by KJ Kalis
Jess glanced back at Hoffman, who’d loosened his grip on her arm. She felt the blood running back into her hand as she shook it a bit trying to get the feeling to come back. Until he let go, she didn’t realize how hard he was holding it. He narrowed his eyes, as if calculating whether he wanted to continue pushing Saunders. Hoffman glanced at the no name guard and then at Jamison, “All right. When you’re done questioning these two, I’d appreciate it if you’d bring them back to the security office here in the building. We do have a few questions about why these two were in the building in the first place, since they didn’t belong there. We’re concerned there was a theft or something else.”
“Will do.” Jamison settled his eyes on Jess and Chase, “Okay, you two. Let’s go have a talk about pulling fire alarms.”
As Jess took a couple steps away from Hoffman, she could finally breathe again. It was like she’d been stuck in a teeny tiny space, almost claustrophobic. As she followed Jamison, she took in a deep breath and bent over, pretending to check her shoelaces. She felt for the vials of ABG she’d hidden in her socks. They seemed to be there and in one piece despite the jostling of being buried in her socks.
Jess and Chase followed Jamison without saying anything. Jess checked over her shoulder a couple times, checking on Chase, whose face was a whole new level of pale, his eyes unfocused, staring at the ground. She looked for the guards who brought them outside. The two of them were standing in the same spot where they’d dragged Jess and Chase, staring at them as they walked away, glares on their faces. Jess knew they were more than just run-of-the-mill security guards. But Jamison hadn’t flinched at coming to get she and Chase, even with how heavily armed Hoffman and his partner were. That still left Jess with questions about what was actually going on in Building B and why such heavy security was needed. What if the security team at Building B was former special operatives, the same type of people that Charlie told her about that worked for Zeta Tactical Consulting and Colonel Harrison Foster? The kidnappers from the bank robbery this morning carried themselves the same way as the ones that were watching over Building B, with the same alpha male aggression. The thought sent a shiver down her spine. When this was all over, Jess made a note to talk to Charlie about it. They had to figure out what was going on.
A few seconds later, Jamison led Jess and Chase behind one of the firetrucks where his blue car was sitting, the flashing lights still going off near the visor under the windshield. Jamison turned to face them, “Okay, now that I’ve rescued you from whoever those guys were, would you like to tell me what is going on? Jess, did you pull the fire alarm?”
Jess stared down at her feet for a second, wondering how much to tell Jamison. “Yes, I did pull the fire alarm,” she said, swallowing, “But, that’s really all I can tell you at the moment. We have to go.”
As she glanced at Jamison, she could see a wave of frustration across his face, the muscles in his jaw tightening, “Chase, would you like to add anything to that story?”
Chase shook his head, staring at the ground. “No.”
Jess pulled her phone out of her back pocket. It was nearing three o’clock. Time was running out. Butterflies formed in her stomach, “Listen, Jamison. Thanks for the rescue from those guys, but we really have to get back to Chase’s lab. There’s something important we have to do.” She knew the words rang hollow.
Jamison started to answer when Jess’s phone rang. A mixture of dread and hope filled Jess, her fingers clumsy as she fished her phone from her pocket. Turning away from Jamison, she answered the phone, felling out of breath. “Charlie?” she said, turning away.
“What’s going on, Jess? Can you give me an update?”
Speaking as quietly as she could with the hum of police and firefighters around the building, just gave Charlie a quick update, telling him about how Chase figured out a way to make the ABG inert, but they had to break into Building B in order to get the samples back. She told Charlie about the guards at Building B and how they’d nearly gotten dragged into the security office when she pulled the fire alarm and how Detective Saunders had shown up and taken them into custody. “The thing is, Charlie, we only have five vials of the ABG.”
“And you need twelve?”
“That’s right. And complicating matters,” she whispered, “I don’t know if Detective Saunders understands what’s going on. I’m not sure he’s gonna let us go back into the building.”
