamber said. "Graham did a fine job of stopping the New Madrid action, but all it really did was make them more determined than ever to get the boat. I'm getting new orders just before our meeting; I have no idea what they will be, but they're not going to make the same simple mistakes again."

  "Any idea at all what they are going to do?" Emily asked.

  "My guess is the same thing," Chambers said, "but in a more suitable location."

  "Still nukes?"

  "Like I said; they want that boat stopped."

  They each sipped coffee.

  "What about the devices?" Chambers asked. "Emily, we found out that it does look like the devices are talking to each other, so there’s the risk that if we take one of them out, it might trigger the rest of them.”

  “And I got a call just before getting here,” Reyes said, “they’ve determined that the other connection on the radios is actually on the boat.”

  Pause.

  “So,” Emily said, if anything happens to any of the devices, things go boom. Plus, if they’re linked to the boat, messing with it might trigger things too?”

  “Looks that way.” Reye’s said.

  "Well," Emily said, "let's look at the bright side of things."

  "And what might that be?" Reyes asked.

  "Well, I think we just figured out how to stop them from nuking the boat."

  Chapter 88

  Emily listened to the conversations taking place around the table. The meeting was scheduled to begin five minutes ago, but Agent Dasilva was not there yet, and no one seemed willing to take his place at the moment.

  "I'm sorry to keep you waiting," she heard Dasilva say as he approached the table. "Let's, uh, let's get to work here. I am afraid I need to cut this brief this morning. So we'll just ask for any critical updates, and go into more detail this afternoon."

  "First, I'm sure everyone is wondering how you are doing this morning, Agent Graham? We heard about your accident."

  "Yes, I'm doing fine, thanks. Just a few bruises."

  "What happened up there?" Colonel Goodwin asked.

  "Oh, I swerved to miss a deer...it was one of those narrow, two-lane roads with no shoulder, and I guess I overcompensated. Kind of foolish, I guess; considering."

  "We're just glad to hear you are OK," Dasilva said. "Do you have anything for us this morning?"

  "Nothing critical, no sir."

  "Fine. Commander Reyes, how about you?"

  "Yes sir, thank you," Reyes said. "As you all know, my team has been able to secure key data on the devices, and are in the process of analyzing it now. I hope to have a full report for you soon."

  "Is that it?" Dasilva said.

  "For now, yes sir. I have nothing to add at this time."

  "OK then. Colonel Chambers, I understand you have an update on planned military activities?"

  "Yes, Agent Dasilva, I just came from a briefing. I am here to report that no further military actions are planned at this time. We continue to monitor the situation, and will be prepared to take steps if and when the situation merits such action."

  "I was told an intervention was planned." Dasilva began.

  "Yes, sir. Those orders have changed, sir." Chambers said.

  "Interesting," Dasilva said. "Colonel Goodwin, do you have anything to give us this morning?"

  "Yes sir, thank you. I am here to report that, after multiple attempts to develop a functional prototype, the decision has been made that covering the devices with a secure, sarcophagus-like container is not feasible. We tried to create a container that could be lowered over the devices without causing any residual movement that would trigger the devices. Unfortunately, the floor of the river is simply too unstable. A device wide enough to avoid causing movement to the device would be far too wide to contain an explosion, making the effort meaningless."

  "So, do we have an alternative solution in mind for securing the devices at this time?" Dasilva asked.

  "Not at this time," Goodwin said, "no sir."

  "OK then," Dasilva said, "does anyone else have anything to add right now?"

  "Sir, I do have a question." Colonel Nichols from the Corps of Engineers said.

  "We have heard that evidence has been found that these devices out there are somehow connected, perhaps with radios of some kind. Is this true? I'm sure you understand that my people out there are concerned about accidentally triggering one of those things, after seeing what happened at Grammercy."

  "Yes Colonel," Dasilva said, "a fair question. Colonel Reyes do you have anything on that for us?"

  "As I said," Reyes said, "my people are still studying the data from the devices. But I can say that we have not found any risk of detonating a device other than X-rays, or movement. And I assure you, Colonel Nichols, if that changes, we will notify you and your people immediately."

  "Thank you, Colonel Reyes," Nichols said.

  "All right then," Dasilva said, "we will schedule another meeting for a full update this afternoon. Thank you for your time."

  Emily heard people standing and leaving the room.

  "Graham," Dasilva said, "Chambers, and Reyes; please stay on the line for a moment, won't you?"

  When the room has become quiet, "Graham; a deer?"

  "Sir?"

  "Graham, I'm not sure why you chose to be so creative this morning, but one of these days you'll have to make it a point to explain it to me."

