by Bob Blink
Four of them were gathered in Susan's office, which had become their war room the past few days. In addition to Jim, Jake and Susan, her boyfriend Norm was now present and had become an informed member of the group. As a matter of fact, the four of them had stayed in Norm's apartment the previous night, both for mutual support, and because there was so much to convey to Norm regarding recent events. As expected, Norm had been both doubtful and annoyed when told of Jake's unique ability. It had taken a number of the usual tricks to finally beat down Norm's disbelief. After he could find no way to explain what Jake was doing, and faced with the absolute assurance of two people he respected that it was real, he became angry.
"Why wasn't I told about this a long time ago?" he asked Susan.
"It was Jake's preference to keep the secret as limited as possible," Susan explained. "Already, he and his family have been exposed to dangers because of awareness of his ability."
"Don't feel left out," Jim added. "I was Susan's partner for a couple of years before Jake came along. For more than a year, she knew about him, and worked secretly with him, without telling me. It was only when a situation developed where it became necessary to fill me in, that I became aware of the secret. My wife Clarissa was the same. It was just a couple of days ago that we told her. We have been waiting for you to return to bring you in on the secret. This situation requires that all of us know."
Norm wasn't entirely mollified.
"You said the Director is supporting you. Does that mean he is aware of Jake's ability?"
Susan shook her head.
"Only that Jake has an uncanny ability to know what is about to happen. He became aware last year when Jake had to help with one of the Director's family members. He doesn't entirely believe what he has seen, and believes it's a kind of precognition. He doesn't really know exactly what Jake does."
"I still think I should have been told a long time ago," he mumbled, but then he turned to the more important matter of what was going on.
"You claim there is someone else out there who has this ability and is using it to commit crimes?"
"We are operating on circumstantial evidence, but that seems the likely explanation of what we have observed," Jake explained. He had told Norm about the attempts against Susan, and then how they simply didn't occur when he came and warned her.
"Why would they simply give up and disappear now?" Norm asked. "Just because they may have learned about the fact Susan has someone on her side with this talent. It might make them more cautious, but whatever was pushing them to attempt killing her can't have simply gone away."
"That's what we have concluded as well," Jake agreed. "They'll be more cautious, and I expect they will focus on discovering who Susan knows who can Back-Track, and make that individual their primary target."
"Or attempt to take out all of you in hopes their wide ranging attacks will nail the person who has been thwarting them as well as getting Susan."
"You don't think they can solve their problem by going after someone else?" Jim asked. "Maybe Susan was the easier target, but given what they know, maybe they will consider a different solution."
"Since we don't know why they are after me, we simply can't answer that," Susan said. "Until we find out what this is about, we have to assume the triggering mechanism still exists."
"I can't see how anything I've worked on since meeting Susan could be the reason," Norm had said. "The white collar kinds of cases I've been working on don't generally lead to these kinds of reprisals."
That had been the night before. Now they were reviewing the situation in the cold light of day.
"When do you leave with this CIA guy?" Norm asked.
"He's not CIA," Susan said, but neglected to explain his actual association within the intelligence community. "The Director indicated that Tony will be made available this afternoon. He spoke with Tony's boss earlier and requested his services. Whatever Tony is working on conveniently had suffered a couple weeks delay, otherwise he'd be on his way out of the country. Tony is going to coordinate with Shaun and set up a secure link to wherever he plans to go with Jake. That will allow us to remain in contact, but hopefully keep Jake out of sight of whoever these people are. With luck, they aren't even aware of him as yet."
They all agreed that Jake needed to be kept hidden until they knew exactly what was going on. He provided protection to them all. If a move were made against the others, Jake's ability would be able to nullify whatever happened. But he had to be alive in order to act. With Tony's help, they hoped to be able to keep him safely hidden away.
"You, Jim and I will be joined at the hip for the next few days," Norm said, looking at Susan. "What about some of the others you are working with? What about your computer tech Shaun, or the two retired agents you called in? How safe are they?"
"I've given them a warning they could be at risk," Susan explained, "but I don't think they will be targets. "None were involved when this started and Jake was able to unravel my attackers original plans. That makes them unlikely to be our Back-Tracker. Making a move against them would have some risk to our assailants, and they must know by now that we would be able to undo their efforts. That should discourage them. They want me, maybe Jim, but mostly whoever our Back-Tracker is. They are going to be trying to figure that out."
"That's something we need to put more thought into," Jim said. "We aren't making much headway with the searches that Shaun is running. Somehow these people have a surprising amount of insight into Susan's and my activities. We need to consider just who might be able to supply such information. If we can find out where they are getting their information, we might have a link back to whoever it is."
Tony arrived shortly after lunch. He hadn't changed since Jake had last worked with him. His light brown hair was still worn somewhat long. His smile was disarming, and he could have been an easygoing athlete, given his powerful build. It was his eyes that suggested he was something more, and someone who could be dangerous. Tony's eyes missed very little. They were intense and focused, seeming to observe and evaluate everything around him effortlessly.
