The Compound: A Thriller

by Ben Follows

  “I don’t know, but he’s standing there like he is. Maybe they got here first.”

  “It sure looks like he's providing security. No one else is acting like anything suspicious is happening.”

  “He looks pretty calm.”

  “I think that’s just his face.”

  Jake pulled back from the binoculars and looked at Sarah. She was calm and serious staring through the scope.

  “Convoy coming in,” she said.

  Jake looked through the camera and scanned the road until he saw an FBI truck and police cars coming down the road, sirens blazing. As they approached, the sounds of the sirens filled the air and the workers stopped what they were doing and looked up at approaching noise. Keelan Ochre stood at the gate as the vehicles approached, pulling his jacket closed to conceal the handgun holstered at his side.

  “What’s going on?” said Harold in their earpieces.

  “Police raid,” said Sarah, her voice echoing through Jake’s earpiece. “Looks like you were right. If they go in there and get Frank, and he talks, then we could be sunk.”

  “How threatening do they look?” said Harold.

  “They’ve got an FBI truck and a SWAT team.”

  Harold cursed. “We need to get backup in there. I didn’t know anything about this.”

  “We don’t have time,” said Sarah. “This is mine and Jake's show. We don’t have nearly the time to get reinforcements. Jake, go now.”

  Jake looked up from the binoculars at Sarah.

  “Do I have full clearance?” he said. No one was given full kill clearance on a first mission, not that he had heard of.

  Harold said, “You have full clearance. Get in there and kill anyone you have to in order to keep Frank from talking.”

  “Understood,” said Jake. He turned and climbed down from the roof, mentally checking everything was in place. He thought of the blueprints of the factory they had looked at in the bunker and the most likely places to hide a captive.

  He wove through the houses until he was close enough to hear the voices at the front gate. He pushed his back against the wall and peered around the corner.

  Officer Obrasey, Chief Williams, and the two FBI agents Jake had seen in the video had walked up to the gate. There were about a dozen vehicles, mostly police cars, lining the road.

  Keelan Ochre came out to meet them, and Jake couldn’t hear their conversation. He cursed silently for not bringing any listening equipment and decided it was useless to stay there. He curved behind the houses then slipped into the woods past where the road ended, concealing himself among the trees until he was creeping along the fence on the east side of the factory.

  “You got me covered?” he said.

  Sarah said, “I got you. I’m trying to keep an eye on the gate as well, so keep me updated on your position.”

  “Copy that.” Jake pulled up his pant leg and removed a knife from his boot. With a few well-placed strokes he cut through the rusting fence and pulled out a section large enough to crawl through. “Going in.”

  “They’re just talking at the gate. I’ll alert you of any changes.”

  Chapter 24

  Officer Obrasey stood beside the chief and the two FBI agents speaking to the tall, blank-faced man who introduced himself as Keelan Ochre, the head of Dimitri Kulovich’s security.

  “What can I do for you lot?” he asked, crossing his arms.

  The chief stepped forward. “I’d like to speak with Dimitri Kulovich. The FBI agents here have reason to suspect a wanted criminal may be on the premises. I told them Mr. Kulovich is an upstanding citizen, but you know, they’ve got to do their job—“

  “I’ll get him,” said Keelan, turning and walking back to the booth, where he picked up the phone and made a call.

  About a minute later, Dirk Davidson exited the factory and walked across the parking lot.

  If he was guilty, thought Obrasey, he didn’t show any fear of being caught. She adjusted the bulletproof vest and equipment the FBI had supplied her with. She was conflicted on whether she wanted the factory to be what the FBI suspected. Either way she could say she had led an FBI raid, but if they found nothing she would be safer, and if they found something and she succeeded in evacuating Frank Tanners, she could be a hero.

  Dirk arrived. He and the FBI agents made their introductions.

  “Dimitri isn’t here right now. What can I do for you?” he said, wiping perspiration off his forehead.

  Emerson stepped past the chief, holding a piece of paper. “This is a warrant to search the premises of this factory in connection with the disappearance of Frank Frederickson, also known as Frank Tanners. Dirk Davidson, will you please stay with us and send your head of security to alert the rest of the employees to exit the premises. We would also like to speak with Paul Vincent and Dimitri Kulovich. Where are they?”

  Dirk looked past Emerson. “Chief, I explained this to you. This is a good business.”

  Emerson took a step toward him and glared. “Get Dimitri and Paul.”

  Dirk nodded frantically. “I’ll do that. Keelan, you heard the man. Actually, no, I can’t get them. They’re not here. They went into Boston for supplies.”

  Keelan looked as though he might snap Dirk’s neck right there but turned back and jogged through the gate, shouting to employees to spread the order.

  “That’s pretty convenient,” said Thompson.

  “Call them,” said Emerson. “Get them back here as fast as possible.”

  “Of course,” said Dirk, taking out his phone and calling a number. They could hear it ringing and then a clear voicemail message answering. “I can’t get Dimitri, his phone must be out of service or off.”

  Dirk left a message detailing the situation and then tried the same with Paul and got voicemail as well. “Sorry,” he said before leaving the message.

