by Mel LeBrun
Michael sighed. “I'm still working on that.” He slapped Alonso on the shoulder. “Thanks.”
Michael headed back upstairs to check on Jessica's progress.
“How's it going?” he asked.
“Well, I confirmed our suspicion that the confidential informant is Ronald Sanders. We have his file. I also found the White Knight file. Alonso was very close to uncovering the location of their processing facility.” She turned to him. He was intently reading the report on her screen. “What were you and Alonso talking about?”
He took his time responding. He finished reading the report and took a deep breath as he shifted his attention from her laptop to her. “I asked him what they would do to you.”
She stiffened. “And?”
“I'm going to get immunity for us.”
“What if they don't give it to us?”
“They will.” He smiled reassuringly. “Are you able to record the conversation if we call Gatti again?”
“Easily. When are we calling him?”
“Tonight. I want to call him late when he's likely to be alone and out of the office.”
“Will you ask him for immunity tonight then?”
“Yeah, that CIA shipment is coming in three days. I want to have everything set before then. Hopefully, we can end all this then.”
“In three days?” she asked surprised.
“Why not? With the drug shipment and what we already have, it will be enough to arrest Morgan. We'll probably still have to hide from Vlad, but having some help from the government will make that much easier.”
“I can't help but feel like it's almost too easy.”
Michael raised his eyebrows and looked at her. “You think this has been easy?”
She laughed. “You know what I mean.”
“Yeah I do,” he smiled. “It has to end sometime. Why not now?”
“I'll believe it when I see it I guess.”
He tenderly kissed the top of her head and stroked her hair. “You should get some rest. You'll be out late with me tonight.”
Chapter 74
Gatti and Price returned to D.C. Gatti's family had been whisked away into protective custody after it was discovered that his file had been compromised. Gatti fought his superiors to continue working instead of joining them. They eventually conceded and assigned a security detail to watch over him at a hotel downtown. Viewing it all as completely unnecessary since he was convinced Michael was behind the hack, he insisted on having his own room. Reluctantly, the agents guarding him set themselves up in the adjoining room.
It was almost midnight and Gatti had finally dozed off when his cell phone woke him. He looked at the number. It was from out of the country and he knew immediately who it was.
“Hello, Michael,” he answered as he sat up in bed, rubbing his tired eyes.
“Hi, Tim. How's everything?”
Gatti cleared his throat. “Well, aside from being woken up, my family is in protective custody thanks to you and it was all I could do to keep myself out of it.”
“I'm sorry to hear that, Tim. I'm sure it will work out. In the meantime, I need to talk to you. Won't be much use tracing the call, so I'd like your full attention, if you don't mind.”
“I'm not tracing the call. I'm sitting in bed with the lights out and my security detail in the other room. It's just you and me. You want to tell me what's going on? Like where that mission file came from and who the mole is?”
“Later. First I need you to do something for me.”
“Which would be?”
“I need immunity.”
“From what?”
“The measles. What do you think?”
Gatti sighed. “No, I mean what have you done?”
“Isn't that the point of immunity? So that I can talk about it without fear of prosecution? Why would I tell you everything first?”
“Because I'd like to know what kind of crimes I'm giving a free pass to. Did you butcher a girl scout troop or plant a bomb in a subway tunnel? You don't have to give me specifics, just generalize.”
Michael was silent, not quite sure how much he wanted to tell Gatti.
“Michael?”
“Yeah.”
“Is it that bad? Worse than hacking into the CIA?”
Michael breathed deeply. “I've been on the run for almost four years. Up until recently, I didn't know why. During that time and in my efforts to get to the truth about what's going on, I've committed some crimes. Mostly acting in self defense.”
“So you've killed a few people?”
“If I have?”
“As long as they were a genuine threat to you and you're not trying to get away with killing innocent civilians, I don't have a problem giving you immunity for that. Is there anything else?”
“Just out of curiosity, what if I was involved with hacking into the CIA?”
“I'd say, 'Thank you for admitting it finally.'”
Michael was quiet again as he tried to decide how much to say.
Gatti decided to make it easier for him. “Look, Michael. I know you were involved in hacking the CIA. I assume the shootout in the Coffee Bytes cafe had something to do with you and you obviously were acting in self-defense. I've seen what little footage there is of the hospital shooting and it's clear there too you were acting in self-defense. If we have a mole and you help us to uncover him, I will gladly arrange immunity for you. Just tell me what's going on.”
“I'm going to need immunity for a few others as well.”
“Like who?”
“Some people who've been helping me.”
“Jessica Nickoli and Josh Lavene?” The silence on the phone was his answer. “I'll give immunity to Jessica Nickoli under the condition that she agrees to do work for us.”
“Absolutely not.”
“She hacked into a government facility. You know what that means. She might as well have walked in here and stolen the files in person. It's treason. There is no way we can let that go.”
“You can and you will.”
It was Gatti's turn to be silent. He sat up straight and ran his hand through his hair.
