“What the fuck?” Bart cursed.
Cam looked around, his face a study in concentration. “What’s on the blueprint of the clinic doesn’t show any connection to another part of the building, but according to what the teenager told Charlie, they just walked from here to where she and her friend are staying. They’ve got something hidden.”
“Charlie?” Bart called over his radio. “Can you get us the rest of the building? There must be something hidden that we haven’t found.”
Luke, still pounding away on his keyboard, said, “There could be an underground passageway that’s not on the modern blueprint. These old buildings used to be connected to steam tunnels.”
Charlie twisted her head back and up to look at the building. “It’s all dark in the front, but the building at the back has lights on. It looks like an apartment building. There’re definitely people there.”
“Goddamnit,” Bart fumed. “We didn’t see a way to get below and there is no elevator that we could find. Not even a fuckin’ staircase.”
“It’s got to be hidden then,” Luke said. “Shit, let me pull up the old plans from when the building was first built and see what I can find.”
“I really want to go in too,” Charlie said, drawing an instant reaction from Luke.
“Oh, hell no!” he bit out. “You have no idea what you could be facing and Bart and Cam need to be able to do what they’re trained to do without worrying about you.”
She saw the wisdom in his explanation, but it stung nonetheless. Looking back at the building, all she could think about was how Penny was somewhere inside.
“Okay, I’ve got it,” Luke declared. “I can tell there are old tunnels, but from the outside, we can see that there are lights and people moving around nearby so you can’t get a clear shot to check it out. Return and we’ll analyze the drives you’re bringing in. We’ll convene and see what’s next.”
Within a moment, the side panel door opened and Bart and Cam entered the van, consuming most of the space. Luke had moved to the driver’s seat and Charlie twisted around to observe the irritated faces of the two Saints. She knew now was not the time to pepper them with questions so she turned back to face the front. The four drove most of the way back to Jack’s in silence, the frustration of the evening pressing upon them.
*
Little sleep and large quantities of caffeine kept Luke and Charlie going through the night. Several times he looked over at her drooping eyelids and tried to insist she go to bed, but she stubbornly refused. Using their combined programs, they worked through the information taken from the computers.
So far, they contained the normal data expected from any clinic. Patients’ records, company information, with no unusual searches or email detected.
Finally, in frustration, Charlie said, “They must keep the two clinics separate. This is just the front. This is the legitimate business, the one that Dr. Cheung gets accolades for his community work with, by running a free clinic.” Slapping her hand down on the table, she said, “But he makes sure to keep his other affairs out of this one.”
Studying the exhaustion on her face written with dark circles underneath her eyes, Luke stood and cracked his back before walking over to her. Grabbing her hands, he pulled her from the chair as he checked the time. “Sweetheart, it’s almost five a.m. and you need to sleep. Come on.”
Fatigue had won the day and she followed him to the bedroom, not protesting when he pulled her shirt over her head and unsnapped her pants. Kicking them off her feet, she took off her bra and allowed him to slide one of his soft, worn t-shirts over her body. Falling into bed, her eyes almost closed, she watched as he turned to leave the room. “You’re not coming to bed too?”
The hall light illuminated behind him, casting his facial features in the shadows, but she knew them by heart and could tell when he offered her a smile.
“No, I’ve just got one more drive to check and then I’ll be to bed. That way we can start fresh tomorrow.”
Her eyes closed in sleep before her head hit the pillow and Luke padded back to the dining room, staring at his computer once again.
The last one to check was the drive marked as the receptionist. Quickly jotting down her name from the information, he said to the darkened room, “Okay, Xia Wu, let’s see what you’ve got for me.” Not expecting much, he was just about to close down and join Charlie in bed when he saw the name of one of her email correspondents.
