by R E Gauthier
Kelsey looked at the computer monitor with a sketch of the exact bird she saw in her dream. “Nikki, that’s it. You’re a genius. Now, what do they say about the person wearing this tattoo?”
Nikki’s fingers flew over the keys, and new windows popped up with information. “It says here that this tattoo is the only identifying mark on an asset from Egypt. The man’s name is Magdi Al-Fayed. This man is connected to a car bombing in the late sixties. He is said to have ties to a militant regime that sprang up in the early sixties in Syria. This regime was involved in overthrowing the existing government in a coup.”
“Do they know where this man is now?” Kelsey asked, anxious to know if this man could be the Ghost or was another herring her vision led her on.
“It looks like he was missing in a bomb attack and presumed dead, but a body was never located. Several years later, the same tattoo appeared again on the neck …Oh, Holy Shit! You won’t believe who had the tattoo.”
Kelsey attempted to see what Nikki read on the screen, but the tiny writing kept its secrets. Attempting to read Nikki’s mind proved successful, just as Nikki spoke.
“A man by the name of Anthony De Santis, that’s who.” Nikki looked smug and quite happy with this discovery.
“Sorry, Nikki. I’m not following you. Why is this name such a coup for you?”
“Because Anthony De Santis showed up in a search I did for Marcel LaMontagne. Remember when someone sent the papers on Marcel? There was a mention of the De Santis family in one entry about the holdings LaMontagne had in Italy.”
“Well, if you had shared that information with me, I would have recognized the name. Maybe you should look further into this Anthony De Santis. He could be the one knot we untie to unravel years of lies and mysteries into the identity of the Ghost.”
“I’m sorry Mack, I thought I told you all that I learned, but when we figured out a way to trap the Ghost, I guess I stopped thinking about finding his true identity. The stuff I received may have been a way to throw me off too. Now I’m wondering if some faction of intelligence was giving me a kernel of truth to find what we need to bring this man down.”
“If someone had a way to bring this man to justice and they didn’t, I don’t know why. It doesn’t make much sense.”
“It may make no sense, but it does look like it can lead us to find the Ghost. He thinks he has outsmarted us, but we may have the upper hand now.” Nikki’s fingers flew over the keyboard. “I’m going to do a deep-dive search into this De Santis and see what comes to the surface. It’s times like this; I wish Willow would resurface. Mack, I worry that I got her into this, and it got her in trouble. It doesn’t make any sense why she isn’t contacting me.”
“I don’t know what to tell you, Nikki. You did say you were concerned about her mental stability at one point. It could be she couldn’t handle the pressure. You did say you hadn’t heard from her in years. Is it possible that she isn’t the person you thought she was?”
Nikki turned in her chair and frowned up at Kelsey. “I’m beginning to feel bad about telling Torres off when she tried to warn me about Willow. The more I got to thinking, it did seem too coincidental for her to come out of the woodwork after all this time to help me. I don’t know why she did it.” Nikki shrugged and turned back to the computer monitor. “I can think about it later, but it would be nice to have another set of eyes helping me.”
Kelsey smiled before explaining why she wasn’t much help. “I could try to help you, but my mind seems to shut off every time I sit in front of a screen too long. In no time, I’ll forget what I’m looking for; you’re better off with me not helping you.”
Nikki chuckled. “No kidding, You’re of no help here. But without you, we wouldn’t have this lead.”
A cell phone rang. Kelsey went in search of the sound. “It seems to be coming from your jacket. Do you have another phone?”
Nikki looked perplexed, then she brightened. “Only Willow would be calling me on that phone. Only she has the number. Please, give me the phone.”
Kelsey retrieved the persistently ringing phone from the jacket pocket. Handing it to Nikki, she said, “I’m going in search of Aisling to see if she’s been successful getting the necklace from Aunt Cat. I’ll give you some privacy while you talk to Willow. You two have much to discuss.”
Nikki nodded as she took the phone. “Willow, what happened to you?”
