At this point, she could see no other direction to take until she questioned Mr. Perry Prattle. She instructed everyone to exit the area and escort suspect one to the Port Police Security Office. She intended to bleed him of whatever information he had on the airline employees and their companions. POI two was still unaccounted for so she assumed he could be holding them somewhere else. But where?
She stared intently at Perry Prattle reading his body language and facial expressions. He stared ahead, saying nothing. His face was like stone, showing no emotion which masked his thoughts. It took a couple minutes to reach their exit point that led back to the carousels in the passenger baggage pick-up area, located near the Port offices. Right as she walked up to the door, the SAT phone that Perry had been using, began to ding. They looked at each other and then to Agent Pahlavi.
“You want us to answer it?” an agent asked.
Pahlavi looked at Perry, “Who could that be?”
Perry turned to answer her. “If you let me answer it, I can tell my friend to bring them to you. The others. He can bring them to you.”
“Hand him the phone,” Pahlavi ordered. “Keep it brief.”
The agent that was carrying Perry’s duffle bag held the phone up to Perry’s mouth and clicked it on.
“Yes... You need to...” he said before he paused. His eyes darted back and forth. “Get the key at all costs. Do whatever you must do, to get it. I’m being arrested.”
The agent yanked the phone back from his mouth and Pahlavi got up into his face. “What was that all about? You said you were going to have the others brought here. You lied!”
Perry turned his face towards hers, stared into her eyes and with nary any emotion said through gritted teeth, “You know the ones you’re trying to save are probably dead, right?”
Chapter 32
Are You...?
Jahnni was as perplexed as a person could be. The day’s events were playing on a loop and she certainly didn’t see this coming. Her eyes shifted from one man to the other. They stood there embracing, releasing, then embracing and releasing again, looking each other over then laughing jovially with overflowing happiness pouring off their lips in Greeklish. That is the only thing Jahnni could describe it as; a mixture of two languages fighting for dominance when words couldn’t come fast enough. Both began to speak then they both stopped and held out a hand to the other to speak first.
Jahnni turned to Beau, posing the burning question. “Wait, this is your uncle?” Then turning to face Mr. T and pointing to Zale she asked, “Then how do you know him, Mr. T?”
Mr. T stood with his arm around the man’s shoulder and beamed as he proudly attested, “This. This,” he stuttered slightly as he held his tears at bay, “Is my brother. Mr. Zale Baptiste. I thought he was lost to me. I cry many tears of happiness this day.”
Jahnni looked at Beau. “So, if Mr. T is your grandpa, then Mr. Baptiste is your, what, great-uncle? So, did you know he was here?” As she arced her arms out as she inspected her surroundings.
“Well, I am pleased to meet you, I think,” Samantha said as she reached her hand forward around Jahnni to introduce herself to Mr. Zale Baptiste. “I’m Samantha, and this is my temporary charge, Crutch.” Crutch extended his arm shyly, and shook hands.
Zale was staring at Jahnni’s lanyard that was hanging around her neck, surprisingly still attached considering the mileage of adventures they had today. She patted her wet clothing and realized that her shirt was untucked. She felt self-conscience when he started squinting as he looked more intently at her badges. One was her airline badge that proved she is employed by First Class Air and the other was the airport SIDA badge that gave her access to the security doors as well as proof, when seen by others, that she has permission to be in secured areas. “Oh. I’m sorry. I’m Jahnni,” she said as she reached to shake his hand. Then she added, “I think we need to find something dry to put on. I don’t want to die of hypothermia before we have a chance to clear our names... back there.”
“Forgive me,” Zale offered as he bowed to Jahnni. He pointed towards the hallway. “Right this way. There are many sizes, although only one style. Help yourselves. I have two rooms that you can use. One is a large shower/restroom.”
They all started walking towards the direction he pointed. Behind them Zale began mopping up the puddle from their dripping clothes. He smiled as he glanced up and caught Jahnni looking back. She felt bad about the puddles, but what could we do about it? Beau was silent as they began walking towards the hall. Then he stopped and walked back to Pops and Zale. He gave them both a big hug, and turned back to find the dry clothes.
He stopped Jahnni in the hallway to add in a whisper, “I wondered where he’d been all this time. When I saw that reservation we were looking at, back in your baggage office, I saw his name so I knew the white suited guys couldn’t be the enemy. Of course, it shocked me to see his name, but I knew at that moment that things would come together somehow. For what reason, I had no idea. I was so surprised because we haven’t heard from him or seen him for many, many, years. Pops has been so sad all these years about losing his brother. I didn’t want to say anything in front of him when I saw it. False hopes can damage a heart you know.”