  “Give me your phone,” said Thompson when he had finished.

  “Of course,” said Dirk, holding out his phone.

  Thompson took it and slid it into his pocket. “Please accompany me to my car, Mr. Davidson.”

  They turned and walked away, leaving the chief, Emerson, and Obrasey alone among the throng of workers walking through the gates.

  Keelan returned and gave them the all-clear. “I left some of my security guys in there, but they know the situation and what’s happening. If you don’t mind, I can accompany you.”

  Emerson said he’d prefer if Keelan stayed behind and made sure no one entered, then he signaled to Obrasey to commence her raid.

  She drew her gun, holding it at her waist, and then walked through the gates with a team of a dozen FBI agents, including Emerson on her right. She had been here a few times before as a child, when her father had worked at the previous iteration of the factory.

  As they reached the front entrance, she could feel the adrenaline of the hunt flowing through her veins and knew at that moment the answer to her question. She was going to find Frank Tanners.

  Chapter 25

  “Give me an update,” said Jake quietly as he crept along the side of the factory toward an open window that led into a storage room.

  “Dirk is in the police car,” said Sarah, “and Keelan Ochre is standing with Agent Thompson and the chief. I can’t make out what they’re saying.”

  Jake froze and pushed himself against the wall of the factory. Coming toward him, casually glancing into the forest, was one of Keelan’s thugs. Luckily, he was distracted, but Jake knew that any noise might draw his attention. The thug was holding an AR-15 assault rifle, a more powerful gun than anything Jake had on him. Sarah didn’t have a shot. The corner of the building was in the way, and the thug was within ten meters. The thug would see him eventually.

  Jake wondered where he had made a mistake but quickly pushed it aside. He took the handgun from its holster and took off at a run as fast as he could to get within range. The thug looked up as Jake was within a few meters.

  “Lavelle is here,” he said loudly, g
oing to one knee and pulling the rifle to his eye. Just as his finger tensed, Jake lunged to the right and jumped off the wall of the factory, using the push from the wall to launch himself to the top of the rusty fence, launching again immediately, flipping over the thug as shots fired into empty space. Jake spun and put his gun to the back of the thug’s head before he had time to move his gun.

  The memory of the last time he had held a gun like this forced its way into his head.

  Jake clenched his eyes shut, and the memory of Doug was gone. He pulled back his arm. The thug was only just reacting. Jake hit him as hard as he could with the butt of his gun. The thug crumbled to the ground.

  Jake crouched beside the thug and saw the wire from his ear, connected to a radio in his pocket, a small mouthpiece beside the thug’s face.

  “Shit, guess you won that one,” said Jake, patting the dead thug’s back.

  He turned and ran to the window, jumping to grab the ledge and then pulling himself in.

  Chapter 26

  “How do you know about Jake Lavelle?” said Thompson, reaching through the car window and grabbing Dirk by his shirt collar.

  Chief Williams stood to one side, unsure of whether he should interfere or not.

  “I told the others about him,” said Dirk, speaking quickly. “I saw him beat the crap out of bunch of guys at the bar and thought it was suspicious, like he had been trained by a judo master or something.”

  “So you told the guards about him?” said Thompson. “That seems a bit excessive.”

  “I was really freaked out. That guy isn’t normal.”

  Thompson pushed him back into the car. He turned to Keelan, still holding his radio where the thug's words had come through. “Can you get in touch with your guy?”

  “No,” said Keelan. “He’s gone radio silent.”

  “Shit.” He picked up his own radio and turned it on. “Obrasey, Emerson, be notified that Jake Lavelle is on the scene. He is considered armed and dangerous.”

  He shut off the radio and leaned back through the car window. “You want to tell me why Jake Lavelle is here if there is nothing to hide?”

  “I swear I don’t know,” said Dirk. “I have no idea!”

  “Bullshit,” said Thompson, but it was unclear if he meant Dirk’s comment or the situation in general.

  “I’m going in,” said Keelan, and the chief turned to see him testing a gun. “ If this Lavelle guy is as dangerous as you say, then we’ll need all the bodies we can get.”

  “You got a license for that?” said the chief, pointing at the gun.

  “Go,” said Thompson, ignoring the chief. “Take care of him. Alive.”

  “Understood,” said Keelan.

  Keelan slipped the gun back into its holster and ran through the gate.

  “Should we be going in there?” said the chief, laughing. “Seems like everyone else is.”

  Thompson looked at him for a moment and then walked away to speak with some of the backup FBI SWAT teams. As he was walking his phone rang. He answered it with obvious confusion.

  “Hello? I didn’t think I’d hear from you again. Yes, we’re out there right now. Who is that? Where? All right, we’re on it.”

  Thompson hung up his phone and walked to the FBI agents leaning against the trucks.

  The chief couldn’t hear what he was saying, but they nodded and began assembling their gear before turning and running in the opposite direction of the factory, into the abandoned houses.

  Thompson walked back to the chief.

  “Anything new?” Thompson asked.

  “No, what was that?”

  “Don’t worry about it.”