L. Wang
Oh, fuck! He was unable to trace the origination of the emails but quickly scanned through their cryptic messages. Following the trail, he noted the correspondents had been in contact since Xia Wu’s employment at the clinic four months earlier. Feeling the excitement of the first real step forward in the case, he shot off a message to Jack, letting him know they needed to convene a meeting ASAP, including Nick as well. With renewed vigor, he began a detailed check into the old building plans and the connecting tunnels.
By the time seven a.m. rolled around, he slipped noiselessly into the bedroom and grabbed some clean clothes. Smiling at Charlie’s unmoving figure in his bed, he left as quietly as he had entered, knowing she should sleep for several more hours. Leaving her a note telling her he would be at Jack’s for an early meeting, he alarmed his house and headed to his vehicle.
*
The Saints filed into the room, quickly settling just before Nick was patched into their secure video-conference system.
Jack spoke first, saying, “Luke’s got information he’s been working on all night. We need to hear it and proceed.”
Nodding, Luke began, “None of the drives obtained last night from Bart and Cam—”
“Jesus,” Nick growled, interrupting, as he ran his hand over his face. “Can you not leave out where the hell you get this stuff?” No one spoke for a few seconds as he pulled himself together. “Sorry…need my coffee this morning. Keep going.”
With a smirk, Luke continued. “None of the computers held anything special; just what you would expect to find with a normal medical clinic. Nothing suspicious at all…until I got to the receptionist’s emails.”
Flashing up what he found onto the screen next to the one with Nick’s image, he said, “Nick, I’m sending this to you as well. As you can see her name is Xia Wu. She’s been working at the clinic for about four months and there is one contact that she has corresponded with numerous times in those four months. Someone named L. Wang.”
The intake of multiple breaths was heard around the table and Nick cursed, “Goddammit.”
“Now, I pulled up all her messages and you can see they are very cryptic, but put together with what we suspect, they paint a picture of this L. Wang asking about the clinic’s special practices ever since Xia Wu was employed. This would indicate a relationship between the two.”
“What do we know about her?” Monty asked, already typing away on his computer.
“She is twenty-six years old and has lived in the D.C. area her whole life. Her father was born in China but left as a child through Hong Kong. Her mother is American, from the Chinatown part of San Francisco. I’ve hacked her personal accounts and she has received payments of $500 a month since taking the receptionist job. She always deposited the cash, so I have no trace of where the money came from, except to say that I’ve also checked Lin Wang’s bank account and she has withdrawn $500 each month from her account. The dates correspond.”
“Fuck!” Nick growled again.
“I’ve also pulled up the old building plans from their origin and there are tunnels that run between some of the buildings. That is probably how the two clinics are connected while kept separate.”
“We didn’t see any way to get through,” Bart complained. “How the hell did we miss it?”
“From looking at the old plans compared with what we have now, it appears a freight elevator is behind one of the walls. They probably leave it open during the day so it looks just like an elevator and then shut the panels at night for security.”
“So we need to go back tonight and check out the building behind the clinic,” Cam stated, his eyes gleaming with a chance to complete the mission.
“No fuckin’ way,” Nick said. “You can’t go into a building without the proper procedure. You’ve got no authority, no warrants, no—”
“We don’t play by your rules, Nick,” Monty interjected, his voice firm but sympathetic. “I get it…seriously, I was where you are. But we play by our own rules.”
“But you can’t do anything with what you find. You will let them get away if the legalities are thwarted.”
Jack cleared his throat and said, “Nick, we only gather the information then hand it over to you. We’re supposed to be working on this case with Lin Wang, but now that she is a suspect, we’ve been given you. We don’t go in guns blazing unless it is called for…we’ll get information and turn it over to you so that you know where to look; you can use the proper procedures to “discover” it yourself.”
The room was quiet for a moment, the Saints’ eyes pinned on the FBI agent as he wrestled with his decision. Finally, leaning back in his chair, he said, “If you get me what you have, then I’ll take it to my superior and meet with Lin.”
