Above Reproach

by Lynn Ames

  The drone hovered outside a window. Vaughn zoomed in.

  “Over there.” Sedona indicated an area to the left of center. “See if you can get a better shot of that.”

  Vaughn cursed. “I can’t get a fix on it with this. I’m going to have to switch to the smaller drone.” Carefully, she turned the drone around and directed it back to their location.

  “Sabastien, while I’m trading these out, send the video we just took to the president. In the message, tell him we’re going in for a better look.”

  “Okay.” Sabastien handed Sedona a thin, round, cylindrical tube. “If you would please put this on the roof.”

  “What is it?” Justine asked.

  “It is a laser uplink. It will allow me to establish a secure link with a satellite from which to transmit the video.”

  “But I thought they caught us the last time we tried to use a satellite.”

  “That was different. In that case, we were taking pictures of their facility. In this case, we are pointed in the opposite direction.”

  “Okay. All set.” Sedona said, lowering herself back in through the open window.

  “Behold the magic,” Sabastien said. It took less than thirty seconds for him to hook up with the satellite, and not much longer than that to transmit a rush packet with all of the video contained within.

  “Where does it go now?” Justine asked.

  “The secure communications center in the White House. A hand-picked Navy Captain will receive it and walk it directly to the president so he can view it on an iPhone.”

  “How do you know that?” Sedona asked.

  “I set up the system myself,” Sabastien said, puffing out his chest with pride.

  “Okay, genius. Launch number two is away.” Vaughn positioned herself in front of her laptop and Sedona leaned over her shoulder from the back seat.

  As the drone approached the compound, they watched on screen as one of the guards walked back through the gate. “Zoom in on him,” Sedona said. “Get his face.”

  “Why?” Vaughn asked.

  “Because he did the same thing exactly half an hour ago. He’s on a specific schedule. I think it might be worthwhile to see where he’s going.”

  Vaughn shrugged but followed the man’s progress as he walked through the compound into a building. She directed the drone through the open door and stayed with the guard as he traveled down a corridor and ducked his head into an office.

  “What do you think he’s doing?” Justine asked.

  “Reporting to the watch commander,” Vaughn and Sedona said simultaneously.

  “He must be like a major—they probably want a minimal amount of activity traveling in and out, so they put one guy in charge of shuttling between the troops on the outside and the commander in charge on the inside,” Vaughn elaborated.

  Sedona closed her eyes and tried to tune in to her intuition. The massive headache and the pain in her chest were making it difficult. Angels, please, find a way to give me the information I need so that I know it with crystal clarity.

  “Are you okay?” Justine asked close to her ear.

  “Yes.” She reached over Vaughn’s shoulder and pointed to the man coming out of the office. “He’s the one you want to follow. Stay with him.”

  It seemed for a moment as if Vaughn would object, but she closed her mouth and maneuvered the joystick carefully to the left so that the drone followed directly behind and above the man they presumed to be the watch commander. He opened a door at the other end of the hallway and the drone followed him through the opening and into a wide-open area.

  “Where are we?” Vaughn asked.

  “The heart of the operation,” Sedona said. “Gotcha.” She pumped a fist. “Stay with him, I have a feeling he’s going to lead us to someone we really want to meet.”

  Vaughn shook her head, but complied.

  “What?”

  “I’ve stopped questioning your mysterious ways…for now. I may not understand how or why you come up with your information—”

  “I—”

  “Before you say anything like, ‘It’s just a hunch,’ I’m telling you I acknowledge that, somehow, you seem to know things and your choices always seem to work out.”

  “Well, except for walking into a bullet,” Sedona muttered.

  Vaughn coughed. “I could’ve gone all night without you reminding me of that.”

  “Me too, actually,” Sedona said. “There!” She jabbed the laptop screen with her finger. “Get that guy’s picture.”

  Vaughn zoomed in and captured the man’s face. “Sabastien?”

  “I am in it.”

  “On it,” Vaughn corrected.

  Sabastien’s fingers flew over the keyboard as he typed in commands. He used the mouse to outline the man’s face and clicked to finalize the selection. Within seconds, millions of faces cascaded down the screen. Less than ten seconds after that, the computer beeped.

  “What is it?” Sedona asked.

  “We have a match.”

  Sedona shifted to look over Sabastien’s shoulder. “Oh, my.”

  “I’m listening,” Vaughn said.

  “He’s Randolph Quinn. According to his bio, he’s one of the most wanted men on the planet. For at least a decade, he was the top bomb maker for the IRA. He disappeared from sight after the Brits and the IRA reached a cease-fire. No one’s seen him since.”

  “We have,” Vaughn said grimly. “Sabastien, send that to the president right away.”

  “Vaughn, you’d better call and tell him. Whoever hired him means business,” Sedona said.

  “What makes you think he’s a hired gun and not the guy in charge?”

  “Men like Quinn take orders. They do other people’s bidding. They like to control things, but they don’t like to take responsibility.”

  “Sedona’s right,” Justine said. Next to her in the back seat, the scientist choked and coughed. “Are you okay?” she asked him.

