by Bob Blink
"Laney sent us something. I don't think it's just a test message as there is an attachment," Tony said.
Moments later the photograph of the individual identified by the FBI Director's New York agent appeared on the monitor.
"That's him!" Jake said without a moment's hesitation. "There's no doubt in my mind. Jeff Rineri," he said out loud reading the name from the label on the image. "This is our first breakthrough. If we can find out more about this guy and who he associates with, we might be able to nail these folks."
"Jim says they are running a complete profile," Tony said, reading the accompanying message. "Let's call Susan, let her know we are operational, and see what they have learned."
Chapter 23
"This doesn't change anything," Susan Carlson insisted. They were communicating via the special gear that Tony had provided. It was portable, had more range than they needed, and was not only very secure, but wouldn't leave any records to be traced via the FBI switchboards, or any cellular towers that anyone could monitor. "You need to stay put where you are."
Tony had suggested that he and Jake go to New York and find this guy. They could hide out, yet monitor him for developments. There was only so much the agents in New York could do without revealing a special interest, and neither Jim nor Carlson could afford to be spotted heading that way without revealing a discovery had been made, which could precipitate action on the part of their unknown adversaries.
"It was helpful that the NYPD had photos of this Rineri guy with and without the beard," Jake noted. "With that scar, I can see why he'd want to hide it."
"It's too late to follow up tonight, but the Director will be contacting the NY office and asking for all the information they have on him. That'll include family, associates, known residences, and the like. Shaun has already gone home, but in the morning I'll put him to work cross-checking what we have on file on this guy as well."
"Might that not alert someone of your interest?" Jake asked.
"Shaun will get this assignment from the Director," Susan explained. "Technically he is a shared resource, and the Director is seeking this guy for a murder, so it would be a normal follow-up to what we have learned."
"This guy is clearly associated with the New York Mobs," Tony said. "Does that suggest anything that might explain what has been happening?"
"We have a long history of conflict with the Mob in general, but I've had very little direct interaction with them," Susan explained. The head of the family that this Rineri seems to be associated with is Carlos Boitano."
"That is a familiar name," Jake said. "Is this guy any relation to the mobster from Chicago that I had so much trouble with a while back?"
"They are cousins," Susan explained. "That might suggest a link, but if this is some kind of retaliation for what happened back then, why have they waited so long, and why would retribution be directed at me? If they knew enough to follow up on what happened, they would have certainly managed to figure out who my consultant was. This is suspicious, I agree, but somehow I don't believe we understand yet what is happening."
"This guy has a long history with the Mob," Jake said. He was scanning the information that was in the file sent with the pictures as they talked. "His father was a soldier close to this Boitano fellow. The file says he was killed a while back, apparently in some kind of turf war with another of the families. Rineri's mother died mysteriously over a decade ago. The father was suspected for some reason, but no charges were ever brought against him. Nice family."
"Brothers or sisters?" Tony asked.
"This says there is a sister, but gives no detail," Jake replied. "Nothing on any brothers."
"It looks like we might have a solid lead at last," Susan agreed. "How about I call you in the morning as soon as we have anything more? With luck there will likely be associates we can follow up on, and we can talk about how we go about locating and monitoring this guy?"
"Just so long as we don't let anyone outside our small group know we have identified him or have any interest in him," Jake warned unnecessarily.
"You are concerned their Back-Tracker might try to correct past history and clear any pointers to him?" Jim Laney asked. He'd been listening quietly in the background.
"That would be a concern, but frankly I don't see what he could do at this point. The links go back to the very beginning, and have been worked through the system in a way it would be hard to alter what we've done. If they could go all the way back, they might keep him from participating, but I'm of the opinion they can't do that."
"Why is that?" Laney asked.
"I'm beginning to think whoever they have with the Back-Tracking ability can't, or doesn't realize that he can go back that far. After the attempt on you, they cleaned up, but even then after potentially learning about us having Back-Track ability, they made no effort to go back far enough to remove all traces of what we might know. I need to think through everything that has happened so far, and make certain I'm reading this properly. There's too much we simply don't know. We really don't know the ramifications of multiple people making loops around the same event. What we have been assuming is based simply on my guesses at what might be happening. I'm beginning to wonder if there might be more to it."
"Let's pick this up in the morning," Susan said. "Norm just arrived, and it's time for the three of us to go. I'll contact you as soon as we have anything new."
"Take a look at the images Jim is sending you now," Susan directed the following morning when she contacted them. "I believe you'll find them interesting."
"That's him," Jake said with certainty as he looked into the handsome face of the man who closely matched the sketch he'd had made some days earlier. The eyes were a bit closer together, and the forehead a bit higher, but clearly this was the man.
