by Randy Dutton
“...were her idea, not Swanson’s.”
“Really? And here I thought she was a pawn...not a queen.” Her mouth scrunched. “Guess I deviated from the path.”
“Helps to know who and what you’re looking for...and don’t repeat what you told me to anyone.”
Her eyes lowered. “I won’t”
“Hey Collette, it’s not a wasted effort.” His voice was suddenly was tinged with excitement. “Tell you what. We’ve got a freelancer in Texas.” He flipped through a directory and opened a file. A young woman’s police academy photo went full screen.
Collette’s eyes narrowed at woman’s beguiling image and her boss’ smile.
Yoav continued, “She can help us find out who’s meeting with the anti-global-warming guys. I’ll clear it with Gabriel.”
Collette shrugged, and added in a defeated tone, “I’ll get you the details.”
“Good. Knowing what the enemy’s up to, may help the boss in another way.”
Chapter 17
August 13, 1400 hours
The Spider
Gabriel’s fingers impatiently drummed the conference table. Sitting at its far end, he watched the team of lawyers and accountants finish briefing Swanson. Their collective mood was dour.
While the staff filed out, the security head studied the framed medal that President Fernandez had bestowed yesterday upon the boss. His gaze shifted down the massive conference table’s length. It was a table custom-made in segments to allow easy movement to other locations. Locked together, it presented a seamless and impressive statement of power.
Swanson now sat alone, studying financial projections on a large 3-D monitor, usually secreted within the inlaid wood surface when idle. The economic trend lines weren’t looking good for the Snath Group, and the downturn reflected Swanson’s caustic expression.
“Congratulations on the medal, Alexis,” Gabriel hoped his cheerful attitude would rub off.
“Damn fool’s setting me up!” Swanson charged.
“The president?” Gabriel’s smile faded.
“Of course the president! Gave me a bauble, and then his lackey proposed a big fundraiser as soon as possible.”
“So...spur of the moment means double-cross?”
“Meant they wanted me to help them one last time before the government cuts off funding.” Swanson said.
“Well, speaking of funds, I heard the accountants totaled your computer center’s losses.”
“Damn witch stole over 50 million euros.” Swanson took a swig of whisky.
“Less than we guessed.... Where’d she hide it?”
“First Switzerland, then the Caymans, then”—he snapped his fingers—“poof.”
“But Alexis, didn’t that same report show she netted you 367 million? And now the leak’s plugged.”
“Plugged? She sank the damn ship!”
“Sorry, bad analogy.”
“Gabe, I hate anyone stealing from me, regardless of past accomplishments. The operation was ramping up. I’d have made several billion by now if she hadn’t screwed me.” The old man pointed a tobacco-stained finger at him. “It’s your job to capture her, and get my money back!”
“I’m working on that—”
“And Johansson.... Damn that interfering bastard! The phytoplankton’s everywhere...every ocean, every sea, and every port as ships’ ballasts carry it to every corner. The scientists are starting to report the plankton’s decreasing ocean CO2 concentrations. Environmentalists are hailing it as a turning point in fighting global warming.”
“That’s what you wanted isn’t it?” Gabriel asked, knowing the answer was far more complex. With the others gone, he rose and relocated next to the old man.
“No! I wanted carbon dioxide controlled on my terms. I don’t even want it to decrease. I wanted a balancing act where my products remove what CO2 emitters generate. But nooooo! I had an employee who wanted to save the world himself...at my expense. And another who was supposed to watch him but got caught up in her own shenanigans.” He reached for a glass of whisky and took a swallow.
“Not vodka?”
“It was giving me a headache. Regardless, the cases of Putinka that Vladimir sent, are gone now. And I refuse to let his distillery profit off me.”
Gabriel changed the topic. “Alexis, your new security leadership’s fully up to task.” He placed a sheet of paper in front of Swanson. “Fridleifsson will be responsible for your direct security, and he has two deputies.”
