by K. J. Dahlen
“You would be right about that, me yelling and the clothes.” Michael grinned at her as he reached for the pile of clothes in her hands. He went behind a curtain and began getting dressed. “Have you seen Judson recently?”
“Yes. I just left him. He’s back at the office.” Harper chuckled as she came back in. “He’s just as impatient for you to get out of here as you are.”
Michael pushed back the curtain fully dressed and looked at her. “Then get me the hell out of here.”
Harper’s eyebrow went up. “Somebody’s grumpy.”
Phoebe shook her head. “Yeah, maybe you need another nap and some social skills classes too.”
“I need more than a nap and I don’t have time for a dammed class, thank you. I need to wrap up this case and go back to Wisconsin. I haven’t hung out with my dog in a week.”
“Yeah, you and your dog. That animal is driving everyone in the office crazy,” Harper griped.
Phoebe laughed. “No way, Snicker is an angel.”
Michael smiled. “I think he misses me.”
“So do we,” Harper told him as she turned and went out to the hall.
“Let’s get back to the office,” Michael suggested. He stopped for a moment and grabbed Phoebe up, kissing her soundly. “See? I have great social skills.” Then he set her down, grabbed her hand and dragged a stunned looking Phoebe along with him as he followed Harper down the hall.
Chapter Fifteen
An hour later, Michael was back in the conference room at Homeland Security. He and Judson were sitting on the sofa in Kenn’s office.
Micah was there trying to decrypt Ali’s hard drive.
“What do you think Ali is going to do now?” Judson asked. “He knows his plan isn’t going anywhere.”
“I think he has a plan B,” Michael told him.
“What makes you say that?” Micah asked.
“Just a feeling I have.” Michael turned to look at Micah. “Did you find something?”
“I may have,” Micah replied. “I found Ali’s user name but I still have to find his password.”
“What have you tried so far?” Michael asked.
“Just his name and birth date.”
“Try Cali,” Michael suggested.
Micah typed in the new info and quirked an eyebrow then looked up at Michael. “How did you know?”
He shrugged. “It was his mother’s name.” He struggled to his feet and went over to where Micah sat. “What did you find?” He grabbed his shoulder as a bit of pain hit him.
When the screen popped up both men were astounded. “What didn’t we find, would be a better question.” The computer screen was loaded with icons. Micah glanced up at Michael and asked, “Where do we start?”
“Just about anywhere. Just scan the files and if it doesn’t have any bearing on the case, go to the next one.”
The door to the conference room opened and two men walked inside. Brody Dentin and Stuart Cassidy came over to where Michael was standing.
“How is reading Jahez’s diaries going?” Judson asked them.
“We’re filling in the pieces a little at a time. Most of the ramblings are about how much his life is changing. So far, there is very little about Ali’s plan,” Brody informed them.
“Well, keep on it,” Michael stated. “We need to find where Ali has placed the bombs. He and or his Crew have been to New York City, Seattle, L.A., Alaska and Colorado. We need to narrow down the area to specific places. We can’t search the whole city. That would take too long.”
“Holy Mary Mother of God…” Micah whispered.
Michael glanced over at him. “What did you find?”
“I think I just found plan B,” Micah told him in a shaky voice.
“How bad is it?” Judson asked.
“Think of the worst case scenario and multiply it by ten,” Micah replied. “Ali got a hold of some Sarin gas.”
“How much?” Judson asked.
“Enough to murder a million people,” Micah whispered in a fearful voice.
“How the hell did he get Sarin gas?” Judson looked troubled.
“With the money the Rudan family has, anything is possible,” Michael explained. “I think it’s time to face Ali.”
“He’s downstairs in the holding cells,” Brody told him.
“I think I’ll go talk to him,” Michael announced.
“Do you want some company?” Judson asked.
“Sure, why not?”
After a ride in the elevator and going through two guard entry stations, Michael opened the interrogation room door and walked inside.
Ali sat on the far side of the table. His hands were cuffed behind his back. When he looked up at Michael, there was nothing but contempt in his eyes. “Why are you still alive?” Ali asked. “You should have been dead days ago.”
“Your men tried hard enough,” Michael grinned.
“I’m not talking without my lawyer present,” Ali retorted.
“What makes you think you’re getting a lawyer?”
“It’s my constitutional right to have a lawyer,” Ali argued.
“Now that’s where you would be wrong.” Michael gave him a smirk.
“Why am I wrong?”
“You aren’t a citizen of this country,” Michael informed him. “You came here under a student visa. You changed your name and took on a new identity. You have defrauded the government and the people of this nation in every area for over eighteen years. You are here illegally. You haven’t taken any steps to become a citizen, therefore you have no constitutional right to an attorney.”
“Then if I’m not a citizen of this country, you have no legal right to hold me.”
“That’s where you’re wrong, yet again.” Michael’s smirk turned into a grin. “You came here with the express purpose of causing harm to the people of this country. That is an act of terrorism and as such, we could just put you on a plane to Gitmo. There, you would rot for the next few years until you came to trial. Oh, and they wouldn’t care that you have royal ties. You would just be one of a few thousand souls, living in absolute misery.”
