Covert Crossings
Page 11
“I think it’ll work, Dad. It’s as good as anything I can think of. The Canadians will get Qasim and company. With a little luck, we’ll get Saif and his friends. In any case, you’ll be so well known that they won’t want to come near you again. I say let’s do it.”
“Kate, any thoughts?”
“I just want it done.”
Mike and I sit. Frank continues. “Well, now everyone knows the plan. Questions?”
Nathan stands again. “I have about ten or twelve more pictures of possible bad guys. Do you want to look at them while everyone is still together?”
“Yes. Let’s do that, but let’s take another break first.”
* * *
When we return, Nathan retakes the podium. He starts flashing pictures on the TV screen. Four more strangers go by.
I raise my hand. “Yes, Captain? Do you recognize this woman?
“No. I just want to know who we are looking at.”
“People you may have taken to the U.S. People you may have seen with Qasim or Saif. People who your people would call “persons of interest.’”
He continues. I know the next one. “Stop.”
“Yes?”
“She was a passenger on our second crossing.”
“You are looking at Amani Ebraheem, a Syrian National in Canada on a Student Visa.”
“You knew, didn’t you?”
“I suspected.”
Kate beats me to the punch when Ethan puts up the next picture. “Stop.”
“Of course. That’s Amani’s sister Jamila.”
We go through another eight pictures, but there are no more that we recognize. “I was hoping for a Saif or a Hamza.”
“So was I. I suspect that those names are aliases, but I’ll dig through our databases.”
Frank joins Nathan at the podium. “That’s all we’ve got, people. Unless any of you have questions or comments, we are finished here. We’ll be in touch.”
There are no questions. No comments. We file out of the home theater.
* * *
We head for the North Lodge to gather up our stuff, and head for the boat. Mike walks with us. “Need a ride back to Vermilion?”
“No, I left my rental car and Lauri at Cedar Point.”
“How’d you get here?”
He points to the air strip. There are three aircraft sitting there that I might have noticed before, but didn’t pay attention to. There are two Cessnas with American N numbers, and one really cool looking twin with a Canadian C number. “What’s the cool looking Canadian aircraft? Do you know?”
“It’s an Italian aircraft called a Partenavia. It is cool. The Canadians are traveling in style. I think it’ll take me longer to get to Cedar Point by air than it would take you to get there by boat.”
Kate chuckles. “We can drop you.”
“No, I need to stay with the group. They’ll get me to Cedar Point – eventually. Then Lauri and I are driving to Detroit for a flight to Denver tonight.”
“Yuck. That answers my ‘Can you come visit?’ question.”
“We have to get back to Denver. But as soon as you hear anything, call me. I’ll be here as soon as I can. By the way, I keep saying ‘I’ and Lauri keeps saying ‘we’. She’ll probably win.”
“I hope so.”
“Me, too,”
Mike smiles.
CHAPTER 44
Our trip home is completely uneventful. We get back to the club in the early afternoon. It’s remarkably quiet. I guess day trippers are still day tripping, and cruisers are still cruising.
Katya and Barron are gone. Odd for them. They hang out at the club a lot. I think they just like spending time on their boat.
Their Azimut is new this year. The Megallano is an Italian design. Like the Partenavia aircraft that we saw on Rattlesnake airstrip, it is striking. Not my style, but certainly theirs. And they enjoy just sitting on it and -- enjoying. And why not.
We dock, gather up our stuff, and head home.
Halfway home I remember. “I forgot to tell Norman that there will be people on our boat this week.”
“Give him a call when we get home, Cap’n,”
“Roger, that.”
* * *
On Monday, Mike calls. He calls on my new good guys phone. “Hey, Dad. I just wanted to let you know that we got home okay. And I also want to warn you that I’m going to call on your regular phone later. I want to lay the groundwork for our next visit to Ohio. Don’t forget that we haven’t seen each other for a while.”
“Glad you made it home okay. Kate and I are still antsy about this whole thing. The waiting is the worst part.”
“I understand. It’ll be over soon. I have every confidence that Frank’s plan will work.”
“You think?”
“I think. As weird as it sounds, I like the idea of you getting arrested. To the terrorists, it will look you’re not complicit in their apprehension.”
“I’m not so excited. But I don’t think we have any choice.”
“You really don’t, Dad.”
* * *
An hour later, my regular phone rings. It knows that it’s Mike. “Hello Marshal. Do I have to ‘Get outta Dodge?’”
“Yes! Dodges suck. The GMC Sierra is a much better vehicle.”
“Cute. What’s up”
“I just wanted to warn you that Lauri and I may stop to visit you.”
“Great. When?”
“That’s the thing. I’m not sure. We’re heading for Europe again this week. Business for me; pleasure for her.”
I know better than to ask where. He will almost never tell me. “And?”
“The trip is a little open ended. We may be there for a while. Best I can do is tell you that I’ll call you when we’re heading back, and let you know if we can do a stop in Cleveland.”
“Well. All I can say is enjoy your trip – and call me when you know more.”
“Will do, Dad. How goes it?”
“We’re enjoying the summer up here, and enjoying the new boat. But quite frankly, I miss the Keys.”