“Give him your phone.”
Feeling confused, Jess blinked and then mumbled, “Charlie?”
“Just do it.”
Jess pulled her phone away from her ear, tapping the button to put it on speaker. She turned towards Detective Saunders and Chase. Chase had his eyes focused on the ground. He wasn’t moving. “Detective, my boss would like to speak to you.”
Jamison furrowed his eyebrows and then took a step closer to Jess, “This is Detective Jamison Saunders of the Tucson Police Department. How can I help?”
“Detective, my name is Charlie Burns. I’m the Executive Director of the North American Intelligence Institute. As Jess said, I’m her boss. Listen, I don’t know how much these two have told you, but we have a critical situation here, one that involves a little bit more than you might think.”
“Are you talking about the abduction of Abby Montgomery?”
“Yes, but there is more to this case than just that.”
Jess’s eyes got wide as she realized Charlie was going to tell Jamison everything that was going on. Holding the phone in her hand, she looked at Chase. He was staring at her. Jess leaned toward the phone, interrupting, “Charlie, if we tell Jamison what’s going on we’re going to put Abby’s life in more danger!”
“Jess, you’re going to have to trust me here. I know that’s what the kidnapper said. They always say things like that. You two need help. I’m doing what I can on my end, but you have to trust me.”
Conflict raged inside of Jess’s chest. Everything in her wanted to tap the end button on the call and stuff her phone back in her pocket, pulling Chase away and running back up to the lab to get the samples put together as fast as possible. Abby’s face surfaced in her memory. That poor girl. Jess took a deep breath and sighed, closing her eyes for a second, “Okay, Charlie.”
“Detective, Chase has been working on a revolutionary medical treatment that could save literally hundreds of thousands of lives in our military. What he’s working on is mission critical to our national security. It’s as simple as that. What the kidnappers want is samples of the formula. Why? We don’t know. But they’ve gone to great lengths to target Chase, his family, and his sister in order to get what they want.”
Jamison looked confused, “So, what does this have to do with you? I thought Jess was an intelligence analyst.”
“She is. And I run the organization she works for,” Charlie said, his voice suddenly becoming stern, “But I do a lot more than that. I’ve been in touch with the DOJ and my military contacts at the highest levels of government, you’ll just have to trust me on that. I’m going to tell you right now what needs to happen. Are you ready?”
“Okay.”
By the look on Jamison’s face, Jess wasn’t sure he was buying what was going on. But at least he was listening.
“I’m going to be forthright with you here. Jess and Chase called me several hours ago to see if I could get access for them into Building B. The DOJ, unfortunately, has that building locked down to an extraordinary level. They are running some sort of top-secret research that I am not allowed to know about. It’s nearly Presidential-level access. Do you understand what I’m saying?”
“I think so,” Jamison mumbled.
“Good. So, when I was unable to get access for Jess and Chase to get into the building to retrieve the samples of Chase’s product, they decided to take matters in their own hands. They did no damage to the building. The only thing they did was retrieve the samples that Chase had sent over for testing that had not been completed. When they were intercept
ed by guards, Jess did what she needed to do, which was to pull the fire alarm. There is a tight clock from the kidnappers on how quick they expect delivery in order to do the trade for Abby’s life, and now Piper’s. All of this to say, you are welcome to follow them around for the rest of the day if you’d like, but I need those two back up in Chase’s lab, and I need them up there right now.”
Jess chewed the inside of her lip. She’d never heard Charlie talk to anyone the way he was talking to Detective Saunders. How he would he react to someone being that bossy, she didn’t know. She watched for a moment. Jamison stared at the ground as if he was concentrating. What she could see of his face seemed relaxed, like he was just absorbing the information as he went. There was nothing excitable about him. Jess liked that.
It didn’t seem that Charlie was going to give Detective Saunders any choice. “Chase? Are you there?”
Chase cleared his throat, “Yes. Mr. Burns, I’m here.”