Tony had first been introduced to Jake as Bob Trask, but over the course of the days they had worked together, he had eventually learned Jake's real name. He didn't know Norm, and Susan made the introductions.
"I'm told you have us involved in another of your twisted situations," Tony said as he warmly grasped Jake's hand in both of his own. "I told you we'd end up working together again."
"They are after Susan," Norm said.
"So I've been told," Tony replied.
"And we believe they have someone with my ability," Jake added.
"That I wasn't told," Tony admitted. "That is going to make matters a little unusual. You don't have any idea who they are or what is driving their attacks?"
"A couple of sketches is all," Jim Laney said, and passed over the two drawings so Tony could have a look. He explained the conditions under which the sketches had come into being.
"I've never seen either of them," Tony said.
"Jake will fill you in later," Susan said. "You'll have a lot of time together. If all goes as we hope, you two will be bored hiding out waiting for something to happen."
"I'm used to that," Tony admitted.
"Have you met with Shaun?" Susan asked.
Tony nodded.
"I'm all set. My car is loaded with everything we should need."
Jake was unhappy to be leaving, but he understood the logic. A short time later he and Tony were on their way out of Washington, driving in a dark SUV that Tony had checked out of the motor pool.
"We'll only be forty miles away," Tony reassured him. "If something comes up, we'll be able to react without too great of a delay."
Forty miles was outside of Jake's Back-Track range, which meant he wouldn't be able to immediately jump back to a time he was in Washington with Susan and Jim. But, a short drive would bring him in range. It was probably a good thing. If his counterpart fully understood t
he limitations on Back-Tracking, assuming his were the same as Jake's, he would expect him to be within range. The extra distance would hopefully place them outside the area where they might be sought.
While Tony and Jake were headed into the Virginia countryside, Jim Laney was looking at the information that a messenger from Director Denford had just brought him.
"We have something," he told Susan and Norm, who were sitting together around Susan's computer in the other room.
"The guy's real name is Jeffery Rineri. He's some kind of Mob enforcer. Looks like he operates out of New York, and has a long rap sheet of minor offenses. He's suspected of some more major crimes, but nothing has ever stood up in court."
Jim handed Susan the sheets of paper, one with a picture, and the others with the criminal history of the culprit.
"See if you can find Shaun," she said. "Let's see what we can find out about this guy. I want to know his family history, his associates and friends."
"I'll also send a copy to Jake," Jim said. "He should be in place and set up to receive it soon. Hopefully he can verify it's him."
"You don't want to ask our New York office to pick him up?" Norm asked.
Susan shook her head.
"That would warn them we know something. For the moment we have an edge they don't know about. Besides, if we grab him, they will simply do one of the Back-Track loops and make certain it never happened. We are better off keeping our distance."
Chapter 22
Friday Afternoon, May 13
Tony knew where they were going and drove with confidence that suggested he'd been to their destination before. Jake didn't know the area well enough to know any more than they were headed off into Virginia somewhere. Tony drove almost directly west, as the city thinned behind them and the countryside became thick with interspaced stands of trees and periodic housing and shopping developments.
"What do they want with Susan?" Tony asked after the traffic had thinned enough he could easily keep track of the vehicles around them without having to work at it to be certain no one was following them.
"We haven't sorted that out just yet," Jake explained. "We also don't have any clue who is behind this beyond those two sketches you had a look at."
"How exactly did you get those?" Tony asked.
Jake explained the sequence of events that had resulted in the limited information they currently had, including the two moves against Susan.
"They kidnapped her, and then they shot her?" Tony asked, surprised that the attacks had gone so far. "If it wasn't for this strange ability of yours they would have been successful I gather?"
"Even then it's only chance that I retained awareness of the attempts. Because of something else I was doing, I Back-Tracked a considerable time into the past, and placed myself outside the corrective loop their Back-Tracker used to undo the capture efforts we employed. Because of that, I recalled what had happened, while Susan and Jim were totally surprised when I informed them."
"And now you believe they know about you?" Tony asked.
"They may or may not have an idea that I'm the one who has the ability, but I think it's likely they have figured out why their efforts keep failing. I also believe it's unlikely they haven't learned about my presence. Since I'm an outsider with a history of supporting Susan on selected projects, they might make the jump to the realization I'm a likely candidate to have the Back-Tracking ability."
"That's why Susan wants you out of sight," Tony said. "As long as you are alive, they are limited on how much they can accomplish, and any attacks against her or Jim can be unraveled."
"That's the hope," Jake agreed. "Meanwhile, we will continue to search for who this might be."
Tony had made a loop through a large commercial area, filled with stores and fast food outlets, and was now looping back the way they had come.