“You're forgetting who you're talking to,” Michael continued. “I know you can let it go. The only reason you're claiming you can't is because you want to capitalize on her skills. She would be a huge asset and that's all you see her as. You will not compel her to work for you. Are we clear?”
“You have to bring something to the table, Michael.”
“I am. You have a traitor in the CIA. What's it worth to you?”
Gatti sighed heavily. “Fine. I will get immunity for you, Jessica, and Josh.”
“I also want a written guarantee that anyone who helped with the hacking will not be touched and that we will not be obligated to divulge their identities.”
Gatti stood up. “How many people are we talking here?” he asked clearly perturbed.
“Again, that's not something I'm going to talk about.”
“I don't know, Michael. That's a tall order.”
“You have twenty-four hours to make it happen.”
“Then what?”
There was no answer. Gatti looked at his phone, the call had ended.
Chapter 75
Gatti left a message for the Director before even getting himself a cup of coffee. Twenty-four hours wasn't a lot of time to arrange immunity for three people, especially when they're suspected of hacking into the CIA. He tried to express the urgency of his call and hoped he would get a response early in the morning. He then called Price, giving him an update.
An hour after Gatti arrived at headquarters, the Director returned his call. He spent the next fifteen minutes bringing him up to speed on their investigation and requesting immunity for Michael, Jessica, and Josh. When he finally finished the line was silent.
“Sir?”
Another moment of silence passed and he thought maybe they lost connection.
“Let me get this straight,” the Director finally broke his silen
ce. “You want me to give immunity to the people who hacked into our network and compromised over seventy current operations, as well as hundreds of closed ones?”
Gatti swallowed. “I know it's unorthodox.”
“Unorthodox?! Just why would I even dream of offering them immunity?”
“Sir, we have a mole. There is no doubt about that. We checked the authorizations for Black Pawn. They were forged. No one ordered that mission. And we know for certain Cailen was not a terrorist drug lord. Someone inside our organization wanted him dead and they tried to use us to do it.”
“We'll find the mole ourselves. Cailen should have come forward with what he knew four years ago and we could have settled this.”
“Frankly sir, he didn't know who to trust. How was he to know whether or not it was a sanctioned operation? Look, I know it's upsetting, but you know as well as I do that if we start looking for a mole, he's only going to cover his tracks. It's what we're all trained to do. Cailen has enough evidence to prove who the mole is. He's willing to return everything he took and I think we both know that none of those missions are compromised by Cailen. If anything, they're compromised by the presence of the mole.”
The Director sighed. He knew Gatti was right, but the embarrassment of being hacked was making it a hard thing to let go. “Nickoli has to agree to work for us.”
“They won't agree to that. I already tried.”
The Director sighed again. He wanted to find some way to save face. He finally conceded it wasn't going to happen. The sooner they stopped the mole the better. “I'll have the papers drawn up today. Tell them they'll have immunity.”
Gatti had been anxiously holding his breath. When the words came through the phone, he closed his eyes and leaned back in his seat as he quietly exhaled in relief. “Thank you sir.”
“I'll call you when they're ready.” He hung up.
MICHAEL CALLED shortly after lunch to inquire on the status of their immunity. Gatti was pleased to report that it had been secured for them and the signed papers would be delivered that day. Michael expressed his appreciation and assured him he would be in touch with him in two days to arrange the meet and suggested that Gatti be in New York City at that time. Gatti tried to inquire why New York, but Michael had already hung up.
Chapter 76
Michael had already determined that the next day he would head off alone to New York City to prepare for his meeting with Gatti. He held off from telling Jessica until the last minute. As he anticipated, she wasn't happy about it.
“Michael, at least let Josh go with you,” she pleaded.
“Josh needs to stay here with you. I'm not leaving you all here defenseless.”
“Then let us go with you.”
Michael shook his head. “There is no reason to move you. You're safer here. I'll be fine. I'm just going to get the papers and hand over the evidence. It's a simple trade, Jessica. You don't need to worry.”
Jessica looked to Josh for backup. “Josh, you can't let him go alone.”
Josh put his hands up and bowed his head. “This is his gig.”
She huffed in frustration and crossed her arms. Michael stepped close to her and touched her arm. She moved away. He wasn't dissuaded. He pulled her towards him, wrapping his arms around her. “I love you,” he whispered as he squeezed her tight.
Finally giving in, she put her arms around him and squeezed him back. “I love you too, Michael. Please be careful.”
Jessica gathered all the evidence onto one disc. Michael also had her remove the hard drive with all the information they gathered from hacking the CIA. Once he had everything, he left alone for New York.
His first stop was to check out the arrival location of Morgan's shipment from China, located just outside New York City - a small industrial complex with a strip of offices separated by large garage doors that could be used to house vehicles or supplies. He parked at a distance and used binoculars to check out the offices. The companies varied from graphic design to cleaning supplies. The office that the package would be delivered to looked like an unassuming shipping company. Nothing about it stood out, which was to be expected. Meant to be bland and unnoticeable, CIA fronts usually didn't look like anything spectacular. There was no visible security though Michael knew there must be. He only saw one person in the office, but no doubt there was at least one other in the garage.