"Paul Martin, originally known as Paolo Martini," Jim said over the link. "He changed his name just before entering college. He's a big shot in the Organization. It's believed he is being groomed to be one of the top men some day. His father is a cousin of Carlos Boitano. It seems he is a Harvard law graduate, an expert in business law, and one of the people his uncle uses when they need some high power legal help. He lives well and stays clear of most of the Mob's dirtier side. Never arrested, he seems an unlikely candidate for what has been happening."
"How did you find him?" Jake asked.
"It seems our friend Jeff Rineri has some interesting friends for a mid level soldier," Susan said. "We are guessing he might rub shoulders with the likes of Paul Martin because of his father's close relationship with Boitano before he died. In any event, Rineri and Martin have been known to associate socially."
"We need everything you have on both of them," Tony said.
"That's in the works and will be forwarded soon," Jim agreed.
"Where does he live?" Jake asked.
"New York City, the same as Rineri," Susan replied.
Before Susan and Jake could get into the discussion about Jake going there, Jim Laney said, "This Rineri has the one sister, but it doesn't look like she is someone likely to be involved. Unlike her brother, she is apparently a brain. She graduated with honors from Harvard with a doctoral in medical research. Apparently went to work for some firm in the Boston area after graduation. We don't know if she stays in touch with her brother, but she appears to have broken away from the family link to Organized Crime."
"It appears the leads are all in New York," Tony said. "Someone needs to go there and see what can be learned."
Knowing how Tony thought, Susan knew where he was heading.
"You are supposed to keep Jake safe. He's our ace in the hole," she said.
"We're the best choice for the job," Tony argued, undeterred by her argument. "You and Jim are known quantities and are almost certainly being monitored somehow. The same with Norm and the two men you pulled out of retirement. You already said this all needs to be kept as quiet as possible. They don't know about me at all, and if they know of Jake, they probably don't know
much. They won't be expecting us in their home city."
"I don't like it," Susan said. "If something goes wrong, then what?"
"We have to take some chances," Jake said. "Just sitting around here isn't going to work well. Tony and I are already restless, and I have the best chance of finding out something without being detected. Anyone who spots us, I can loop back around so it doesn't happen."
"And if they spot you and one of their hitmen puts a bullet in the back of your head before you realize he's there?" Susan asked.
"Then they win," Jake acknowledged, "but with Tony there to watch over me, I don't see that happening. We've got to make use of the only link open to us."
Susan sighed. "So when would you go?" she asked.
Tony smiled at Jake and said, "Later today. We'll have to make a few preparations including deciding where we'll stay. I have some ideas, but we need to know the area where these two frequent."
Susan was silent giving Jim Laney a chance to speak up.
"Maybe Jake should Back-Track and take this information back to us at an earlier time so we have an edge and grab these people before all of this gets so involved?"
Jake shook his head, then realized there was no video link like he had from his home.
"We still don't know enough, and there is yet no indication what this is all about. We are making progress, and I think we need to pursue it rather than loop back. The loops in the past cost us information paths that we could no longer follow. Besides, there are problems with all this Back-Tracking."
"What do you mean?" Susan asked, immediately concerned.
"I've thought a lot more about the concerns I hinted at last night," Jake said. "I think there are aspects to the involvement of more than one Back-Tracker affecting this single situation. Perhaps there is some spill over from when one of us Back-Tracks to the other, changing events we are both interested in. Something is going on. I feel a dull ache in the back of my head. Perhaps it is simply I can't loop as often as I used to. Ever since I had that unexplained swelling when I overextended, I sense my abilities are more constrained. Perhaps I'm reaching a limit where the smaller jumps are having a cumulative effect. I believe I made two loops during the event when they made the move against Jim, but perhaps there were many more, and the memories have been erased. However, if those loops have been undone, then I can't see how they could affect me, nor do I understand what re-entering that period might involve. The impact of multiple Back-Trackers is something new. Also, it's only been a couple of days since it happened. That means I could only loop back a short time with this new information unless I want to risk jumping into the middle of whatever happened during that period. I believe that might be risky. A number of Back-Track jumps were made, and I am concerned that even a slight disturbance might affect how that turned out. Unless there is a real need, it is probably best left alone. Besides, their Back-Tracker made the final loop, setting up the condition where they didn't make the move against Jim. There is no reason for them to attempt another loop right now. As far as they know, nothing has happened. I don't think we are in danger at the moment."
"You aren't afraid they might take an action that could cost us what we have learned?" Jim asked.
"I think the chances are greater that events could become tangled and our ability to proceed effectively might be hampered. The discovery of this Jeff Rineri's real name, and all that came from it was put into motion a while back. It was something handled outside of our direct action, so I can't see how they could cut that off without going way back. As I have indicated, I think their Back-Tracker is somehow constrained against doing that. I could be wrong, but until we know more, I think we should minimize unnecessary Back-Tracking. I don't want to get into a situation like before where I am unable to initiate a loop at all."
"This is an area where you are the expert," Susan said finally. "You have to decide what is best."
Jake smiled.