“This is what I need you to do. Go back up to the lab. Take the samples you have and make them work. Do you understand?”
“Yes.”
“And one more thing, Chase. I’m not totally convinced that Landon Walker and his crew, if that’s who has Abby, wants your product for good purposes. While you are working through getting things packaged up, I need you to start thinking about what other applications there might be for the formula – both tactical and medical. Does that make sense?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Jess?”
“I’m here, Charlie.”
“I want you to work on the same thing. Whoever these people are, they have a reason they want the ABG. I don’t believe for one skinny minute that it’s because they have kind hearts. People who will go to the lengths this crew has gone to target Chase and his family, they’ve got no good written all over them. Figure out what they want the ABG for. Call me in one hour with an update.”
As Jess pushed the end button on the call, she swallowed, glancing at Detective Saunders, waiting. Jamison had no idea who Charlie Burns was or the extent of his contacts. Would he let Jess and Chase go back to the lab?
Jamison looked at the ground for a second, slowly shaking his head, “Okay, I have no idea what that was, but is that guy on the up and up?”
Jess nodded. “I think at this point in his career the only person he can’t get on speed dial is the President himself. He’s worked in the intelligence business his whole career. I didn’t want to bother him with the abduction. He’s up to his eyeballs in Washington power politics.” Jess thought about the words as they came out of her mouth. She should have gone to Charlie right away. She stared at the ground. She knew why she hadn’t, though she couldn’t bear to say it out loud – she was ashamed that she needed the help. How had she lost her niece?
“And you agree the only play to get Abby back is to give them this stuff, whatever it’s called, the ABG?”
Jess nodded, “From the first text, that’s what the kidnappers were demanding in exchange for Abby’s life, and now Piper’s.”
“All right. Since I don’t have any other leads, we're going to go with yours. Let’s go back up to Chase’s lab, or office, or whatever it is. I’ll come with you guys. Jess, maybe you can fill me in on this Landon character that Charlie mentioned.”
As they started to walk, Jamison grabbed Jess’s arm, “By the way, where is the ABG right now?”
“In my socks.”
Jamison shook his head from side to side, “You get a ten for creativity, if nothing else. Let’s go.”
Jess led the way back to the building, the adrenaline still pumping in her system. The four ambulances that had been positioned outside of Building B had left. Jamison’s blue car was still parked at the curb behind a single fire truck and the Battalion Chief’s SUV. As they crossed the driveway, Jess saw a single police officer talking to the two guards that had brought Jess and Chase outside. Hoffman, the shorter of the guards, pointed toward Jess and Chase as if trying to get the police officer to stop their progress back to Chase’s lab. Jess saw Jamison turn back to the officer and flash his badge. She glanced back just in time to see Hoffman’s shoulders slump.
Back inside of Chase’s building, Sully was standing behind the console when they came in, “Everything go okay?” he asked, leaning his hands on the counter.
Jess didn’t stop moving to have a conversation. Time was running out and they needed every minute they could spare. “We’re going back up to the lab, Sully. Can you buzz us through?”
“Sure. Who’s your friend?”
Jamison angled his body so Sully could see the badge on his belt. “Detective Saunders, Tucson PD. I’m going to be hanging with these guys for a while if you don’t mind.”
“I don’t mind at all. Have at it.”
In the elevator, Jess felt her heart pounding in her chest even though they were doing nothing but waiting. She could barely catch her breath. Her throat was tight and her chest constricted like someone was hugging her too tight. The whole day had come crashing down on her in one moment. Spots started to form in front of her eyes, and she felt her breathing get ragged. As the door slid open to the second floor, she bent over, putting her hands on her knees, trying to take a couple deep breaths. “Jess? Are you okay?” Chase said, holding the door of the elevator open for her.
“I’m okay, just a little lightheaded.”
Jess felt a hand under her arm. It was Jamison. “Here, let me help you.”