“It’s a whole different world down there.”
“Yeah, it is.”
“Well, listen Dad. I’ve got to go. Give Kate a hug for me. And Lauri sends her love.”
“See you, son.”
And he’s gone. I’ve got to go find Kate, and tell her about the call.
* * *
Frank calls on Wednesday morning. “Hello, Frank. What’s up?”
“We will have a couple of techs at your boat this afternoon. Can you please warn your club manager?”
“Will do. As soon as we hang up. Should I be there?”
“They prefer that you’re not there. So do I. The less you know, the better.”
“That’s reassuring.”
“It’s safer.”
“Morning Star is locked…”
“They will get in.”
“Oh, great. I’m going to call Norman. Bye, Frank.”
“Bye.”
I call Norman, and tell him what’s going on. I explain that I can’t be there, but that they know what they’re doing, and that they have my permission to do it.
“Very good, Captain. I’ll let them do their thing.”
* * *
Frank calls again on Thursday morning. “Hello, again, Frank. This is becoming an everyday thing.”
“Just wanted to tell you that our boys did their thing yesterday. I doubt that you, or anybody else will find their additions to your boat. They’re very good at what they do.”
“When this is all over, I’ll want then to undo what they did. And I want to watch.”
“Sounds a little paranoid.”
“Yes! It is. I am.”
“And we just gave you two new laptops. You could be a little more grateful.”
“What do you mean?”
“Next time you’re on the boat, you’ll find that the boys left you two new laptops. The one at the helm has your email and other stuff on
it. The one on the little desk in the owner’s cabin is for Kate. It has her stuff. The laptops are yours to do with as you see fit.”
“Why?”
“Why? Because we like you.”
“Why?”
“All I can say is this. Please leave the laptops where they are sitting. Leave them open and powered up. They’ll go to sleep and not bother you.”
“Why?”
“All I can say is that if you look closely, you’ll note that each laptop has a camera built in to the top of the display… Bye, Captain.”
And he’s gone. Well. So. My boat is now full of bugs. And cameras. What was the line from the Wizard of Oz? “Lions and tigers and bears, oh my…”
CHAPTER 45
And now we wait. I’m relatively certain that I’ll get a call from Saif. I don’t think that we’ve done anything to scare them off. So, we wait.
* * *
The weekend goes by. Nothing. We wait.”
* * *
A week goes by. Nothing. And we wait.
* * *
Another weekend goes by. We just can’t get excited about taking our boat full of bugs and cameras for a ride. So, we wait.
* * *
Another week goes by. Nothing. And we wait.
* * *
Another weekend. We decide to at least spend some time on the boat. It’s not like us not to.
Saturday is a nice day at the club. We visit with friends. We just hang out. Joe and Sue Broadmoor take us to the Vermilion Country Club for dinner. We’ve lived here for years, but never been there before. I always assumed it was members only, but the restaurant will take anyone’s money. The perch was – well, perch. You either like it or don’t. I do; this was good.
Back to the boat. As we’re getting ready for bed, Kate looks at the laptop in the owner’s cabin. “I don’t care what Frank says.” And she closes it. Very firmly. I say nothing…
* * *
Sunday is uneventful, too. Until about an hour after we get home. My phone rings. The calling number is blocked. I hate robocalls, but…I’ve got to answer it. “Hello.”
“I hope you enjoyed your weekend on your boat.”
“Who…”
“Sam. Saif. I thought you’d recognize my voice by now.”
“What do you… “
“We’ve noticed that Morning Star hasn’t been out lately. I just want to make sure that there is nothing wrong; that it is operational.”
“It is, but…”
“That’s all. Just checking. Enjoy your summer. We’ll be in touch, Captain.”
And he hangs up.
Kate calls me on the intercom. “Who was that? Anything important?”
“We need to talk. Now. Meet me on the deck.”
“Okay?”
* * *
She comes down, I go up. We meet in the kitchen. “Let’s get a couple of drinks.”
“Captain. What’s going on?”
“It’ll wait for a minute.”
We get the usual: Monkey Bay for her, San Pellegrino for me. And we move to the deck overlooking our beloved Lake Erie. “Kate, that was Saif.”
“Shit.”
“I agree.”
“Shit, shit, shit.”
“They’re watching us. They know we spent the weekend on the boat. They know we haven’t been anywhere lately.”
“I repeat. Shit.”
“He said that he was calling to make sure that Morning Star was in good running order.”
“That’s all?”
“And ‘We’ll be in touch.’”
“And I repeat, again. Shit.”
“And I agree, again.”
“Call Mike.”
“I will. In a few minutes. I suspect that they heard the call.”
“This is great. We’ve got the bad guys, and the good guys bugging us.”
“Like you said, shit.”
We finish our drinks in silence. I think we both know that there is just nothing more to say.
* * *
“My secure phone is in the library. I’m going to go call Mike. Do you want to listen in?”
“No. You can tell me if he has anything exciting to say.”
“Okay. See you.”
I pick up the secure phone. They very kindly set up speed dial to Mike and Frank. I speed dial Mike. He picks up on the second ring. “Hey, Dad. The fact that you’re calling on that phone means you’ve heard something.”