Kelsey heard Nikki’s voice lower to a hushed tone before Kelsey closed the door.
***
Driving to the London Interpol Office, late evening, May 30, 2012
Several hours later, things had moved along quite quickly. Aisling took her mother’s necklace in the guise; it needed to be cleaned for electronic bugs. Aunt Cat was reluctant, but Aisling’s persistence paid off. Nikki examined the diamond under magnification and found a series of numbers that Aisling recognized as the number on a door to a secret room on the subfloor of the Interpol office in London. They made plans to travel to that office immediately.
On the flight to London, Nikki explained that Willow had to go away on business and was now somewhere in Europe. She told Nikki she couldn’t know because it was a covert operation. The reasoning behind the secrecy and Willow going off-grid was because the mission she was tasked at doing was time-sensitive and had to do with a kidnapping of a diplomat’s child. Kelsey had no idea that Willow’s job ever involved working with law enforcement. Nikki said she also wasn’t fully aware of all Willow did.
Kelsey sat in the hired car from the airport with sweat beading down her back. The wait for the car at the airport had proved to be more than she had been ready for. The delay made her edgy, and then she realized why. The Heathrow, London Airport, was the location where she had been shot a few months prior. A shudder tore through Kelsey. She pulled her jacket closer around her body to shield keep out the cold air.
“Kels, are you sure you are okay. You look flushed. Was being at the airport too much for you?” Aisling asked as she gently brushed away a lock of hair from Kelsey’s forehead. “You’re as cold as ice.”
Kelsey looked into Aisling’s eyes. She saw and felt the worry. Nikki’s concern was also palatable. Closing her eyes, she licked her lower lip and blew out a puff of air. “I think I wasn’t expecting to be affected like that; it wasn’t like I haven’t been shot at before.”
Nikki took Kelsey’s hand. “You may have been shot at before, but then, you saw it coming. This time you had no idea. That can mess with one’s brain, especially someone who likes to be in control at all times.”
Aisling nodded. “I hate that it was partly my fault that Marina shot at you that day. Her misunderstanding of my anger about you poking around almost got you killed.”
Kelsey squeezed Aisling’s leg. “Don’t blame yourself for someone who tried to kill me. You didn’t tell her you wanted me dead. She took it upon herself to do that; it is not on you.”
“I never thought I’d ever say I wanted to meet a woman’s ex-girlfriend, but I do hope I get to meet this Marina,” Nikki swore under her breath. “She’s going to wish; she had never been born.”
Aisling made a soft noise in her throat that sounded like a low chuckle.
Kelsey smiled when the two began a spirited banter back and forth about the number of ex’s Nikki had over the years. Her anxiety had lessened, and she closed her eyes and tried a breathing exercise, Miranda taught her. As the car slowed and then sped up again, Kelsey felt her body relaxing. Her mind emptied of all thoughts, and Nikki and Aisling’s voices sounded farther away. Behind her eyelids, Kelsey saw a bright light, and then a loud bang exploded in her head. The hand of a woman holding a gun and she saw Nikki lying on the floor, not moving. No, she yelled inside her mind. Her eyes popped open.
“Kels?”
“Mack?”
Both women grabbed one of Kelsey’s hand. The fear of losing her best friend made the words catch in her throat. Somehow, and somewhere in the future, Nikki was in danger.
“I’m fine,” she lied. Glad for the amulet that kept Aisling from seeing inside her heart and head. Kelsey didn’t want to alarm or distract Nikki and Aisling with her vision about Nikki on the floor and a woman standing over her with a gun. She had no idea if the bang she heard was a gunshot. She didn’t see the gun go off, or a bullet striking Nikki. Since her visions didn’t always tell her everything she needed to know about a future event, she decided to keep it to herself for the time being. There was no reason to worry anyone if her vision wasn’t foretelling events that were pertinent to their mission.
“You didn’t look back at the airport, and you don’t look fine now. You’re as pale as you were at the airport. What are you keeping from us?” Aisling asked with more than a little concern in her voice. “I hate not being able to read you.”