“What evidence do you have that you can charge me with these crimes?” Ali sneered.
“Your brother kept a diary of his life as Jack Travis. He wrote everything down. It’s a very interesting read.”
“My brother is an idiot.” Ali rolled his eyes.
“We also have quite a few conversations by you provided by a butterfly of all things,” Judson added.
Ali blinked his eyes. “A butter—?’
“Not only that, but we cracked your computer too.”
“The hell you did!” Ali snarled.
“Oh, but we did.” Michael glared at him now. “You really shouldn’t have used your mother’s name.”
Ali struggled against the bonds that held him. “What the hell do you know about my mother? She was a gentle woman.”
Michael stared at him for a moment, then said, “Your mother was an assassin about fifteen years ago. As deadly as they come.”
“So you say. I knew a different side of her,” Ali stated.
“How did you find out who shot her?”
Ali shook his head. “Your friend Davey Little Wolf told me before I killed him, who you were.”
Michael got up and began pacing. “And you got your pound of flesh from him, didn’t you? Just like you did when you murdered my wife and daughter.”
“Yet, when I saw your wife and child dead, I felt no satisfaction,” Ali admitted. “I knew then only your death would avenge her.”
“And yet you keep failing at that too,” Michael reminded him. “Tell us where the bombs are and we’ll hold off sending you to Gitmo.”
“Go to hell.”
“We also found your backup plan in case your first plan didn’t work out,” Judson spoke again.
Ali tensed and snapped his head to stare at the other man. “You’re lying!”
“What makes you think so?” Michael asked
innocently.
“Because if you had found the files, you would have set off the safety net.”
“What safety net?” Michael asked as alarms were going off in his head.
“If anyone but me opens the files, they would set off a chain of events that triggers the bombs, maybe only one of them, or perhaps all of them. Only me and God knows how many.”
Michael got a sinking feeling in the pit of his stomach. He could feel his heart pounding in his chest, joining his mental alarms. “What are you talking about?”
“You’ll find out if you try to access my files.” Ali was the one smirking now.
Michael jumped up from his chair and rushed out of the room. He ran down the hall and hit the stairway, instead of waiting for the elevator. When he opened the door to the floor he needed, he rushed to the conference room.
Micah glanced up and smiled at him. “I just found the files we need to stop the bombs.”
“Don’t touch it,” Michael seethed.
Micah took his fingers off the keyboard. “Too late.”
Michael rushed over to where he sat and they both watched the screen. Just then, a new screen opened. For a brief moment, the screen flashed a list of places but before they could read it, the screen went dark. Then a dialog box popped up and inside it was a countdown timer. It read thirty minutes and after a second or so, the timer began counting down backward.
Kenn stood in the doorway with Judson. “Is it true? Is there a timer?”
Michael looked up at them. “Yes, damn it. The bastard rigged a timer to his files. We have thirty minutes to find out how to shut it down.”
“Is there any way to stop it?” Kenn asked.
Micah began typing but he couldn’t get past the countdown screen. Precious minutes went by until Micah finally gave up. He looked over at Michael and shook his head.
Michael rushed down the hall to where Jack was waiting.
When he opened the door, Jack glared at him. “I demand to know why I was brought here.”
“We don’t have time for the particulars. We know you aren’t the real Jack Travis. We have DNA linking you to Ali Rudan, a known terrorist. We also know about his plan to set off bombs on American soil. Do you know where these bombs are located?”
“Why should I tell you anything without a lawyer present?”
“Because the countdown has begun and we don’t have time to argue with you. Besides, I have heard from two different sources that Ali was going to execute you along with the entire Carrington family. He intended claim it was because you’ve become too Americanized.” Michael sneered at him. “But, you know what? I don’t care if you believe me or not. If those bombs go off and you did nothing to stop them, there won’t be anyone between you and the people that survive the initial blasts. Everyone will know who you are and your part in the plot to bring down the United States. Maybe your death will be swift, who knows, maybe this building is targeted to blow up. Either way, you’re just as dead as everyone else.”
“Are my wife and children in a safe place?” he asked.
“Our President and her children are under guard, as are most of the Cabinet and Senate. Our government will survive this attack, so your plan won’t bring us down.”
Jack looked defeated. Everything they had worked for was gone. They wouldn’t come out on top of this instead they were going to become the scapegoats. “Ali is a ruthless bastard. I believe my life would have ended as you claim.” He stared at Michael and took a deep breath. This would be his final act of betrayal and it wasn’t easy for him to do. He’d been under the thumb of his older brother all his life. “If you take a black light and shine it on the computer screen you will find a symbol in the lower right hand corner. Click on the symbol and that will stop the countdown. You will have two hours to find and dismantle the bombs.”
“How do we find out the location of the bombs?”
“When you stop the countdown, a screen will come up with the location of where they are placed.”