“Yeah. Not real exciting, though. Saif called to say hi. He knew that we were on the boat this weekend. He knew that we haven’t been anywhere lately. He was concerned that Morning Star wasn’t in good running order.”
“Sounds like they’re planning something. My guess is Labor Day weekend. Lots of boat traffic. Easy to hide in the crowds.”
“We just want this to end. We don’t even want to use Morning Star. It’s hard to get excited about driving around with a boat full of audio and video bugs, and God only knows what else.”
“I understand, Dad. I’ll call Frank. I’m sure he’s got a transcript of your conversation with Saif.”
“You think so?”
“I know so.”
“I won’t tell Kate. She refused to sleep on the boat with Frank’s laptop camera watching us.”
“I know.”
“I won’t tell her that either!”
* * *
And we wait.
LAST CROSSING
CHAPTER 46
And we wait.
* * *
Until the third week in August. It’s Monday evening. The cheap flip phone that Qasim gave before the last crossing rings. “Hello?”
“Hello, Captain. It is Saif.”
I know who it is. “What do you want?”
And I know what he wants. ‘Two things. First, you will receive a new cell phone from us tomorrow via FedEx. When you get it, destroy the cell phone on which you are now talking. It is no longer useful.”
I hate it when their grammar is better than mine.
And now the thing we’ve been waiting for? And dreading. “And second?”
“Prepare for another trip. You will leave one week from Friday. This is the Friday before your Labor Day.”
Shit. “Where are we going?”
“I will call you on your new cell phone tomorrow evening. I will give you more details at that time.”
And again, I must wait.
* * *
But right now, I’ve got to tell Kate. And I’ve got to tell Mike.
Kate first. I go upstairs to the loft, and sit on the loveseat overlooking the lake. Kate’s at her desk. She stops. She looks at me. She knows. “They called, didn’t they?”
“Yes.”
“And?”
“And not much. Yet. It was Saif. He’s sending me a new phone tomorrow. He said that he’d call tomorrow night with more details.”
“More implies that there are some details now.”
“Our next trip is the Friday before Labor Day. That’s all I know so far.”
“Did you call Mike?”
“That’s next. You were first.”
I go over to where Kate is sitting, lean over, and hug her for a minute. She gets up. Neither of us says anything. We just hold each other.
* * *
I call Mike on my good guys iPhone. This really is a bit James Bond-ish. I’m now carrying three phones: regular, good guys, and bad guys. I’ve actually labelled them G for good guys, and B for bad guys. And tomorrow I get to trade in my bad guys phone for a new and improved bad guys phone.
Mike’s phone rolls over to voice mail on the sixth ring. “Mike, it’s your Dad. I had a call from Saif. Not much detail yet. He’s FedExing me a new phone tomorrow. The next trip is the Friday before Labor Day. That’s all I know. So far.”
A few minutes later, a text pops up on my good guys phone. “Hi Captain, it’s Emma Schmidt from ICE. Mike’s out of country and we’re monitoring his phone for him. Thanks for the info. As soon as you get
the new phone, text it’s number to this phone number. We’ll start monitoring it, too.”
Another text. “And DO NOT destroy the old flip phone. Shortly after we get the new number, we’ll call you and talk you through disabling the old phone so that it looks destroyed. We want it.”
* * *
And we wait.
CHAPTER 47
And we wait.
* * *
FedEx delivers the new bad guys phone about ten a.m. They’re moving up in the world. It’s an iPhone 8. Complete with case. I tape a yellow piece of paper with a big B to its back. I seriously consider beating their old flip phone to death with my five-pound hand sledge. It represents everything that’s wrong with this whole scenario.
But I decide to be good guys with the bad guys phone. I pick up my G phone, also an iPhone 8, and text the number of my new B phone to Mike. In a few minutes I get a text back. “Thank you, Captain. We’ll call you in an hour. Emma.”
* * *
In exactly an hour, my G iPhone 8 rings. “Hello?”
“Hi Captain. It’s Emma. Is this a good time?”
“As good as any. What do we do?”
“You’ll need a sharp knife, a paper clip, small Philips head and regular screwdrivers, a pair of small long nose pliers, and maybe a magnifier or eye loupe. Depends on how good your eyes are. I’ll call you back. Is fifteen minutes long enough to gather your tools?”
“Yes, it is.”
“Bye.”
* * *
In exactly fifteen minutes, my G phone rings. “Hello.”
“Hi Captain. Emma, again. And I’ve got James here with me. James is our phone wizard.”
“Hi guys.”
A new voice. “Hi, Captain. So that I know what you’ve got, I’d like you to send me a couple of pictures. OK?”
“I can do that. What number do I text them to?”
“Here’s what I want you to do. Hang up. Open their flip phone. Take a closeup picture of the front, and another of the back. Text them to Mike’s number. I’ll call you back.”
I do as I’m told. And I’m very careful when choosing phones. I now have four cell phones: regular Verizon iPhone, good guys iPhone with a green “G,” new bad guys iPhone with a yellow “B,” and old bad guys flip phone with a white “B.” I take pictures of the B flip phone with the G iPhone. I text them to Mike’s number.