  Chapter 27

  Obrasey turned into the center of the factory, scanning left and right through the scope of her rifle. She signaled Emerson to go right, and the team silently split in two and began making a wide arc around the edges of the new machines, most of which had barely made it through the testing stages and had yet to produce a single product. The workers’ tools were still strewn around on the ground.

  Thus far every room had been vacant and hadn’t been any cause for alarm. The only people left behind were the thugs working for Keelan, who joined them and gave details on where anything would be hidden. Then they had instructed Keelan and his guards to stay put and make sure no one was following them.

  They had heard Jake Lavelle's name on the radio, and it had Obrasey's finger itching to pull the trigger. She could tell the thugs felt the same way.

  Obrasey had no doubt they would kill Jake Lavelle if given the chance, and she was beginning to think it would solve a lot of her problems, a thought she reproached herself for but couldn’t ignore.

  They worked their way around the factory floor and between each line of machines. She pushed a box, and it seemed too light. She shrugged and moved on.

  Once they had gone through the entire factory and the office that looked over the factory floor, they sent a few people to investigate the upper levels. They didn’t expect to find anything, but they needed to be thorough. Obrasey and Emerson turned their attention to the freight elevator at the end of the factory floor.

  “If I was hiding someone,” Obrasey said. “I’d do it in one of subbasements.”

  “As would I,” said Emerson. “Take the lead.”

  Chapter 28

  “Jake,” said Sarah’s voice over the intercom. “I’ve got enemies coming through the yards. I think they’re coming for me. I’m moving out. I’ll try to circle around and give you some support, but I can’t guarantee anything.”

  “Understood,” said Jake. He was moving down one of the back hallways of the factory after slipping through the window into a supply room. Sarah had given him intel on where the FBI team was, so the hallways surrounding him should be mostly empty. Thus far he had encountered no one, moving through the hallways and listening for the distinct sounds of footsteps.

  “Harold,” said Sarah over the radio. “Give me a route out of here.”

  “Go east toward the woods," said Harold. "You can lose them in there and circle around. They’re coming at you from the north. It shouldn’t be an issue.”

  “Got it,” said Sarah. “Moving now. Jake, you’re on your own.”

  Jake took a few steps forward and went to one knee, seeing a shadow stretching around the nearby corner. Moments later a large man came around the corner, an AR-15 assault rifle in his hands. For just a moment Jake thought he was Doug, but the image dissipated and he saw the thug for who he was. He froze when he saw Jake pointing the gun at him but then smiled broadly and raised his hands and the gun in the air.

  “You’ve got me,” he said, laughing.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “Keelan’s got you.”

  Jake spun around to see where the thug was looking, and his heart dropped. Standing behind him was Keelan Ochre.

  Jake hadn’t heard him approach. Even now he made no sounds. Keelan walked toward him calmly, as if they were meeting up for a scheduled appointment. Only the gun he was holding in front of him gave away the truth.

  “Freeze,” said Jake. He heard the loading of the assault rifle behind him and spun back to the thug.

  “Jake,” said Keelan without inflection. “I think you need to come with us. You can answer some questions. I’d like to thank you for not killing my man, although he will probably have a pretty serious concussion. For that reason, I’ll give you a chance before killing you. If you come with me, you can explain exactly how it is that you and whoever you’re working for faked Frank Tanners’s death.”

  Jake frowned, still holding his gun, spinning back and forth between his two adversaries, not knowing which to take first, knowing that he would be gunned down as soon as he took either.

  Keelan said, “Don’t look at me like that, Jake. It’s a basic matter of understanding who you are and who you work for. Whoever you work for made him disappear, and now you’re here to make sure nothing gets traced back to you. We’re in simila
r businesses, Jake. I understand why you don’t want anyone to know about whatever your operation is.”

  Jake raised his hands, knowing that he needed to change the situation if he was going to have any chance of beating the two men. He ran his tongue over the poison cap in his mouth but didn’t bite down, something poking at the edge of his consciousness, some connection he hadn’t been able to make.

  “Slide your gun along the ground,” said Keelan.

  Jake obeyed. As he stood, he could feel all the other weapons under his clothing, but he knew any sudden movements would give him away. Keelan gestured toward the exit, and Jake turned and walked away between the two enemies. They kept far enough away that he would be dead well before he got close enough to them if he tried anything.

  Chapter 29

  Sarah slid off the roof and landed on the ground as the footsteps approached. She threw the bag containing her weapons and equipment behind a bush and took off at a sprint toward the east, weaving through the paths between the back yards. She sprinted, trying to put as much distance between her and her pursuers as possible. Shouts rang out as she ran past alleyways. Footsteps were coming from behind her, but she had a head start. Gunshots rang out. She dodged between alleyways to stay out of their lines of sight.

  She could see the forest in front of her and accelerated. The leaves on the ground were brown and crusted, only recently released from the snow, below the newly sprouted green growth on the trees. The dense forest would provide perfect cover.

  Just as she was about to enter the last block between her and the forest, a team of SWAT agents emerged from the east side of the block, blocking her path, their guns raised.

  She cursed and stopped hard, planting her foot and turning down a side street, only to run into another team. She turned and ran back across the street in the opposite direction, but yet another team stopped her there.