by K. J. Dahlen
Phoebe shrugged. “I don’t know. She never spoke of her family before. In all the years I’ve known her, she never told me anything about them. I never expected to hear they were a biker family.”
Michael almost smiled at this. “Her grandfather was a feared gun dealer and the leader of a tough MC in his day. He was a punk and a killer. Nothing to be proud of as far as I’m concerned.”
Phoebe shook her head. “I’m sure the only thing Willow remembers of him was the fact he was someone she loved before she was old enough to know what kind of man he was. She was just a child when her family was killed. You can judge him if you want but to people like us, any family member that treated us with love and kindness will be remembered with love and kindness.”
Michael frowned then turned and walked away.
Judson just stood there and looked at Phoebe. “You gotta understand. He lost everything in his world that mattered to him and it was the bad guys who did it.” He turned and walked away as well.
Half an hour later, they sat down to a meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes. No one said a word while they ate. When Phoebe cleared the dishes and served the coffee, Michael and Judson began discussing the case.
“I think I found something while I was pinning up the new data,” Judson said.
Michael glanced at him. “What would that be?”
Judson grabbed his cup. “In one of the original transmissions the offices translated, there was a symbol that matched one under the triangle on your bedroom wall.”
Michael pushed his chair away from the table. “Show me.”
Judson got up and followed him into the other room. He found the spot he was looking for and then he pointed it out to Michael. Michael studied it then went over to the photos of his bedroom wall. He studied the symbol carefully again. When he turned back to Judson, he had a look in his eyes that Judson recognized.
“I think you’re right.” Michael turned back to the photo and drew an imaginary line under the phrase. “This roughly translates, ‘Fear the White Dog.’” He went back to the phrase Judson found earlier and drew another line under it. “This translates, ‘The White Dog is ready to commence in ten days.’ ”
Judson checked the date on the transmission. It was three days old. He glanced at Michael and said, “We have seven days to find them before their jihad begins.”
Michael exhaled deeply. “At least now, we know how much time we don’t have left.”
They went back to the kitchen to finish their coffee. As they sat down, the Trac phone began to ring. Judson picked it up and checked who was calling. “It’s Harper.” He flipped the phone open and greeted her. “Do you miss us already?” he asked with a grin. The grin slowly faded as he listened to her reply. He slowly closed the phone and when he looked at Michael, his expression was bleak. “The bastards’ fire bombed your house earlier tonight.”
Michael felt a fresh blow of pain hit his soul. The house he shared with Melissa and Kelly was gone. He couldn’t live there without them five years ago, so he moved away from the city but he’d maintained the house all these years hoping one day the pain would be gone and he could go back there. He hadn’t reached that point yet and now, the house was gone. “Damn them to Hell,” he growled. He could feel the nausea churning inside his stomach.
Judson got up and grabbed Michael’s cigarettes. Lighting one before he tossed the pack to Michael.
He stood there thinking for a moment then he pushed away from the counter and went to the living room.
Turning on the television, he saw the news report. Firemen were still there trying to get the fire under control.
Michael and Phoebe joined him a minute or so later and they watched in silence as fire destroyed the house. Phoebe moved over to the sofa and sat down watching the news report.
When the cameras panned the crowd, Michael hissed. He grabbed the remote and paused the picture on one of the groups of people watching the blaze. He stepped closer to the television and tapped one of the crowd. He turned to Judson. “I know that guy. He was one of the men I was tracking five years ago. I’ll bet he’s the one that followed you and the one that shot out the tire.” He turned back to crowd of people then snapped his head toward Judson again. “He’s the one I’m going to kill first,” he vowed.
Judson reached for the phone in his pocket and called Harper to tell her the news.
Michael went outside, he felt too worked up to stay inside. After a while, he came back to go to bed. Yeah, right, as if he could sleep this night away. He kept pushing all the memories of his family in that house away.
He laid down and stared at the dark ceiling for a long time. Then Michael heard his door open and close. A moment later, he felt someone get into bed with him.
“I know what this looks like but I’m not here for anything but peace of mind. I feel safer with you than without you. If I promise not to touch you, can I stay with you?” Phoebe whispered.
Michael chuckled softly. For the first time in a very long time, he didn’t want to be alone. All day, he’d kept track of Phoebe and not once had she bothered him. He was beginning to feel comfortable around her and it didn’t bother him. Usually, if a woman got too close, he felt a sense of guilt but not so much with her. He hadn’t taken the time to wonder why yet but right now, it didn’t matter. He gathered her up in his arms and held her close, almost expecting to feel sweat pouring out of him but nothing happened. He didn’t feel the badly, in fact it almost felt right to have her here with him.
Phoebe smiled. Brushing her lips to his skin lightly, she snuggled down next to him and laid her head on his shoulder.
For the first time in many years while in bed to go to sleep, Michael felt calm. He fell asleep almost before he could close his eyes.