“Then what will you do?” His skepticism was evident.
“I’m going to oversee the security and handle operational matters. Just don’t expect me following you like Jared.”
“I’ll accept that.” He scanned the details. “Anything else?”
“We haven’t found Johansson, but our computer guys found Eric Thames. I’ve got a security team shadowing him. Today, he and his wife are in New Delhi on a world sightseeing trip. I think he’s seeing how quickly he can spend the five million dollars.”
“Why don’t you pick him up and torture...I mean interrogate him?” Swanson jeered.
“I doubt he knows where Johansson is. Sven’s too smart to have told him. I’m hoping Sven contacts him, or Thames reveals something. We’ve cloned Thames’ iPhone, inserted a USB spyware port, and put a key logger program on his netbook. We should be able to eavesdrop on his communications.”
“What about...her?” Swanson growled.
“I assume you mean Anna.... I’ve set up a coordination office...put one of our top guys in charge. Yoav’s working under a pseudonym of Harley and the communications are blind.”
“Blind?”
“Other than my top security officers, no one knows where he’s located.”
“Where is he...really?”
“On the Spider.”
“Good.”
“Harley’s contacted the Russian consortium. They’ve been hit pretty hard by her hacker network and appreciated the lead on Nike...aka Olga Svechinsky. The Russians had a team searching for someone similar at Black Hat but lost her—”
“And then?”
“She disappeared for five days before showing up at her villa to destroy evidence.”
“Where was she in the interim?”
“We don’t know. But the facial recognition data points I provided to the Russians will be a big help. And they know not to use torture. Instead, they’re to contact Harley immediately if they get her.”
“The Russians aren’t reliable.”
“But they’re great hunters and have infiltrated various law enforcement agencies. We’re not just relying on them.”
“What else?”
“I read Yoav in on Anna’s foibles and preferences. His team’s combing through databases looking for patterns that might reveal her.”
“Such as?”
“Technical literature, high-end product purchases such as fine wine and French foods, fashions, and weapons, tools...the things I used to provide her. He’s also coordinating the bounty hunters.”
Swanson leaned forward with an intense stare. “You gave outsiders information that connects her criminal acts to me?”
Gabriel shook his head. “No. Yoav gave the bounty hunters Olga’s information, same as I did for the Russians.... The other guys I’m using, I’ve worked with before...real committed pros. They’ll operate independently from each other and from the Russians, and in separate geographic regions. I don’t want them at cross purposes.”
“It better work.”
Gabriel ignored the implied threat. “By the way, the Gendarmerie found and arrested several of her hackers.”
Swanson leaned forward. “And?”
“Each said they worked for Claire Darcy...were quite proud of it, too. Bragged that the investigators would never catch her...said she’s too smart.”
“Never heard of her. Who’s Darcy?”
“If you were a hacker, you’d know. Claire’s infamous in their circles as an Irish anarchist rebel.�
��
“Was it Anna?”
“It’s hard to be sure without revealing a name or photo to the officials. Then we’d have more problems.”
“Another fake name,” Swanson grumbled.
“Actually, Claire Darcy’s a real person from County Galway, Ireland. Years ago, she was nearly swept up by Europol in Operation Onymous.”
Swanson’s narrowed brow signaled an ignorance of the hacker world.
Gabriel continued. “Onymous was a global attempt to shut down illegal operations on the ‘Deep Web,’ that part of the Internet where anonymity aids criminal activity. Like most spies, Anna thrived in that world.... Rumor has it someone tipped Claire off to a raid. I’m guessing Anna did it.”
“Why would she help a hacker?”
“Probably in order to insinuate herself into the hacker’s life and gain a credible alias.”
“If Anna took over Claire’s online identity, odds are she probably eliminated the original. Tough...but doable.”
“So what’s your next step?” Swanson sipped his whisky.