Nikki put her arm around Kelsey’s shoulders. “Mack, Aisling is right, you look like you’ve seen a ghost. Are you sure you’re not telling us everything about the shooting? There is nothing wrong with having lingering feelings; it had to be scary being at almost the exact spot where you were shot.”
Kelsey decided to make Nikki and Aisling think her reaction was due to lingering anxieties from her shooting. “You’re right, Ais’ I am keeping something from you both. That day, I didn’t know what had happened to me, but it felt like Mom was with me. I thought for sure someone had pushed me out of the way. Nikki assured me that wasn’t the case. The only explanation had to be Mom was looking out for me. I have felt her presence before that day as well. I haven’t told anyone about this.”
Nikki drew Kelsey closer to her, and Aisling leaned in for a three-way hug.
Kelsey hated lying to them but decided that knowing the truth would do no good for anyone at this time. Today they needed their heads on a swivel as this was the first time Aisling would be away from Scotland and out of hiding in years. If her cousin was a target, Kelsey needed to be more vigilant to protect both women by her side.
Chapter Fifty
London Interpol Office, early morning, May 31, 2012
Once inside the Interpol offices in a non-descript sort of building, Kelsey, Nikki, and Aisling were escorted to a locked elevator by an Agent Matteson. Kelsey saw the faces of a few people as they entered the office area; they were eyeing the three of them with caution and curiosity. Agent Matteson explained that they were all briefed about the possible file in the server and that they were to be on high alert. Kelsey figured that the Ghost would have to have one set of huge balls to step foot into these offices with so many agents to capture him. Kelsey knew she could relax, knowing that if anything were to happen to any of them, it wouldn’t be happening while deep inside the belly of a secret, secure facility guarded by nearly one hundred trained operatives.
Even still, Kelsey had unclipped her Glock at her side before entering the building, which looked more like a building full of normal-type tenants than a top-secret international intelligence facility. The bottom floor housed a bank, a lawyer’s office, a high-end jeweler, and a coffee shop. Then the two elevators were locked, and only Interpol personnel had security key cards to enter and operate the elevators. Aisling had such a keycard. They needed an agent with higher security clearance to open and run the elevator to the room in the sub-basement of the building, that is where Agent Matteson came to their aid. He was a man in his early thirties with a clean-shaven face and piercing blue eyes. He kept flirting with Aisling, who barely acknowledged his attempts. Kelsey smiled when Nikki looked annoyed and more than a little jealous. The four of them never spoke while in the elevator, and when it opened on their floor, Agent Matteson said a simple, “this way.”
Once at their destination in front of the room with the same numbers as found embedding in the diamond on Aunt Cat’s necklace, Aisling thanked and dismissed Agent Matteson.
“I’m afraid I do have to stay here for you to return upstairs,” Agent Matteson corrected.
Aisling narrowed her eyes and said, “you may stay here, but you’re not to enter this door. We’re not sure what we may find. Is there anyone who may have access to this room regularly?”
“Do you mean, will there be anyone inside when you enter?” Agent Matteson asked.
Aisling nodded.
“No, as far as I know, everyone cleared the room when you called, but there are other agents who have clearances to enter this floor, and they can access this room.” Agent Matteson shrugged.
Aisling gave Agent Matteson one of her megawatt smiles and said, “I’m going to need you to stay here and keep a watch for anyone trying to enter this room. Don’t let anyone inside.”
Kelsey watched the man’s face brighten with the renewed hope of doing something for Aisling. An odd feeling swept over Kelsey as she stood at the door. A voice told her to grab Agent Matteson’s key card. While he stood transfixed by Aisling talking, Kelsey slipped the card out of his suit pocket. Agent Matteson assured them he would stand guard and then take them back upstairs when they were done. She, Nikki, and Aisling entered the door to room 1654, using the keycard that Agent-In Charge Dauphine issued them. Kelsey slipped the extra card into her pocket.