With a tug, Jess felt Jamison guide her off the elevator, “Is there a place she can sit down?”
“The conference room,” Chase said. Jess could hear his voice but for some reason it seemed far away.
Jess felt her body move through the hallway and over the doorway into the spot where her computer was still sitting. She heard the wheels of a chair being rolled near her and felt the seat come up under her. “Here, sit down,” Jamison said. As Jess eased herself back into the chair, she put her head between her knees. Trying to take deep breaths, she heard Jamison, “Chase, is there a bottle of water we can get for her? Is there a vending machine or something where we can get her candy or a granola bar, or something?”
Jess heard feet moving on the tile. It was probably Chase she realized. A second later, she heard Chase come back in the room, “Here. I have more water if she needs it and I can find more granola bars, too.”
The spots in front of her eyes hadn’t gotten any better, but when Jamison offered her the bottle of water, she took it, trying to take a few sips. “Just try to relax, Jess,” he said.
From the corner of her eye, she saw Jamison stand up. He passed out of her view. “Chase, go back to the lab. Do what you need to do. All that stuff Charlie said. I’ll stay here with Jess. Don’t worry. I’ll let you know if she needs anything. Where will you be?”
“Right across the hall.”
“Wait…” Jess reached down and pulled up her pant leg, reaching for the three vials of ABG she’d stuffed in her sock. She was afraid to look up, worried she would pass out, “Here,” she said, extending the vials toward Chase. “Don’t forget these.”
As she held them out, Jess felt the touch of warm hands. Whether it was Jamison’s or Chase’s, she wasn’t sure.
As soon as Chase left the conference room, everything was quiet. She only heard the rattle of the wheels of another chair being pulled close to her. Jess sat up and took another sip of water, feeling the cool liquid run into her stomach. She blinked a couple times and then looked at Jamison. He was staring at her, but not in the way that she expected. He had kind eyes. “Here. Try to take a couple bites of something.”
Jess took the granola bar from him and broke off a small piece, trying to chew it. “I’m sorry. I don’t know what happened. All of a sudden, my heart just started to pound and then I felt lightheaded.” She fought back feelings of embarrassment. How would she be any good to Abby if she passed out?
Adrenaline. That’s what happened.”
Jess took another drink o
f water, “So, in addition to being a detective, you're a doctor, too?”
Jamison chuckled, “No, but I’ve been on the department long enough to see exactly what adrenaline does to people. It’s not good. We have lots of officers that once they get into some sort of a crisis situation have to be transported to the hospital along with the victims. When your system gets charged up with adrenaline, it can be hard for it to come down. Drives your blood pressure up and throws your whole system into chaos.”
“I guess I’m just not used to this much excitement in one day,” Jess said. As her body started to calm down, she realized she had work to do. Charlie asked her to figure out why Landon Walker and his crew wanted the ABG so badly. Questions started to churn in her mind, like the ocean in the middle of a storm. “I’ve got to get back to work. We’re running out of time,” Jess said, struggling to her feet.
“Take it easy, Jess,” Jamison said. “Before you go back to work, I want you to sit for another minute. While you’re doing it, tell me about this Walker character your boss mentioned.”
Taking another bite of granola bar and trying to chew it, fighting back a wave of nausea, Jess sighed, “Okay. Here’s what we know. I did a thirty-day search on LPR’s in the greater Tucson area searching for Chase’s and Piper’s cars.”
“License plate readers?”
Jess nodded, “Yeah. NAII has access to them around the globe. My access is only domestic because that's the type of projects I work on. Anyway, I did a search, figuring that whoever took Abby was using surveillance. Like, pro level surveillance. I didn’t find anything on Chase’s car — he went all the normal places you’d expect, Abby’s school, the drugstore, home, and here at the lab. But Piper’s car was a different case.”
Jamison crossed his ankle over his knee and leaned back in the chair, “What do you mean?”