“I’ve got a friend in the French investigation who’s feeding me information on suspects. We’re trying to find them before the Gendarmerie do.”
“And if they do?”
“As the investigators release suspects, we’ll pick them up and interrogate...our way. We need to determine what they told the authorities. If they’re a risk, we’ll dispose of them.”
“Good. Now how about Anna’s friends and associates?”
Gabriel shook his head. “It’s a list of thousands...and yet, except for Spenser, she never got personally close to any.”
Swanson’s face scrunched. “But she—”
“Yes, she had lots of flings, but not many within the last couple years. The men felt the experience was a trade of sorts. She always wanted something...access, favors, information. There was very little emotional connection.”
“How about female friends?”
“Very few of those...most women thought she was too aggressive.”
“There must have been hairdressers and such.”
“Said Anna was always aloof, and didn’t participate in ‘girl talk.’ Even the local martial arts studio hasn’t seen her, though they were delighted to have her antique weapons gifted to them.”
“So nobody’s heard from her?”
“Several tried. But none really went out of their way.” Gabriel let out a deep breath. His expression showed sadness. “She was more emotionally isolated than I thought.”
“What about her electronic communications?” Swanson pressed.
“We accessed the email accounts we know about.”
“And?”
“She’s gotten dozens of social invitations, a hundred or so requests for assistance in environmental messaging, and many guys asking her out on first dates. Nothing stands out in her archives.”
“Damn.... How about Robert Spenser? Is he involved?”
“I don’t think so.... Spenser’s been looking for her as well. He last spoke with Anna on the telephone July 18th.”
Swanson’s excitement was waning. “Well?”
“He thinks he might have said something that bothered her a few weeks earlier when they spent the night together. So he called to invite her out for the weekend to events she loved.”
“And what was her response?”
“She turned him down, claiming she was extremely busy. He said she seemed distant...preoccupied.”
“Huummppphhhh! So he’s a dead-end too!”
“Yes...but he has an offer that might lift your spirits. He asked if you’d consent to him making a documentary.”
Swanson leaned forward. “What about?”
“He called you ‘the savior of the world’, an ‘eco-hero’, and wants to show how you defeated global warming.”
Swanson’s chest puffed and a smile returned. He opened the humidor and lit a cigar, pulled a deep breath, and exhaled. “Think it was her idea?”
Gabriel nodded. “She was always manipulating the media and film industry. Spenser’s not the only one who used to pass scripts through her for messaging.”
“Set up a meeting.” His smile faded. “And that deck hand? You think he was the guy she last saw?”
“We’re still looking for Marv. But he’s too short to match her servant’s rough description. Best guess is that Marv’s living under an alias and has an expensive boat in another country.”
Alexis expelled a deep breath. “That it?”
Gabriel hesitated. “Boss, do you have a succession plan?”
“In case I croak?” Swanson looked up with suspicion.
“There are several things that could happen.”
“I’ve got a will. My assets get split up among my foundations.”
“Which wouldn’t take effect if you’re incapacitated. Who’s the executor?”
“Ian Thompson. As my head accountant, he’s in the best position to fulfill my goals and maintain my legacy.”
Gabriel moved closer and spoke softly, as if concerned his words might be intercepted. “What if an insider makes a deliberate attempt?”
“In that case...as head of security...you’ll be fired.” He grinned.
“Seriously...such an event could even be initiated by planned recipients to your largesse. With a few hundred billion at stake, they may not want to wait.”
Swanson’s eyes narrowed. His right hand fingers tapped the illuminated keyboard while his left hand cupped his chin. He was studying his asset display.
Gabriel knew not to interrupt the old man’s deep thoughts so he sat back to sip his drink and absently brushed away several Fuzz strands that had settled in front.
After a while, Swanson asked, “You think my foundations might get greedy?”
“Wouldn’t be the first time power’s been wrested from someone who wasn’t prepared.”
