CHAPTER 56
A fleet of N.Y.P.D. cruisers flanked the black Escalade on both sides, blue lights everywhere. Lawson and Arnold waited on the loading dock. The officer escorted Carrie and Cosmo out the door and relinquished custody to the agents. “They’re all yours. Can I go home now?”
“Sure, get out of here.” Arnold told him. “And by the way, good job.”
The officer thanked Arnold and headed back inside.
Lawson glared at Carrie. “You guys have gone too far this time. What the fuck were you thinking?” He screamed at her.
Before Carrie could answer, Cosmo stepped up to defend her.
Lawson and Arnold stood in front of him. Close enough to smell the alcohol on his breath.
Cosmo faltered, but balanced himself. He raised his hand and pointed at the agents. Ready to admonish them on Carrie’s behalf. He held his hand up for a moment, but concentrated more on his balance than what he would say. Soon his hand came down; he doubled over and vomited all over the agents shoes. Then he passed out on the loading dock.
“Well, that was bound to happen.” Carrie couldn’t help but laugh.
Arnold and Lawson cursed aloud and kicked the vomit from their shoes. That’s when Carrie heard a commotion coming from the Escalade. Laughter and cheers, loud and exuberant, enough to rock the vehicle from side to side. The blue-lights from the cruisers failed to penetrate the dark tint on the glass and reveal the occupants. Still, Carrie already knew who they were.
“You hear you’re dumb ass friends over there?” Lawson had removed his shoes and socks and stood there barefoot. “They think this is a big game.”
“You can’t blame them, especially Turbo. You’ve already false arrested him twice.”
“She has a point, partner.” Arnold stood there in socked feet.
“It’s not a false arrest this time.” Lawson grabbed a nearby uniformed officer and pointed at Cosmo. “Take him to the drunk-tank. We’ll pick him up when he’s sober.” Then he carefully stepped over the vomit, hooked Carrie’s arm and escorted her to the Escalade. He threw the keys to his partner. “Arnold you drive. Miss Carrie can sit on my lap.”
***
The interrogation room at C.I.A. Headquarters on Reade Street intimidated them. Everyone but Turbo, he’d been there before. Still, the elongated room had stark white walls with a large two-way mirror in the center of one, and an oversized conference table that conveyed the seriousness of the room and their situation.
They all sat on one side of the table and faced the mirror. “What happened? I thought you all got away?” Carrie asked.
“No, Lawson and Arnold were waiting for us when we opened the kitchen door.” Phillip explained.
“Yeah, somehow they knew we were there, but how? We didn’t speak about it my shop.” Turbo looked at Alex.
“Don’t look at me, I didn’t know you were coming, you scared the shit out of me.”
“Well, at least we know it wasn’t Cosmo. He was too drunk.” Turbo was happy for that.
Lawson and Arnold entered the room with another man who looked like Kojak, baldhead and all. The only thing he lacked was the lollipop. “Hey everyone, this is Special Agent Yuri Petrovic, one of our international agents.” Arnold announced.
“Are you Serbian?” Turbo asked him.
“Montenegrin.” The agent replied.
“Close enough.” Turbo smiled.
“Okay, that’s enough of the pleasantries.” Lawson pulled out a chair and motioned Arnold and Petrovic to do the same.
Before their butts hit the seats, Carrie started with the questions. “Why is he here? We didn’t do anything that violated international law. What are you gonna do with us?”
Lawson slammed his hand on the table. “Carrie, stop!” He screamed at her, but earned the attention of everyone else in the room. “I’ll ask the questions if you don’t mind.” Lawson controlled the interrogation from then on.
They had interfered with a U. S. Government investigation, obstructed justice, kidnapped a federal prisoner, and soiled a Federal Agent’s shoes. “I don’t get it, why are you idiots tangled up in this case.” He looked for an answer, but they were smart enough to stay silent.
Lawson stood up and walked around to their side of the table. “I’m telling you for the last time, forget about that fucking formula. Is it worth dying for?” Still no answer, smart.