  He nodded and held up a hand. “I think I just need a minute of fresh air.” He coughed again. “If I could just step outside for a second?”

  “Justine, go with him. And keep it quiet out there.”

  The scientist opened the door and stumbled outside. Justine followed behind him.

  When they were gone, Sedona said, “Vaughn, I need you to trust me on this. Think about it—this guy is Irish. Everyone else we’ve encountered has been American. Someone hired him or cut him in because of his particular skill set. There’s no way he’s calling the shots over one of the president’s cabinet members. Hart would never allow it. We just have to figure out how all this is connected and why.”

  Vaughn capitulated. “Put the president on speaker. I need to keep flying this thing. We still need to see exactly what he’s building so our scientist can tell us what we’re dealing with.” Vaughn motioned to Sedona to dial the number and put the phone on the seat next to her.

  “Hello.”

  “Mr. President? Vaughn Elliott, sir.”

  “I just received your images.”

  “So you can see a little bit of the scope of this thing.”

  “Yes.”

  Sedona thought the president sounded grim.

  “Sir? There’s more.”

  “I’m listening.”

  “We ran the facial recognition software and identified the man we believe is in charge of the operation over here.”

  “And?”

  “He’s Randolph Quinn, sir. Interpol has been searching for him for years. He was the IRA’s top bomb-making expert. He’s Irish.”

  “Damn.”

  Sedona wanted to join the conversation, but she knew that until everything was fully resolved, she needed to keep her distance from the president.

  “I’m attempting to ascertain right now what it is they’re manufacturing over here, whoever ‘they’ are. Sedo—uh, we believe that while he might be in charge over here, someone else is pulling the strings.”

  “That’s probably true. Ma
x Kingston is still tracking Daniel Hart. He’s due to report back to me later today. Perhaps we’ll know more then.”

  “Yes, sir.” Several seconds of silence ensued. “Sir?”

  “Yes?”

  “If Quinn is here and this turns out to be bad…”

  “I see where you’re going.” There was a pause on the other end of the line. “Phone in again if you can. If not, I authorize you to take all necessary steps to eliminate the threat. I just wish we knew what the endgame was.”

  “I will, if at all possible, sir, try to capture Quinn alive so we can get the answer to that.”

  “You and your team be careful, Vaughn.”

  “Yes, sir.” Vaughn hit the off key. “Where to?” she asked Sedona as she continued to control the drone.

  “Head to your right, to that well-lit area over toward the corner. See all those people in Hazmat suits?” Sedona pointed to an area on the screen.

  “Here?”

  “A little farther to the right… Okay, look around there.”

  Vaughn turned the drone in several directions, making sure to get several angles. “Where’s our scientist?”

  “Justine?” Sedona hailed her over the coms.

  “Coming.”

  Several moments later, the car door opened and Justine and the scientist slid back onto the seat.

  “See this?” Vaughn asked. She indicated the video currently being shot by the drone. “What are we looking at?”

  The scientist scooted forward, closer to Sedona and she felt her heart rate, or more precisely, his energy signature, rapidly speed up. “Th-that appears to be some raw uranium and a processing operation.”

  “What are they doing with it?” Vaughn asked. “What’s this over here?” She pointed to another area.

  Sedona’s back contracted sharply, as if she was being stabbed. She sucked in a sharp breath.

  “It would appear to me that they are creating some sort of explosive device.”

  “What kind?”

  He was sweating profusely and the pain in Sedona’s chest and back intensified. Archangel Michael, what do I need to know?

  “Th-the uranium already in the drums is encased in layers of cement, as you can see,” the scientist said. “When combined with enough Semtex or some other explosive, the result would be what you refer to as a ‘dirty bomb.’ In this case, perhaps several dirty bombs.”

  “How powerful?”

  “From what I can see here, they could take out a significant number of people.”

  “People? Not buildings?” Vaughn asked.

  “No. Not buildings.”

  “How far along in the process are they?”

  “They appear to be nearly finished,” the scientist said quietly.

  “Vaughn!” Sedona gripped Vaughn’s shoulder.

  “What?” Vaughn didn’t turn around.

  “We have a more immediate problem.”

  “What is it?”

  “Him.” Sedona lunged at the scientist and wrestled him face down into the seat.

  “What the hell?” Vaughn asked.

  “Justine? Was he ever out of your sight out there?” Sedona rose up and kneeled on the man’s back, pushing his face into the seat.

  “H-he said he had to relieve himself. Why?”

  “Search his pockets for a phone.”

  “We searched him before we left—”

  “Do it,” Vaughn said.

  “I don’t—” the scientist started to say.

  “Quiet,” Sedona said.

  Justine patted down his pockets.

  “Look in his socks,” Sedona said.

  Justine did as Sedona suggested. From his right sock, she pulled out a small flip phone. “I’ll be a…”

  “Check the last phone number on his call list,” Sedona said. “Sabastien? Find out who it belongs to.”

  Justine read off the number.

  “It belongs to an attorney in Washington,” Sabastien said. “Stanley Davidson. It says here he is a defense attorney.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  “You needed a defense attorney? Out here?” Vaughn stood over the trembling scientist. He was handcuffed and seated outside the car with his back against the back passenger-side wheel well.