  "Yes, sir."

  "And Chambers, Reyes, just where do you happen to be this morning, since I noti
ce you are not at the table as usual."

  "We were concerned about Agent Graham, sir," Chambers said, "so we came up to make sure she was all right."

  "I commend your loyalty to a team member gentlemen," Dasilva said, "but that does not explain your being up there the day before her, uh, accident. And it does not explain why you made no mention of a few things in your update this morning; things such as the confirmed radio signals linking all devices with the boat, and a few other things like that."

  "Sir, we felt that..." Chambers began.

  "Listen, each of you," Dasilva said, "and listen good. I don't know what you believe you are going to accomplish, but let me remind you that withholding information during an investigation like this may be interpreted by some as an attempt to thwart that investigation, or perhaps an attempt to aid those committing the crime being investigated. As I said, I don't know what you think you are doing, but let me make it very clear that if I find you are withholding information, or if your actions interfere with this investigation in any way, I will see to it that you pay for that; do you understand me?"

  "Yes sir." from three voices.

  "Good. Now," Dasilva continued, pronouncing each word slowly and clearly, "is there anything else you want to update me about before we end our meeting this morning?"

  "No sir." From three voices.

  Click.

  Chapter 89

  It almost felt routine now as Emily watched the video of the fishing boat placing the glowing objects on the barge; this time south of Cairo, near the town of Wicklife, Kentucky. There were four glows on the screen; suggesting enough pieces for two devices. The question had been which way the boat would go as the river split into two channels; one turning east as the Ohio River, and the other continuing north as the Mississippi. Since there was just one bridge on the Ohio side and two on the other, she took it as a clue and began making plans for moving northward.

  As at Caruthersville, Emily found a dried-mud road leading to the riverbank near the bridge on the Missouri side of the river. She walked out onto a pile of rocks sticking out into the river, and stood at the very end, enjoying the peacefulness. The Corps of Engineers built these barriers along the river where they wanted to control the currents; forcing the river to keep the main channel deep and clear of debris. The current slowed as it hits the barriers, causing the sediment in the water to fall to the bottom, creating man-made sandbars; homes for a range of critters and insects. Of course, controlling something like the Mississippi River was an ongoing battle; a slower version of what Emily was feeling as she waited for the Francis B. to come around the bend to her right. Her head was throbbing, and she couldn’t decide how much of it was from the wreck last night, and how much was from the conversation with Dasilva this morning. She picked up a handful of rocks and aimed them at pieces of driftwood stuck in the sand.

  She felt the vibration and reached for her phone.

  "Em, how you doing?" Lennie asked.

  "I'm fine; just a bit sore."

  "I mean after the meeting this morning. I hear that Dasilva went off on you."

  "Oh, that, yeah; I'm OK."

  "I tell you Em; something is going on here. After he finished with you, he stormed out of there and went straight to his car; wouldn't talk to anyone. He almost looked like a crazy man."

  "He sounded pretty upset, yeah."

  "I'm worried about you Em. I mean, first, you got the thing with Chambers, and now Dasilva. What's Chambers really doing up there with you anyway? And Reyes? What's going on Em, are you really OK?"

  "I'm fine Lennie, really. They came up to Caruthersville to do that thing with Reyes' team getting the photos, and when they heard about my accident, they were already on their way up to Cairo anyway, so they came by to check on me; it’s no big deal."

  "Just watch yourself. I have a bad feeling about this thing, and I don't want you getting caught in something here."

  "Thanks, Lennie. I'm fine. I'll keep my eyes open."

  "Ok Em, give me a call later, OK?"

  "Sure will. Thanks."

  She stared at her phone for a few minutes trying to figure out where to file this call in her head. She looked up as the Francis B. came into view, and smiled as it turned left into the Mississippi River channel. The river was narrower here, and since her sandbar extended about a third of the way out, Emily could feel the vibration as the boat came near. It was close enough for her to see the open pilothouse door and the two men standing on the gangway. She guessed that one of them was Captain Charlie Graff, and the other was Dennis Bowers. She found herself waving, simply because that's what she did anytime a boat passed by. The two men waved back.

  She raised her phone to call Dennis but was distracted by the movement at the back of the boat. She watched the young woman step from a door and move to one side, as two men came out carrying the cylinder. A third man held a line that he attached to one end of the device, and then lowered it into the water. She watched him play out the line and saw the wake of the device as it dragged behind them. As the boat passed under the bridge, he jerked the line, and the device disappeared. Emily then noticed the other guy with them; the really big guy, standing and watching as the others stepped back inside the door.