He climbed into the backseat of the Mercedes and waited for the shift to change after dark. One person arrived and two left. He waited another couple hours in case someone else arrived. When no one showed he left to get some food and use the bathroom, relieved there was only one night guard. His next stop was a rest area to catch a few hours of sleep.
The following morning Michael began scouting locations for the meet. He settled on a large construction site where a building was partially constructed. It offered lots of cover and many exits to slip out if things got hairy.
With the meeting place determined, Michael headed back to the shipping company to keep watch and wait for the delivery to arrive. He didn't have to wait long. Only a few hours in, a van arrived. The driver entered the office carrying a medium-sized package. One minute later he exited and drove away. That had to be it. Michael remained in position, keeping an eye on the building to make sure the package didn't leave.
The day was remarkably boring. Two people came and left. Most likely agents checking in or dropping off intel. The sun set and before long the lone night guard arrived, relieving the day shift. Michael waited until the employees drove away before moving his vehicle closer. He parked it just barely in sight of the office.
He used a nearby dumpster to get to the flat roof of the building and then walked quietly down to the shipping company office, positioning himself right above the door. He knew they must have hidden cameras watching the doors, so he didn't approach from the ground.
He waited several minutes, allowing the guard to settle in and then pulled out the car remote. He triggered the alarm and hoped his plan would work. After ten seconds of his car alarm blaring, the guard came to the glass door and looked out. He shrugged it off and receded back into the room. The alarm finished its course and shut itself off. Michael triggered it again and again. The guard came to the door this time and strained himself to see the car, clearly getting agitated. After checking the security cameras and looking both ways out the door, he shut off the security system and opened the door so he could stick his head out and get a better view of the car causing all the racket.
It was just the move Michael was hoping for. He jumped down from the roof, taking the man by surprise. Michael dragged the unconscious guard into the garage and then started hunting for the package. There were large crates scattered around and shelving along the back wall filled with boxes. It took a bit of searching before he finally found what he was looking for. He grabbed the box and took the guard's keys as he walked past. He locked the office and threw the keys onto the roof.
He called Gatti from a pay phone near the construction site.
Gatti answered, sounding groggy.
“Tim, I hope you're in New York.”
“I'm here.”
“You have the papers?”
“They're right here.”
“Good. Let's meet.”
Michael told him to come to the construction site with explicit orders that he come alone. Gatti agreed, in spite of Price's objection, and told him he'd be right there. Michael parked in a parking lot next to the construction site, blending in with some other cars. He didn't want to stand out.
Large lights lit up most of the site to help with security. One security guard sat in a vehicle keeping watch. Michael put him out of commission, then settled into a spot with a good vantage point of the area and waited.
A dark colored SUV approached and parked in front of the building. He saw Agent Gatti emerge and look around. He reached back in the truck and pulled out an envelope. As he made his way towards the partially constructed building, Michael took a
quick look around and noticed another car pulling up. It parked at a distance but with a view of the site. Michael stealthily made his way closer to the car. Gatti stood outside the building calling to Michael, seeming hesitant to go inside. As Michael snuck up behind the car, Gatti went in the building and the driver of the car stepped out. Michael rushed forward and pressed his silenced gun into the back of the man's head.
“You have five seconds to explain yourself before you get a bullet in the head.”
“I couldn't let him go alone,” the man fearfully replied.
“And you are?”
“We work together.”
“Yeah, we'll see. Walk.”
Michael nudged his head with the gun and they started walking toward the building. Gatti was getting nervous and was about to leave when he saw Agent Price round the corner with his hands up.
“Allen?” He couldn't hide his surprise.
Just then Michael came in view behind him holding a gun to him.
“Michael, what gives?” Gatti asked as he instinctively raised his arms as well.
“Put your arms down,” Michael said as he lowered his gun and slipped it into his back waistband. He looked at Price. “Allen Price, is it?”
“How did you know that?” Price asked surprised.
“Doesn't matter. I said to come alone.” Michael looked at Gatti
Price came to his defense. “He didn't know I followed him. I didn't think he should go alone.”
“You of all people should know I'd have been fine.” Gatti was clearly irritated.
“I'm sorry.” Price tried to brush it off.
“Don't worry about it,” Michael said. “Let's just get this going before the security guard wakes up.”
Gatti opened the envelope he was holding and presented Michael with the immunity papers. Michael carefully looked them over to make sure the wording was how he asked for it and that everyone would be covered. Satisfied, he left the room to retrieve the evidence he hid in an unfinished wall.
He returned with a box covered in stamps and stickers declaring it contained diplomatic documents and the disk Jessica made, as well as the flash drive from Alex. He placed them on the floor in front of Gatti and Price.