“No, it’s not worth dying for, so here’s what we’re gonna do. I’m putting you all in the lock up and you’re not getting out until we apprehend Mika Kosanavic and Marco Fagan.”
“You can’t do that.” Carrie cried. “What are you charging us with?”
Lawson leaned over Carrie’s shoulder to make sure she heard what he was about to say. “Were not charging you with anything, yet. Ever heard of protective custody?” He motioned at the mirror for another agent. A younger agent with blonde hair entered the interrogation room. “Throw them in the holding cell and don’t let them out without my okay. You got it?”
The agent hesitated.
“What are you waiting for?”
“We only have one holding cell available, what about the girl?”
“Don’t worry about her, besides they’re all friends.” Lawson headed to the door. “Let’s go, Arnold. You too, Yuri, I want to find that bitch tonight.”
They were almost out of the room when Alex spoke loud enough to get their attention. “I can help you with that.”
Lawson came back into the room. “What did you say?”
“I said I can help you with that.”
“With what?”
“With finding that bitch, of course.”
“Okay, I’ll play along.” He sat down across the table from Alex. “How can you help?”
“I know how to contact her.”
“Oh, why didn’t you say so, hey Arnold, Yuri, he knows how to contact Mika. Do you have her cell number?”
“No, but I can contact her.”
“How?”
“By shortwave.”
Lawson laughed. “I think they gave you too much morphine.” He told the blonde haired agent to throw them in the holding cell.
***
The holding cell had no bars. Four concrete walls and a heavy metal door, it resembled a vault more than a cell. Carrie expected an open cell with a concrete bed and a nasty commode that she had already vowed not to use. The vault had a small a/c vent, and a fluorescent light overhead and a small intercom box mounted on the wall next to the door. Folding chairs lined the wall.
To Carrie’s delight, there wasn’t a nasty commode or even a clean one. She asked one question before the agent closed the door. “What if I have to go potty? She pouted.
“Sorry, Miss, we don’t usually keep prisoners here for more than a couple hours.” The agent closed the door. A minute later, a voice came over the intercom. “Try to hold it, but if you can’t, press the green button on the intercom, okay?”
“Okay, thanks.” Carrie went to sit down, but all the folding chairs had occupants.
“Here, take mine.” Phillip offered.
“No, thanks. If they’re gonna hold us here, they need to upgrade the accommodations.” She pressed the green button on the intercom.
“Yes, what is it?” A grumpy, much older voice asked.
“Uh, I need to speak to the young blonde agent please.”
“Sure thing, honey. Don’t get your panties in a wad, he’ll be back soon.”
“Okay, thank you.” Dejected, Carrie leaned against the wall.
Alex stood up at once. “Take my seat, Miss.”
“No Alex, you’re hurt, sit down please.”
“No, I cannot sit while a lady stands.”
Turbo stood up as well. “Fine, let’s all stand. But we need to figure a way out of here. Alex, can you really contact Mika by shortwave?”
“Yes, absolutely, she calls her grandfather in Belize every day at 1:30 a.m. to check in with him.”
“Are you sure?” Turbo
asked.
“She told me so in Belgrade, after we had sex.”
“How does that help us?” Carrie wanted to know.
“Well, if Alex is correct, we can monitor the transmission and talk to Mika.” Turbo’s optimism showed, but faded quickly. “That is, if we had a shortwave and we weren’t in here.”
“I have a shortwave.” Alex said. “Don’t you remember? You repaired it.”
“Of course, the one that reaches Mars, but where is it?”
“I have in locker at bus station with other belongings.”
Turbo wanted to hug him, but he didn’t. “Okay, she calls at 1:30, that’s in an hour, we have to hurry.”
Phillip pointed out a few small problems they still needed to work out. “Okay, first of all, it’s 1:30 a.m. Belgrade time, not Eastern Standard Time, so you have to wait 7 hours if my calculations are correct. And, second of all, what makes you think Mika will talk to us?”
“He has a point.” Carrie told them.
“She’ll talk to us.” Turbo said. “We have something she wants.”