Jack, nodding, turned his gaze toward Luke. “This is still your mission, Luke. Your call as to how to play it, but I want you in the field.”
Bart and Cam grinned at each other as Luke let out a breath he had not realized he had been holding. For someone who always lived behind a computer, I could get used to running things from the field! Grinning, he nodded toward his boss.
“Then let’s plan. I want us to get up there today.”
Chapter 28
Charlie woke hours later, stretching her arms above her head as she slowly came to consciousness. The sunlight coming through the blinds was bright and she rolled over to see Luke’s side of the bed empty and obviously not slept in. Pursing her lips, deciding he needed a lecture on not putting her to bed if he was not going to do the same, she rolled in the other direction to swing her legs over the edge. Glancing at the clock, she realized it was after three p.m.
Stunned at how long she had slept, she jumped from the bed and stalked out to the living room. Peeking into the study she saw it was empty. Rounding the corner to the dining room, she saw her laptop still in place on the table, but his was gone. And so were the drives. And so were his notes. With her hands on her hips and her lips pursed, she glanced into the kitchen. Gone? He left already? Her eyes landed on a handwritten note lying on the kitchen counter next to the coffee maker. Smiling, she walked over, until she read it, and then her smile dropped.
“He went to Jack’s without me?” she groused aloud. “Hmph.” Quickly fixing some coffee, and making a piece of toast, she walked back to where her laptop sat on the table. She stood in the dining room in indecision for a moment, until she noticed she had a new message. Plopping down in a chair, the toast still sticking out of her mouth, she looked at who had sent the missive. Penny!
Quickly chewing and swallowing, she tossed the remainder of her breakfast onto the table next to her and opened up the message.
I think I need you today. I might be moving to a new place tonight or tomorrow.
Looking at the time stamp, she realized the message had been sent earlier in the day and hoped Penny would still be able to get to a computer. Of all the stupid times to stay up all night and sleep all day!
Penny, I was there. I only saw a normal clinic. How do I get to where you are?
Killing time while waiting for Penny to answer, she threw a load of laundry into the washer while continuing to monitor her laptop. Finally, after an hour, her incoming message alert sounded.
We went through a door when the wall slid back. Then an elevator down. We walked down a dark hall and then up another elevator to a nicer clinic.
Excited, Charlie thought, So Luke was right! They did go through tunnels! Grabbing her phone from the table beside her, she dialed Luke. He picked up on the second ring.
“Hey, sweetie,” he greeted. “Did you finally get some rest?”
“Yes, yes, but that’s not why I called,” she rushed. “I just heard from Penny. We’re messaging right now. She said she went down an elevator, through a darkened hallway and then up another elevator to the clinic she is now in. You were right.”
“Thanks for the call, but we figured that out,” he said. “I found something on one of the drives and we are in D.C. to meet with Nick.”
“Without me?” she questioned, hating the whiny sound in her voice.
“Sorry, sweetheart,” Luke said sincerely. “This just needed to be us today. I’ll be late…I have Bart and Cam with me.”
“Since you’re going to be there, I might drive up as well. I got a message that Penny wants to meet me. She’s afraid of being moved and I’d like to try to see her today.”
She heard voices in the background before Luke came back on and said, “Let me know what you’re doing and where you are, if you come. I’ve got to go. I’ll talk to you later.” With that, he disconnected.
Huffing, Charlie did not see any new messages coming in from Penny so she took the opportunity to jump in the shower. Thirty minutes later, showered, shampooed, and with clean clothes, she felt refreshed.
As she looked back down at her laptop on her way into the kitchen, she saw another message from Penny.
Can you come get me and my friend? I don’t want him to have the surgery and I think we need to get out of here.
Typing quickly, her heart beginning to pound, I’m on my way. I may have some friends who get there before me, but if they do they will tell you they are from Charlie. Got that?
Yes. Thank you.