Swanson’s lips pursed while he considered the implications. “That’ll take more thought. I’ll get back to you.”
Gabriel nodded as he turned to walk out, then shielded his smile.
Chapter 18
August 16, 0800
Heyward Ranch
Denton, TX
Pete brushed accumulated Fuzz threads off the windshield. It was a new routine for most drivers, one he hated.
“I’ll see you at the meeting, Dad,” Pete called as he sought shelter in the SUV from the noise generated by the incoming corporate helicopter’s approach.
His father waved back.
“Honey!” Anna shouted over the increased thrumming. Dressed in tan shorts and a cropped white blouse she strode to the vehicle. A wide-brim, floppy hat shadowed her face. She reached through the open window and touched Pete’s arm. “I want to go with you into Dallas. I need to shop before our trip. Pleeaassseee?”
The scent of jasmine and roses wafted through the window. She made a pouty look through batting eyelashes and long black bangs. “I’ve got a bribe.” A slender left hand lifted gently swinging iced cans of cola from a plastic ring.
“Sure, I’d love the company.”
“Great!” She strolled around to the passenger door and climbed inside.
His eyes appraised her. “I’m surprised.”
“At what?”
“You look...unarmed. It’s not like you not wear a weapon.”
“It’s hot today. I wanted to dress lighter for clothes shopping. Besides, the sword’s flexible blade sheath requires an inner Velcro belt and I don’t want the hassle of repeatedly taking it off and putting it on.”
“Hmmmm, you’re wearing sandals, so no switchblade. You certainly don’t have a weapon in your back pocket. Must be in your purse.”
“Just a taser there.” In a flash, her right hand slipped under her loose blouse and extracted a petite Boberg 9mm semi-automatic.
His eyes flickered. “Okay, I blinked. Exactly where were you carrying that thing?”
She lifted her blouse to reveal a small custom holster clipped behi
nd her size-C gore strap. “From a bra holster.”
She re-inserted the pistol.
“So, not exactly unarmed.”
In another second she flashed an eight-inch long triangular black blade in her right hand.
He leaned away. “What the hell’s that?!”
“It’s a Razor Dagger.... Contours flat between my stomach and waistband.” Her grin widened.
“Is there a sheath to hold it?”
“Nope. The pressure holds it comfortably in place. I’ve worn a shorter one in a bikini without anyone noticing...including you.” She slipped it back.
“Okay, so I don’t really need to worry about you being abducted.”
She shook her head. “If someone tries, just follow their blood trail.”
He exhaled deeply. “So, what’s to buy?”
“Just clothes and stuff.” She shrugged. “Come on. I hardly ever go shopping in the big city. I’ll take the car when we get there, and you text when the meeting’s over.”
“Sure, why not.”
As he drove the long driveway he stared at Anna’s face. “I understand the wig, but why’s your makeup so heavy? It accentuates your features in an odd way. Going for a Hispanic look?”
She bit her lower lip, then spoke. “To confuse facial recognition software. What I use, and how I apply makeup, changes the facial feature points. If I’m in Dallas, I’ll no doubt be seen by any number of traffic and surveillance cameras.” She saw his concern. “Relax, Honey, it’s just a precaution.”
“This is how our life’s going to be? You’ll be hiding from the cameras?”
“Well, I don’t expect nearly as many in the Pacific Northwest, but yeah, I have to stay vigilant. My old identity can’t be connected to you.”
He slowly nodded acceptance, then sniffed again. “Hmmm...Chanel Eau Première. I thought you never wore any of your signature perfumes when you’re in costume?”
“Not usually, but I thought I’d give you something to dream about while you’re in your meeting.”
Anna’s brow arched when Pete turned on the radio. “You never tire of depressing news, do you? Guess my perfume went to waste. And to think I even applied an extra dab.”
“I can multi-task.” His hand rubbed her tanned leg. “Better to know what’s coming, than to be blindsided. Think of it as my precaution.”