Chapter Six
Harper stood up from her desk the next morning and casually made her way to Kenn’s office. When she knocked on the door, she found him watching the news report on the fire. Closing the door behind her, she said, “Judson called me last night. He said in one of the pictures of the crowd Michael found a man he recognized standing there.”
Kenn seemed worried. “Damn, they’re looking for him. They know he’s back in town and they’re searching for him.”
“Who are they?” Harper asked.
“They’re the people that murdered his wife and child five years ago to get him kicked off the case,” Kenn said. He sat down at his desk and opened a drawer. Pulling out a file, he opened it and slid it across his desk.
Harper picked it up and began glancing through it. It was a file on Michael Severns. “I know all that but why him?”
“There are good agents out there and then there’s Michael Severns. He has a special knack for this kind of work. The gift he has is that he can think like a terrorist. He knows what’s going through their minds before they do. He can anticipate their next move. He has this uncanny skill of revealing people and plans that no one else can seem to find,” he paused then went on. “Five years ago, this group was moving up the chain of command and Michael was very close to uncovering the main players. He evaded three attempts on his life and when the Bleu Vipers couldn’t kill him, they went after his wife and child. Melissa and Kelly weren’t so lucky.”
Harper glanced up from the report. “I saw the crime scene photos. Michael put them up on the wall at my aunt’s house. They were horrible to see.”
Kenn nodded. “Michael went home that night and found them butchered in his bed.”
Harper stumbled over to the chair in Kenn office. “Now the bastards firebombed his house.”
Kenn leaned forward. “They won’t stop until they find him and kill him. We need a copy of the news film. We need to find this guy and identify him. Maybe this will break the case open for us.” He sat back in his chair and thought for a moment. “Have Carla send our best facial recognition software to Michael’s computer. I don’t know if we have a leak in this office or not but I’m not going to chance it.”
“If
you had to hazard a guess, who do you think the leak is?”
“I’m not even going to go there. If there is another leak in this office, we’ll find him or her,” Kenn replied.
“I can’t imagine any reason for a person to turn their back on their country,” Harper seethed. “If what we think is going to happen actually happens, the United States might never recover.”
“That’s why we need to do this on the QT. If this were to get out to the general public, there would be panic in the streets, and we don’t want that.”
Harper nodded. “Well, Michael also doesn’t want either of us to stop by the house in case we’re followed.
“That’s probably best. He needs to concentrate, just make sure he’s got what he needs.”
Harper got up and went to the door. She paused and turned to her boss. “Do you really think Michael can find this group again? I mean, it has been five years since he found them the first time.”
“He’ll find them again. He’s got a reason to move heaven and earth to uncover them. They tried to kill him and now, they burned his house to the ground. He’ll find them. The only question I have is if he’ll find them before the deadline.”
Harper left Kenn’s office and went to Carla’s office. Then she went back to her own office and began calling the news channels to request a copy of the news reports. When she had everything she needed, she forwarded the info to Michael’s computer. She got up to get a cup of coffee and noticed a group of people watching the big screen television. She wandered over to the group and her gaze swung up to the screen.
Her eyes widened as she saw the news coverage of another fire. This one was in Kansas City. A warehouse had exploded in the early hours of the morning resulting in one death and scores of injuries. As she watched the firemen battle the blaze, her thoughts were racing ahead. She went back to her office and called Judson. When he answered she asked, “Are you guys watching television?”
“No, why? What’s going on?” Judson asked.
“Well, first Michael’s house gets firebombed, and now there’s an explosion in Kansas City. Has Michael found any clue as to where the places are this group is targeting?”
“Hang on a minute,” Judson told her.
In the background, she could hear the television being turned on.
“Damn. We’ll call you right back.”
Harper pulled the cell phone away from her ear and looked at it. She slowly closed it and placed it on her desk, then she shifted her gaze to the outer office. She gazed at each of the individuals standing out there watching the television. She studied each of their faces in detail.
Carla Winesap stared at the scene. She was petite black woman with shoulder length straight hair. The look in her eyes spoke of horror at what she was seeing. Glen Portman was a six-foot-three slender man who desperately needed a haircut. His scruffy beard didn’t appeal to her but there were women that liked it, she hazarded a guess. He was intelligent enough but there was something about the man she didn’t care for. It was like he had a secret he wasn’t willing to share.
Sean Courtney, on loan from the FBI, was an about average size man. His close cropped hair was dark in color, as were his eyes. His skin was a dark color but he didn’t look black. His English was perfect, almost too perfect, but he couldn’t be faulted for that.
Then there was Matthias Ewing. He was a go getter, smart and quick. His closely cropped hair was sandy brown in color and he kept his beard trimmed nice and neat. He had an air that was easy and fun.
Her eyes shifted to the last person in the other room. Brody Dentin. Harper liked Brody. He was a well-groomed black man who always dressed well. His girlfriend Gina Corbin was white and together, they made a dynamite team.
The ringing of her cell phone startled her then she grabbed it up. “Hello.”