"Are we being followed?" Jake asked.
"Not that I can tell," Tony said. "I wanted to be certain, since we are getting close to our destination."
Tony drove back onto the main roadway, continued another four or five miles, and turned off into a large housing development snuggled in among the trees. They drove deeper into the area making a confusing series of turns, and then approached a large gated community.
"Even if they were to locate us, the security here would make any move against us more difficult," Tony explained. "The people here pay a premium to be protected from petty thieves and the like. It can be defeated, but its a cut above the normal gated developments."
Tony drove toward the guard shack and slowed as he drew near.
"Good afternoon Mr. Arnold," the guard said. Clearly he had met Tony before, even if he had the name wrong.
"Good afternoon Alfred," Tony replied back. He slid a magnetic card into the available slot and keyed in a code of some sort. The large gate opened to allow them to pass.
Alfred waved as they drove inside.
"The card and code is unique to our destination," Tony explained. "It allows them to keep a record of just who came and went. Alfred could have let us in without it, but he would have been curious why we didn't have it with us."
A couple of blocks in brought them to the house where Tony and Jake would be staying. It was surprisingly well designed for the task at hand.
"It belongs to a friend of mine from the agency," Tony explained. "She is out of the country at the moment. She had this place built with the idea she might need it to be defensible under some situations. I think it will serve us well, and no one knows I know about it or have access."
Tony drove up the long driveway and parked in front of the garage door. Together, they exited and walked toward the front entrance. Jake noted the long walled walkway that led to the door. It offered no place for a visitor to step out of the line of fire which the resident could trigger from the security of the doorway.
"The houses here were custom built," Tony explained. "Each resident hired his own contractor and had their home built to the plans their architect had drawn up. Bess had some special ideas when she had this place designed."
Tony used his key to open the door, reaching inside to disable an alarm before stepping inside.
"The door appears to be oak," Tony explained, but it has a steel core. Selected locations, like the walls around the front here have armor plate in place, providing a secure defensive firing position. You'll see inside that the place is laid out so all of the lower level can be covered from the second floor. Special alcoves have been built to provide secure firing positions from up there. The outer walls were also built with a heavy grade of gridded construction wire nailed in place under the stucco. Explosives will work, but normal penetration of the walls is more difficult than your average intruder would be prepared for."
Tony took Jake around the place for a complete guided tour.
"We'll set up the computers and communications gear in here," Tony explained, entering a comfortable study on the second level. "Bess had the place set up for just the kind of thing we want to do."
"She had a SIPRnet link installed?" Jake asked, referring to the secure link he had in his home in far off California for communication with Susan and Jim. The special net was rated for government secret information, and allowed them to talk with confidence when they needed to plan for action on some of the cases that came up.
Tony shook his head. "We have JWICS," he explained.
When Jake shook his head, Tony explained. "Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communication System. It's rated for a much higher level of secret material. The equipment I brought and had Shaun set up with Susan will give us a very secure means of communicating."
The last thing that Tony showed Jake was the panic room. It was accessible from the communications area by pushing aside a large section of wall. What looked to be a built in door for a personalized gun safe appeared. Making certain Jake knew the combination, Tony opened the door and took him inside.
Immediately inside was a small room with a variety of firearms and ammuni
tion. Jake spotted a pair of combat shotguns, a pair or AR-15 semi-automatic rifles, and half a dozen handguns of various sizes. This was reassuring for Jake. He had his .45 Sig on his hip with three spare magazines, but the more serious weaponry might become useful. While he was looking at the armaments, Tony pushed a touch sensitive area, and another panel unlatched. A stairwell ran down between a couple of interior walls where the added thickness was masked by the layout of the lower level making the route impossible to spot. It led to a room under the house. Jake could see the smooth gleam of the armor plating on either side of the narrow stairs that protected the walls of the escape route.
"There's a decent sized room down there, stocked with food, water, and a phone line that you won't find evidence of from above. There is also a tunnel, a six-foot concrete pipe that extends two lots over to another of the houses here. Bess owns that as well, and the renters know nothing about the hidden section of closet where the heavy steel exit door would let us out."
"Your friend has been quite thorough," Jake pointed out.
"She was involved in something a couple of years ago where she was trapped in one of the agency safe houses and almost killed. After that, she bought this place and had it built the way she wanted."
"This didn't come cheap," Jake noted.
"Bess is an odd one. She's been an agent for almost a dozen years, even though her family has money and she could be living the life of a sheltered socialite."
Closing up the secure area, Tony pointed toward the side of the house.
"Let's get the truck in the garage, and unload our gear. We probably should get the comm gear up and checked out. We have several weeks of food, so long as you like canned and frozen. I don't see us going out much until Susan gives us the word."
Just short of an hour later Tony threw the switches that fired up the gear. Once he had logged on, he alerted Jake to the presence of a message.