Michael turned to leave the room. He went back to the conference room.
Micah looked up. “We have ten minutes left.”
“Get a black light. There is a symbol in the right corner that will stop the countdown.”
The mood in the room was tense as everyone waited. Each second seemed to last forever until someone came back with a black light. Michael clicked on the light and shone it on the computer screen. Jack had been right, a symbol could be seen in the right hand corner of the screen. When Micah clicked on the symbol, the countdown stopped with eight minutes and thirty two seconds left to go. The screen went totally blank for a moment then a new page popped up. The new page had a list of cities and a list of spots in those cities.
“Print that list quickly in case this disappears,” Michael instructed. “We only have two hours to locate these bombs and disarm them so we have to move quickly.”
Micah looked upset. “We still don’t have the location of the Sarin bombs.”
“Try the black light on the screen again. Maybe there is another hidden symbol,” Michael suggested.
Judson came over to where Michael and Micah were scanning the computer page for a hidden symbol. He was at a different angle than they were and for a brief moment, he thought he saw something flash. “What a minute,” he said. “Move the light back.”
Micah carefully moved the light back and forth on the page.
Judson carefully searched for the flash he’d seen before but he couldn’t find it a second time. “I thought I saw something a moment ago, but it’s gone now.”
“Ali would know,” Micah stated quietly.
Michael looked down at the older man. “Yes he would, but I think he would prefer death to telling us where they are.”
“We could ask Jack, again,” Harper urged.
Michael walked back to the room Jack was being held in and opened the door.
Jack looked up and saw the expression on his face. “You couldn’t stop the bombs?”
“We stopped the bombs but your brother got Sarin gas and made more bombs,” Michael informed him. “We’re out of time and if you don’t help us, thousands will die.”
Jack hung his head for a moment then said, “My brother had this thing about international airports. I don’t know if that has anything to do with the bombs or not, but that’s where I would look first.”
Chapter Sixteen
Kenn turned back to Michael. “How are we going to find the Sarin bombs in the airports? There are too many places to hide something like that.”
“We have to think like a terrorist,” Michael suggested. “If you didn’t want something found and set off by accident, where would you put it?”
“You couldn’t just leave it anywhere,” Judson added. “Anybody could find it.”
“What about in a construction area? How many people go into one of them?” Harper asked.
“Too many,” Michael said. “You have construction workers moving things around all the time.
“What about the ventilation system?” Kenn asked.
“He wouldn’t want to take the chance it could be found by accident,” Michael answered.
“There is no safe place,” Harper surmised.
“Sure there is,” Micah suggested.
“Where would you hide something you didn’t want to be found?” Michael asked him.
“How about the lost luggage counter?” Micah asked. When everyone looked at him, he shrugged. “If you think about it, it makes sense. You check a bag and forget to pick it up. Then it goes to lost luggage where it remains until someone comes to claim it.”
Michael glanced at Kenn. “Makes sense to me. If he put four canisters in the bag he checked, he could pick up the bag and take all but one canister out, then put the bag back on the carrousel. Then he could get another bag for the next airport and do the same thing there.”
“Well, when we find out which airports he visited, we can find out if he left a bag,” Kenn said.
&nb
sp; “Do you know how many bags are lost every day?” Harper asked. “We may never find them.”
“If we don’t, then many people will die unnecessarily,” Michael stated grimly.
Brody came to the door and handed Kenn a piece of paper.
When Kenn read it, he looked up at Michael. “Alex Daniels flew to J.F.K. airport on January 28th. He returned the same day. He then flew to Minneapolis three days later. He returned the next day. Then he flew to L.A. airport the third of February, returning via Miami two days later.”
“Well, at least we know where to start looking,” Judson said.
“What if we evacuate the airports?” Harper asked. “We can get some bomb sniffing dogs and go through everything.”
“We can’t. We can’t close that many airports when we really don’t know what we’re looking for. All of this has been speculation so far,” Michael said. He turned to Judson. “Check with the airports and see if a bag with the name Alex Daniels was left in their lost luggage department.”
Judson went to his computer and began typing. Within minutes, the fax machine began beeping. Page after page of names spewed from the machine.
Kenn glanced over the lists and passed some of them on to Michael and Harper.
“Oh, my God…” Harper exclaimed several minutes later as she looked up from the papers in her hand.
“What did you find?” Michael asked.
She showed him the name on the paper she found.
It wasn’t Alex Daniels, but it was a name he knew intimately—Michael Severns. “He used my name to place his bombs!” Michael growled.
“I found another one in Minneapolis,” Kenn added.
“I’m going to kill that bastard,” Michael whispered.
“We need to get those bags back here and have a look inside,” Kenn suggested.
“I’ll make some calls and get the process started,” Judson said. “But it’s going to take time.”
“Time we may not have,” Kenn grumbled. Then he made up his mind about something and told him, “Get those bags on military planes and get them back here. Meanwhile, find the damn program on Ali’s computer to shut them down.”