“We do?” Alex was surprised.
“She already has the formula.” Carrie was quick to point out. “What else could she want?”
“There’s something else. We don’t actually have it, but were gonna make her think we do.”
“What else could she possibly want besides the formula?” Phillip asked.
“The thing they beat you up for. The Edison Medallion.”
“Have you lost your mind?” Phillip paced back and forth. “If you tell her we have the medallion over the airwaves, those goons in black suits and sneakers will be there in a second.”
“That’s even better, the more the merrier.” Turbo’s adrenaline increased. “Let’s get everybody together in one place.”
“You’re fucking losing it.” Phillip said. “Carrie, would you tell him he’s crazy. Those goons beat the shit out of me.”
Carrie just stared.
“Not this time.” Turbo said. “This time we’ll have the upper hand, we’ll have all the big guns.”
Carrie couldn’t take anymore. “Turbo, you’re talking crazy, we’re locked up, how are we gonna get any guns?”
“That’s easy.” He choked back a laugh. “The C.I.A. will give them to us.”
CHAPTER 57
The blonde haired agent’s voice came over the intercom. “Hello, Miss, do you need to use the restroom?”
“Uh, no, I’m okay.” Carrie didn’t feel the need to complain about the chairs since everyone was standing anyway.
“I have to go.” Turbo cried. “I have to go bad, please hurry.”
“Okay, I’ll be right there.”
The agent escorted Turbo to the restroom, but he didn’t go in. “I don’t really have to go, but I need you to get Agent Lawson on the phone right away.”
“Why?” The young agent asked.
“It’s important. Just call him.”
“I’m not calling him, you don’t know Agent Lawson.”
Turbo understood the agent’s apprehensiveness. “Okay, you’re right. Let’s call Arnold.”
The agent was uncomfortable negotiating with a prisoner in front of the restrooms. “Come over to my desk.” The agent agreed to call Agent Arnold.
***
Lawson had parked the Escalade in the doctor’s parking lot again, but they didn’t get out. Yuri Petrovic sat in the front passenger seat while Arnold sat in the back. From their parking spot, they had a clear view of the Emergency Room entrance.
“Keep an eye out for your favorite brunette.” Lawson told Arnold.
“Brunette. Mika is a blonde.” Yuri informed them.
“Not anymore, according to Arnold back there. He saw her come out of a hair salon this morning. She dyed her hair. He could’ve apprehended her, but he was busy admiring her new hairdo.”
“I do not understand,” Yuri said.
“Don’t listen to him, Yuri, he’s full of shit.” Arnold changed the subject. “Who does she really work for?” He asked Yuri.
“The best we can tell she’ll work for anyone sympathetic to her cause, or, I should say, Sava’s cause.”
“Sava?”
“Sava Kosonavic, her grandfather, Tesla’s nephew.”
“I heard she killed her grandfather.” Lawson added.
“Yes, but we never found the body. We’ve had an agent on Sava’s apartment for years. The only visitor he had recently was Gaeshenko, so either Mika killed him or Alex did.”
“How long was Gaeshenko, how long was Alex in Belgrade?” Arnold asked.
“Four or five days, I think. It’s in the report.”
“Four or five days, maybe Mika confided in him, maybe he can contact her.”
“What?” Lawson screamed. “Are you falling for that bullshit?”
“It’s possible---
Arnold stopped talking and answered his phone. “What is it?” He heard Turbo’s voice on the other end of the phone. “How did you get out of the holding cell?”
Lawson and Yuri turned around at once. “Who’s out of the cell?” Lawson demanded.
Arnold listened closely. “You can’t be serious?”
“Who is that?” Lawson was livid.
“It’s Turbo. Now shut the fuck up so I can hear him.”
Yuri looked at Lawson who faced forward and pretended to look for Mika.
“Turbo, you’re crazy, but it just might work.” Arnold hung up the phone.
“What might work?” Yuri asked. Lawson was silent.