  She jumped into her car and drove across the bridge, through Cairo, and past the hospital she had been in last night. She turned onto the Levee Road, followed it to where it went under the elevated ramp to the bridge and found the dried-mud road. She stood quietly as the boat passed by, adding the I-57 bridge to its list of accomplishments.

  The vibration caused her to jump. The caller ID said: Torchwood.

  "Hello, this is Emily."

  "Emily, this is Linda, at Torchwood, do you have a minute?"

  "Sure Linda, what's up?"

  "Well, there's something I need to check with you about; about your dad's meds."

  "Ok."

  "Well, you know he does this thing of trying to make us think he takes his meds, but tries to hide them under his tongue, or stick them in a pocket, things like that?"

  "Yeah, I've talked with him about that. Did he try it again?"

  "Well, I'm not sure, but that's why I needed to call you. You do remember that you're supposed to clear it with us anytime you bring him some meds that aren't on his script list, right?"

  "Sure. But I've not brought him anything in, why are you asking?"

  "Well, I was in with him this morning, and I found a pill that it looks like he hid in a shirt pocket."

  "Geez, I'm sorry. I'll talk with him when I..."

  "No, that's ok. What concerns me is that the pill isn't on his list. In fact, I'm not sure just what this pill is; it’s not labeled or anything. So I was wondering if you had brought him something off the shelf; I know how he is always asking you to do that."

  "No, I've not brought him anything since...wait, its not labeled?"

  "No, it’s a capsule, a large one, like a laxative or something like that."

  Emily's head began to throb again.

  "Linda, listen to me. Where is the pill now; I mean right now?"

  "I've got it right here in my hand, why?"

  "Linda, put it down; put it down now! Now!"

  "Ok Em, it’s down. What's going on?"

  "I can't say for sure, but listen; here's what I want you to do. Do you have a plastic bag handy; something you can seal airtight?"

  "Sure, right here."

  "OK, good. Do you have gloves on?"

  "No."

  "OK, if you don't have gloves, use a piece of paper or something and push the pill into the plastic bag, and seal it up tight. OK?"

  "OK, just a sec."

  Silence.

  "OK, it’s in the bag. Em, what is going..."

  "OK, now put the bag someplace where no one can get to it, and make sure that no one opens it or even touches it, OK?"

  "Sure Em. I have to say you're scaring me here."

  "Good. Like I said, it may be nothing. But if it’s what I think it is, y
ou have a good reason to be scared. You held it in your bare hand, right?"

  "Yes, I'll go wash them."

  "NO! Don't put water on them. Do you have any hand cleaner, you know, a gel or foam, or something that isn't water?"

  "Yeah, we've got that."

  "Go clean your hands with that, maybe two or three times, and then wipe them off with paper towels and put them in the hazardous materials container, OK?"

  "Geez Em, OK, but what the heck is going on?"

  "Make sure the bag is someplace safe. I'll have someone come and pick it up from you shortly. Don't give that bag to anyone unless they prove to you they're from the F.B.I. office, OK?"

  "OK Em. I understand. Am I going to be OK?"

  "Just wash with the stuff like I said and stay away from that bag until someone gets there."

  "I will. Someday will you tell me what this is all about?"

  "Yeah, I will when I can."

  "Thanks, Em."

  "One more thing Linda, who has been in to visit with my dad recently; over the past couple of days?"

  "I don't know that anyone has been here Em, at least not while I've been on duty. But I can ask around."

  "Please do that Linda. And do you guys have video of the hallways there, I mean do you have cameras there?"

  "Yeah we do, but I'm not sure how long they keep them. Do you want me to ask?"

  "Yes please, and if they have them, tell them I need copies of any that show dad's hallway for the past four days. Tell them the F.B.I. is securing them as part of an investigation. OK?"

  "Investigation? I will Em. Now you do have me scared."

  She ended the call and punched the button on her phone.

  "What's up Em?"

  "Lennie, listen very carefully. Here's what I need you to do."

  As Emily got into her car, she felt something in her stomach, growing and churning and taking on a life of its own. It was a feeling of rage that surpassed even what she had felt when Elliott was taken. If she was right, someone had just tried to kill her father; her daddy. If she had been angry about the van attempting to hurt her last night, it was nothing compared to what she was feeling now. Someone, whoever it was, had crossed the line. Whatever else they had done, or might do in the future, the biggest mistake they would ever make was this one. As Emily drove toward the highway, she had no idea how she would do it, but for the first time in five days, she was absolutely certain that these assholes were going to pay.