Charlie raced up the stairs to grab her shoes and then slammed the door as she tore out of Luke’s house. She tried calling his phone, but he was not picking up. Leaving a voice message, she pulled out of his driveway, her phone’s GPS telling her the way.
*
Luke sat in the small restaurant booth with Monty next to him and Nick across. Having just reviewed the plans for the evening, Nick nodded.
“I know you’ve gotten the okay from the higher-ups from the Bureau,” Nick finally admitted, “but it’s just not the way I’m used to operating.”
Monty gave a rueful smile. “Regulations were drilled into us and then we find out the Bureau had others do some of the dirty investigations for them. I remember how it hit me when I found out as well.”
Nick held Monty’s gaze for a while, his scowl replaced by an expression of thoughtfulness as he rubbed his chin. “What did it for you? What made you get out?”
Sucking in a breath, Monty admitted, “One case too many that didn’t get solved. One case too many where the right hand didn’t tell the left hand what was going on. Tired of regulations that got in our way causing the criminals to get off.”
Luke watched as Nick’s gaze shifted down to the beer in front of him and wondered what the agent was thinking. “I was CIA,” he said, noting Nick’s sharp eyes back upon him. “Gotta say the same thing had me getting out.”
Nick’s lips were pinched together as he said, “Yeah, but if no one stays in and does it by the book, then how will we ever take the assholes down?”
“You’re right,” Monty said quickly. “We all have to do what we need to. I’ve got no problem with you being right where you are. Makes our job a helluva lot easier having someone on the inside we can trust.”
“And that gets us back to the point, doesn’t it?” Nick stated. “Lin Wang.”
Luke continued his briefing, “We need to get back into the building now that we know where the tunnel is. We plan on having Bart and Cam back in there tonight. Depending on what we find out, we’ll have you on standby.”
“As soon as you find any evidence, let me know,” Nick said. “I’ve got my supervisor on board but he’s even more of a stickler for procedure than I am.”
Nodding, Luke agreed, before giving the high sign to Bart and Ca
m to join them. Within a minute the two large Saints walked in and took a seat at the table and the evening’s plans came together.
*
Xia Wu, glancing around nervously, placed the phone call and prayed the recipient would pick up.
“Yes?”
Breathing a sigh of relief, Xia said, “I think you need to get here. I went to the back earlier to take someone new and I saw them talking to that Penny girl. She was crying. I think they’re going to do something tonight.”
“Shit,” Lin cursed. “Okay, I’m on my way.”
Hanging up, Xia Wu glanced around before hustling to her car and locking the doors as soon as she was seated. She did not start the car, but sat waiting in the darkness. Just waiting…and watching.
*
Charlie cursed at the traffic getting into D.C. An accident on the highway combined with rush-hour traffic had her moving at a snail’s pace. She had not heard from Luke since sending him the message that she was coming, but assumed he was embroiled in the same type of work as they had been the previous night. At least I got some sleep…how is he functioning on no sleep? While sitting in traffic, she texted Luke to let him know what she was doing and sent another message out to Penny to let her know she was on her way. Finally, the flashing blue police lights and red ambulance lights could be seen to the side ahead and as she maneuvered her way around the accident, traffic eventually picking up. Thank goodness.
Weaving through some of the downtown roads, she passed the front of the clinic and turned the corner to go toward the building in the back. Damnit, I hate parallel parking! It took several attempts, backing up and pulling forward, until she was finally close enough to the curb to be relatively sure she was not sticking out into the road. Getting out, she slammed the door and walked around to peer up at the building. Dusk had settled on the city and the sidewalk was empty.
Walking to the front door, she tried to jerk it open, but it was locked. Glancing to the side, she noticed there was no bell to ring. There has to be a service entrance somewhere. She walked around the next corner to see what was on the back of the building, facing the alley. A noise sounded behind her and she turned to see the front clinic’s pretty receptionist standing on the sidewalk behind her.
Discover Love: Saints Protection & Investigations Page 22