Inside the room, the high shelves with filing boxes looked like a filing cabinet with all the drawers opened. There were ceiling-high shelves filled with file boxes everywhere. There were stepladders nine feet tall at the end of each shelving unit that one could use to access the files stored on the higher perches. Kelsey had only seen pictures of places such as this one. Before intelligence agencies and law enforcement relied on computers, they relied on written files. Somewhere amongst this mountain of file boxes was a file buried by Uncle Stephen. In that file was the truth he found about the Ghost and the mole working for him.
“Holy Shit!” Nikki exclaimed. “Where do we even begin to look for the file your father hid in here?”
Aisling frowned and shook her head. “I didn’t think it would be a room with actual files. I thought it would be another secret server.”
Kelsey watched the hope drain from both women’s faces. She thought of a way to figure this problem out. Uncle Stephen wouldn’t lead them all the way here without a way to find the truth. “Ais’ think of something that your father would use to lead us to where he hid the file. Nikki, if you had to hide a file in written form and wanted someone to find it, where would you hide it?”
Both women looked determined.
“Daddy would hide it where I could find it. He would choose a set of numbers important to me, mom or himself,” Aisling said brightly.
“If I had to hide a file in this archaic manner, I would use the filing system, and if I recall, the system should be…” Nikki walked to the end of the file stacks. “Here we go. It appears they use a three-number system, much like a date would be written. What is your father’s birthdate?”
Ailing replied, “his birthdate is—"
Kelsey interrupted her cousin’s reply with one of her own. His birthdate is “August 20, 1949, but your father would use a set of numbers that no one, but someone close to him would know. Think of a date that would have a greater significance and harder for someone to guess.”
“Mack is right. Your father wouldn’t want this file to fall into the wrong hands. Think of another special date your father would use,” Nikki said as she hugged Aisling close.
“We could use the date my dad and mom met. Dad once said it was the day his life changed forever.” Aisling giggled when Nikki whispered in her ear.
Kelsey smiled but wanted to warn them they didn’t have time. She refrained from doing what she wanted to do, by asking, “when did they meet?”
“They met September 20, 1975, the year after Dad arrived in the States.”
“So, we’re looking for nine, twenty, and seventy-five,” Kelsey said.
“Not necessarily; if he used the more common method, it could be seventy-five, nine, and twenty.” Nikki corrected.
“You two have half of it right, but you failed to think about the people here often use the day,
month, and year. I’m more apt to think it is twenty, nine, and seventy-five.”
Kelsey decided they should each pick one and go in search of the file in that stack area. Kelsey decided to take the nine, Aisling took the twenty, and Nikki took the seventy-five. They each went to their respective areas. They were communicating by hollering back and forth, giggling as their voices echoed in the large room. Kelsey could still see Aisling, but Nikki was down in the back half of the cavernous room.
They grew quiet as they searched for the file in the boxes they had taken out. Kelsey had her head bowed over a box of files when she thought she heard a distant sound behind her. The hairs on her neck rose, causing her to shiver. Something told her to go in search of Aisling. “Aisling, how’s it going? Are you having any luck?” When Kelsey didn’t get a reply from her cousin, she quickened her pace to reach the place where Aisling disappeared down the number twenty stack of shelves. She heard Aisling’s voice as she talked to someone. Maybe she is talking to Nikki. A deep feeling of foreboding hit Kelsey as well as sensing Aisling’s fear. Quickening her pace, Kelsey rounded the corner and rushed to get to the end of the stack. She stopped in her tracks when she saw a woman, who wasn’t Nikki, standing with her back to Kelsey. The look on Aisling’s face and the rage, fear, and bewilderment emotions emanating from her cousin, made Kelsey creep closer and draw her gun from its holster.
Aisling’s eyes grew wide.
The woman, with her back to Kelsey, spun around and glared into Kelsey’s eyes. The gun in her hand aimed directly at Kelsey. “Why am I not surprised to see the very woman who ruined it all, here? I still don’t understand how I missed that day. It doesn’t make any sense, but I can make up for that now.”