"I wish it were that simple. I'm out of my depth here, but the last thing we want at the moment when we seem to have a lead, is to trigger some change that causes them to begin looping back and disturbing things. Let's see how much we can learn, and then plan a course of action."
"And that means you and Tony need to go to New York?" Susan said unhappily.
"I think that is the best approach," Tony said. "Both of these people are based there. If we can spot them and see what they are doing and who they interact with, we might finally figure this situation out."
"You'll be able to keep in touch from there?" Susan asked.
"We won't have all the computer gear for the transmission of pictures and files, but we'll still have secure verbal communications," Tony assured her.
"When would you get there?
"Some time this evening," Tony said. "It's a little over a four hour drive, depending on traffic. We'll call you once we have found a place to stay."
Chapter 24
Shaun had discovered the link to Paul Martin on a Saturday, the day after Natalie had returned from New York and to her job at East Coast Pharmaceuticals, where she pretended to be shocked at the 'accidental' death of the firm's CFO Anne Barker. That same Saturday, Natalie had gone very early into the labs where she worked, supposedly to catch up on progress that had been made with the testing while she had been away. Only the usual guards and a couple of lab workers were present on the weekend day, so she had the place mostly to herself, which served her real purpose for coming.
She spent the first hour going through the lab results for the testing that had continued during her time away, making sure she was intimately familiar with everything that had been done, so when someone asked about her being there she could truthfully say she'd been catching up, and would have the knowledge to support the claim. There was no chance her weekend presence would go unnoted since she had to scan in with her badge which would be dutifully recorded in the company logs.
After spending sufficient time in the test area, she gathered up several test reports which she carried back to her office for further study, telling one of the lab assistants what she was taking and where she would be. This was more camouflage, since she knew the technicians were far too busy to check on her, but would provide an explanation for how she spent her time, whereas in truth she knew what she'd find in the reports based on what she had already seen, and intended to spend the time looking into the carefully labeled boxes of the contents of Anne's office, that Chuck had moved to the back storage area.
Thanks to Chuck's overly anal personality, the contents were accurately labeled and carefully sorted. As a result, it took her less time than she had anticipated to go through those boxes that might contain something related to Anne's suspicions regarding Natalie, but nothing much had turned up. She'd found the page in the daily calendar where Anne had first called Carlson, a date that Natalie couldn't forget based on the warning Chuck had given her. There was a note scribbled in Anne's coarse handwriting with Carlson's phone number. It was a simple matter to replace that page with a blank page from her own calendar, thereby eliminating any sign that she'd made the call. Natalie wadded up the marked up sheet and stuck it in her pocket. She'd burn it in the fireplace back at her apartment when she got home.
There was nothing else, unless Anne had stuck something in one of the many financial reports that had lined the bookcases of her office. There was no reasonable way that Natalie could search those, and she doubted anyone else would either. Most of the reports were old news, and given what Karl had told her, the police were treating Anne's death as an accident, and therefore there was no reason for anyone to be looking for clues. It appeared they might have dodged a bullet, so long as Carlson and her people remained ignorant of Anne's death until it was too late to Backslide and do anything about it. Once that milestone had been reached, the only thing the FBI agent could do would be to speak with the police about the accident. It was extremely unlikely she would attempt a more detailed investigation based on the lack of information Anne had appare
ntly passed to her. If the agent had known anything, Natalie was certain the woman would have made some connection to the attacks on her before now.
Natalie spent the rest of the morning and early afternoon making plans for the test program based on their current status. It was something that needed to be done, and having the details worked out would further support her presence here come Monday when she met with Karl and explained what she felt needed to be done next. The testing needed to stay on schedule. Natalie had far too much invested in the project, and she couldn't allow the events of the past couple of weeks to derail their timeline. Finally, she pushed aside her planning notes and glanced at her watch, surprised at the amount of time that had passed. It was past two in the afternoon. She picked up the book of reports she had taken from the lab, and carried it back to the testing area, finding the place now quiet and deserted. The technicians had finished their tasks, and left until Monday. She put the binder back in place, made a quick check of the lab, walked by Karl's office finding the door closed indicating he wasn't here. Satisfied, she returned to her office grabbed her purse, and closed up her own office, walking by the open door to the empty space where Anne had sat.
"It's quiet here on weekends," she noted to the guard as she scanned out.
"You're the last one to leave," the guard replied. "Usually someone is around most of the day, but I think the loss of Mrs. Barker has kept people away this weekend," he added.
Natalie waved, and headed out to where she had parked. Five minutes later she turned onto the lightly traveled road that led toward her apartment. Fumbling in her purse, she extracted the cheap phone that was hidden inside the zipper compartment, and dialed Paul's number.
For a moment she wondered if he was going to answer, but then she heard his voice.
"Nat, is something wrong?" he asked.
She realized that her using the throw away phone had caught him off guard. For normal communications there was no reason for them to do so. They had called each frequently enough on their normal phones before all of this started.