  Vaughn slapped him hard across the face. “I’m going to ask you again, because we’re a little short on time here. Why were you calling this man?”

  When he didn’t answer, Vaughn raised her hand again to strike him.

  “Don’t.” Sedona stepped in. Her face looked ashen and her hand shook.

  Vaughn looked from her to the scientist and back again. She grabbed a fistful of the scientist’s shirt. “Tell me what I want to know.”

  Sedona moved between them and squatted in front of the scientist. “Listen, we can help you.” Her voice was soft and sympathetic. Vaughn vibrated with anger and adrenaline.

  “Vaughn. I know,” Sedona said. She glanced up at her, her eyes pleading. “I’ll get you what you need right now, but beating the crap out of this man isn’t the way to go. He’s scared out of his mind.” She looked back down at the trembling man. “You are, aren’t you? I know they’re blackmailing you, but I promise you, if you help us, we can help you.”

  The man sobbed.

  “What do they have over you?”

  “M-my family.”

  “Your wife and two daughters, right?” Sedona asked.

  “H-how did you know that?”

  Vaughn was asking herself the same thing.

  Sedona continued, “We can send a team to rescue them.”

  “I-I…don’t know where they are.”

  “I do,” Sedona said. Vaughn watched as she closed her eyes in concentration, then opened them again. “They are safe, for now. But these people will kill them…and you. They won’t think twice about it once you’ve outlived your usefulness to them, which I suspect you just did.”

  Vaughn wondered if Sedona was bluffing. If so, she was doing a masterful job.

  “Please. I know you didn’t do this willingly. You can help us stop them. But we have to act right now. Do you understand?”

  The scientist nodded.

  “Good. Who is Stanley Davidson and what did you just tell him?”

  “H-he’s a lawyer. I do not know him personally. He contacted me after my family was taken. He told me he worked on behalf of other interests. He said if I did not help them, they would kill Annia and our children. Please. I do not want them to die.” Tears streamed down his face.

  “We’ll do everything we can to prevent that.” Sedona said.

  Vaughn wanted to jump in—wanted to speed up the questioning—but he was responding to Sedona and she knew that rushing him at this point would be counterproductive.

  “What, exactly, did you just tell him?”

  “I-I told him that you weren’t in custody as they thought. I told him you were here.”

  Vaughn couldn’t stand it any longer. “How did they know you’d be able to find that out?”

  “Th-they didn’t. When they came to me, they told me that I might be approached by a woman named Sedona Ramos. She was going to want me to verify what was going on at Tuwaitha.”

  “When was that?” Vaughn asked.

  “A week ago. They said that if I was approached, I was to agree to do the work and then report back to them everything I found out.” He looked at Sedona. “But then they called me back two days ago and told me the instructions had changed. I wouldn’t be approached by Sedona Ramos, because she was in jail. I should still maybe expect to be contacted by others wanting me to do exactly what you asked me to do.”

  “So when you called her by name,” he glanced at Justine, “I knew I had to report that they were misinformed.”

  “That’s why you needed to get out of the car.”

  “Yes.” He hung his head.

  “What did this Stanley Davidson say when you spoke to him? Did you reach him, specifically?”

  “Yes. He told me I had done wel
l and ordered me to report any further developments. He seemed in a big hurry to get off the phone.”

  “You didn’t give him any of the particulars about our exact location or numbers or any of our plans?” Vaughn asked.

  “No. I did not want to help them. You see? I gave them only what was necessary to keep my girls alive.” He began to cry again.

  Sedona gave his arm an encouraging pat. “You didn’t mention that we sent information to the president?”

  “No.”

  Sedona nodded. “He’s telling the truth.”

  “And you know that because…?” Vaughn asked.

  “You didn’t tell this man that we identified Randolph Quinn or that we were using drones to get information?”

  “No.”

  Sedona nodded again.

  “I only told him that he was mistaken about your whereabouts. Nothing more. I swear.”

  “Okay. I believe you.”

  “Sedona? Can I talk to you a minute?” Vaughn dragged Sedona a short distance away and removed both of their ear buds to prevent being overheard. “What the hell was that?”

  “What?”

  Vaughn ran her fingers through her hair agitatedly. “We don’t have time for this. How did you know those things?” She watched a series of emotions flit across Sedona’s face.

  “I don’t know that you can handle the truth.”

  “Try me.”

  “Okay.” Sedona took a deep breath and squared her feet. “I’m spiritually gifted.”

  “Say that again?”

  Sedona sighed and shook her head. “I’m clairvoyant, clairaudient, clairsentient, claircognizant. Psychic. I talk to angels. There. Now you know.” She started to walk away.

  Vaughn blinked several times, trying to process what she heard. “You’re telling me you read people’s minds? That’s how you knew all those ‘hunches’ were right?”

  “I listen to the information the angels give me. Sometimes it comes in the form of intuition, sometimes they speak to me, sometimes I see it, sometimes I know it. If you want, we can talk about this later. Right now, it seems to me we have more important things to worry about.” Sedona inserted her ear bud and walked back to where Justine was standing guard over the scientist.