“This is Michael. I’ve been studying the chatter and from what I’ve been able to uncover, this group plans to hit a number of strategic places simultaneously. The chatter claims they were supposed to wait until everything was in place. This is supposed to create chaos, so no one will notice their true agenda.”
Harper gasped then asked, “So Kansas City was one of the targets?”
“Yes, it was. I’ve uncovered six places so far. But I’m not finished yet. My house was supposed to be the first place hit. I thought we had seven more days, but I could be wrong.”
“You might not be wrong. Knowing you might be here may have pushed up the dates to try and draw you out into the open. I sent you the facial recognition software along with a copy of the news report. Kenn doesn’t want to run it here in case there is a leak. I guess I don’t have to tell you to be careful and not be seen.”
Michael chuckled. “No, Mom. I think I know what I’m doing by now.”
“Someone tried to kill you twice now and I would really hate for them to get lucky the third time.”
He sighed then changed the subject, “I’ll run the facial recognition software today. I could use another television or computer. We are making some headway through the garbage. I believe they are sleeper cells. They’ve been here a long time waiting for the right time. People who hope to throw our country into chaos, so they can step in and take over. If that happens, we won’t be a democracy anymore. Our leader won’t be a president but a dictator.”
Harper closed her eyes. “Are you sure?”
“What else could it be? If you think about it, our country is the only one that hasn’t had too many acts of violence on our shores. The Civil War and 9/11 were about the only acts of violence on our own shores. The American people have no idea the horrors of war in their own lands. This attack with teach them a harsh lesson.”
Each word he spoke widened the chasm of dread growing inside her. Harper caught her breath as pictures of what he described flooded her mind. “Oh my God, can you stop it from getting that far?”
“I’m working on it. They are a select group and I don’t imagine they’re a very big group. But I could be wrong. They’ve had plenty of time to sneak in more people.”
“So you think this group has ties to politics?”
“I think they are hiding in plain sight, people just don’t know it yet.”
“Any idea who they might be?” Harper asked again.
“I’m working on it. There’s something I was close to uncovering five years ago that I can’t remember and it’s the key that will bring this mess out in the open. I just can’t remember what it is.”
“Maybe once we uncover them, we can stop them.”
“We’re trying.” Michael paused then asked, “Does Matthias Ewing still work in the FBI?”
“Yes, we’re all working together right now, FBI and Homeland Security. Why?”
“Five years ago, he was assembling private files on the current members of government. I’m wondering if he kept up with the new government.”
“Do you want me to ask him?”
“Yes, the more we know at this point, the better.”
“Okay, I’ll ask him and if he has the files you want I’ll have them sent over.” Harper looked out to the office area and spotted Matthias Ewing. The fact he was keeping private files on the members of the government was news to her but maybe it was a good thing in this instance. She opened her cell phone and dialed his number. If there was a leak in the office, she didn’t want to single him out. She made arrangements for him to meet her so she could speak to him in private.
A few minutes later, Harper was making her way out of the building and walking toward the coffee cart on the corner. She ordered her coffee and waited for Matthias.
He came out a few minutes later and when he joined her he asked, “What is all this about?”
Harper smiled at him. “I heard from a little bird that you have some files on the people running our country.”
Matthias raised his eyebrow. “What I have or do not have is my business, not Homeland Security’s.”
“That’s not why I’m asking about the files,
” Harper said.
“What’s your little bird’s name anyway?”
“Michael Severns.”
“Michael Severns,” Matthias repeated the name. “Wow! That’s a name I haven’t heard for a while.”
“I know.” Harper nodded. “Can you keep what I’m going to tell you to yourself? You can’t mention it to anyone, not even to the people in our office.”
Matthias nodded.
“There is a threat we’re trying to make go away. This is a threat to our very way of life. Michael needs the files you have to figure out who is behind it.”
Matthias seemed to consider what she was saying for a moment, then he nodded like he’d made up his mind. He reached inside his pocket and took out his key chain. He removed a flash drive and handed it to her. “When he’s finished, I’d like my files back, and please don’t let anyone but Michael have these files. They are for my personal use only.”
Harper smiled. “Don’t worry. No one but Michael will see these files. As soon as I send them to him, I’ll give you back your drive, and no one will need to know where the information came from.”
“I would appreciate that. I hope Michael can find something in those files to help his stop this threat. I kind of like the way life is right now.”
“So do I,” Harper told him. “So do I.”
Chapter Seven
Gage opened his eyes and smiled. They had gotten to Marlborough late last night. Rather than go out to the burnt out farm, they found a motel and spent the night. Glancing over at the window, he noted the sun was just coming up.
Then he looked over at the woman who was sharing his bed. They had both come to bed fully dressed and while she slept on one side of the bed and he slept on the other side, they had come together somewhere in the middle of the night. She now laid on his chest and he had wrapped his arm around her.
When she opened her eyes and found him looking back, Willow smiled. Blushing slightly, she pushed herself away from him. Moving her hair out of her face, she stumbled from the bed to the bathroom.