“Turbo has an idea, a crazy one, but it might work.” Arnold said. “Even if it doesn’t, it’s better than sitting here. I’ll let him explain it. We need to get back to headquarters.”
***
Thirty minutes had passed since Turbo left the holding cell to use the restroom. In his absence, Phillip and Alex sat down right away. Carrie paced back and forth the whole time. “What’s he doing?” She asked repeatedly.
After the second or third time, Phillip didn’t respond. Oblivious to her rants, he thought about what Turbo said. Would the C.I.A really help them? Would they give them guns? Turbo was being facetious; he knew that, but he couldn’t get the image of Turbo’s smile out of his head. A devious smile, sinister. Yes, Turbo had a plan, and the fact that he hadn’t returned from the restroom told Phillip it must be a good one. He told Carrie to sit down and relax.
A few minutes later, the blonde agent opened the holding cell door and asked everyone to follow him. They walked down the corridor past the restrooms to the elevators.
“Where are you taking us?” Carrie asked.
“Miss, please don’t ask any more questions.” The agent implored. He pushed the button for the seventh floor.
The Situation Room was much nicer than the drab interrogation room they had used earlier. The cream-colored wallpaper had watermarks of the American Flag and the C.I.A. insignia in an alternating pattern throughout. Plush carpet covered most of the floor area, only a rectangular section in the center of the room had tile. An oversized oak, or perhaps mahogany, conference table with about twenty padded leather chairs dominated the tiled area. At the front of the room, there was a large movie screen with overhead mounted projector. Also mounted from the ceiling, but off to the side, there were large glass panels that illuminated a map of the world.
Carrie noticed two telephones at the head of the table. One of the telephones was red. The leather chair behind them had been swiveled 180 degrees and left in that position with its back to them. This bothered Carrie, everything else in the room was neat and proper. She obsessed about the chair as the agent ushered them into the room and asked them to take a seat. Suddenly the chair swiveled back around and faced the table.
“Yes, make yourself at home.” Turbo had already done so.
“Turbo, please don’t be in that seat when Lawson gets here.” The blonde haired agent begged.
“Turbo, what are you doing?” Carrie walked to the head of the table and h
ugged him. “I was worried.”
“Nothing to worry about, everything’s under control.” He told Phillip and Alex to have a seat and relax. “We’re waiting for the Feds to come back, hey I’m hungry, Blondie, how ‘bout some pizza.”
“That’s not very nice.” Carrie admonished Turbo. “He has a name, although I don’t think anyone ever told us.” She looked at the agent. “Well, what’s your name?”
The agent hesitated. “It’s Russell, Miss.”
“See, Turbo, his name is Russell.”
“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean anything by it. So, Rusty, we’re starving. Would you get us a couple of pizzas? Uncle Sam will foot the bill.”
“I’ll see what I can do if you switch seats.”
Turbo did so at once. “Call Mario’s in Tribeca, they’re close and they make a good pie.”
“Okay, sit tight and don’t touch anything.
***
Lawson barged into the room ahead of the other agents. “Turbo if your fucking with us I’m gonna shoot you right between the eyes.” Lawson sat at the head of the table.
“Nice to see you, too.” Turbo remained calm, impervious to Lawson’s antics.
Agent Arnold entered the room next followed by Agent Petrovic. Arnold locked the door. “Okay, Turbo, I got them here, lay it on us.” Arnold sat across from Turbo. Yuri sat at the opposite end of the table from Lawson.
“Okay, pay attention, because we don’t have much time.” All eyes were on him. “Alex wasn’t kidding before, he can really contact Mika by shortwave---
“Not this again.” Lawson erupted. “You brought us all the way back from Brooklyn for this same bullshit?”
“The more you interrupt, the longer it’s gonna take and I told you we don’t have much time.”
“Let’s hear him out.” Yuri said. Then he looked at Turbo and said, “Ugoditi pasti na teret.”
“What? What did you say?”
“Oh, sorry, I thought you spoke Serbian. I said, please go on.”
“Yes, please do.” Arnold chimed in.
Alternating Current: A Tesla Novel Page 24