Jahnni’s voice squeaked as she answered him concerning his damaged heart comment, “I know more about that subject than you think.” Her heart had been arguing with her the entire time since she met Beau. Don’t get your hopes up. Get your hopes up. Don’t waste your time thinking he even noticed you. He noticed you! He noticed you! False hopes? I think I wrote that book, her thoughts echoed as they taunted her.
Not catching her meaning, he continued talking to her, “I don’t think Pops thought anyone was going to be here when he brought us here. I guess he thought it was still abandoned. Or I can only assume he thought that, because this place is news to me, as it is to you.”
Jahnni glanced back to where she could see Mr. T and Zale talking eagerly in low tones. Zale had given Mr. T a blanket that he was wearing like a teepee. She noticed that he looked relatively warmer, so she put her anxiety about him to the back of her mind. For now. She looked back at Beau and said, “So the underground piping system is real. And Zale, who was the original builder and company owner of the water plant, is still alive. That means Carlton was right. There is a conspiracy theory for everything and everyone, and that some conspiracy theories may be linked to some bits of truth. But we are safe here, with Zale, aren’t we?”
“Wait, what? Carlton who? And yes, we are safe,” Beau said, as he pulled back slightly anticipating her answer.
“I am freezing! I have to get some dry clothes on,” she murmured between chattering lips, not realizing she missed what he said. “We can talk when we all get dried off. You go first.” She pointed to Beau.
His smile made his dimples light up. “Uh... no you don’t. You don’t get to delegate me into dry clothes while you stand here and shiver. You go first. Get dry. Sam went in that door over there. Get going... and don’t argue. I insist on you going in there first.”
“Okay Poseidon, but look, there are two doors. Crutch must be changing in that one. I’ll meet you out here when we all get dressed. We’ll have to figure out how to get out of here after we listen to what Zale has to say.”
With that, they disappeared down the rest of the hallway; Jahnni harboring a temporary feeling of safety because she knew that they had to get back to the airport. She watched him walk towards the door that Crutch went in. Conflict raced through her chest like a burning building, but she called out anyway, “Uh, Beau?” Oh great, what am I thinking? I can’t be so forward. This is no time to think about my own issues right now. Our safety and innocence in this whole airport mess is at stake! Oh shoot. He is looking at me and waiting for me to say something. I can’t ask about him... me... us. What if there isn’t an us. What if it’s his pheromones... or, or, or... testosterone, or who knows, some type of teremones leaking out of his pores that have me imagining that
he might be interested in me. He does look like a Greek god. What am I thinking? He is staring at me waiting for a response. I can’t just blurt it out! What would I say, ‘do you like me? Check the box yes or no.’ What is wrong with my brain? I should say... something. I’ll just say, uh, uh, “Hope your clothes fit.”
With that, he cocked his head to the side and smiled. “Hope yours do... also?” Then he turned and pushed on the door, pulling his shirt off over his head before the door even closed.
Jahnni stood there, watching him walk through the door, taking in... no memorizing, his physique. She had never in her life felt her knees literally feel like they were going to give out from something besides fear. Her feet didn’t seem to understand that she was telling them to begin walking again. Walk! Let’s go! No, this way. THIS door where Samantha is, her mind commanded her body. She stumbled towards the door she was meant to go into, but she was on autopilot. She pushed on the door. Pausing for one more glance at the door that Beau entered, she felt shivers of ice mixed with fire burning in her veins. Oh boy, I’m in trouble. I think I’m way over my head... for Beau.
Chapter 33
An Unraveling Basket Can’t Hold Water
Oh man, wrong thing for Mr. Prattle to say to Special Agent Delaram Pahlavi. She immediately grabbed his arm and began dragging him towards the Port Police Office. The other officer on his right, who also had Mr. Prattle’s other arm in his grip had to trot to keep up. Her face was slightly flushed with anger as she glanced once more at his face before shoving him into the private room that Office Boulder had shown her, earlier, should she need it.
“SIT! Do you remember me? Special Agent Delaram Pahlavi, FBI.” She flipped open her badge wallet and held it in front of his face, then continued speaking as she paced behind and beside him, “What do you mean, ‘They’re probably dead?’” Boulder walked into the room and stood there. Agent Pahlavi nodded towards four of her agents and motioned for them to watch Prattle. She tipped her chin upwards towards Boulder, directing him outside the door for a chat.
She stopped pacing and stood with her feet firmly planted as she gathered her notes and her thoughts. “Okay... We did a full sweep of the entire bagwell: all offices, elevators, closets, shafts, hallways, alcoves, and even ice makers for heaven’s sake. You name it, we searched it. Between your people, my people, we can’t find his accomplice. You know we were thorough! No one found the others either. You saw Prattle having some type of episode, you were with me! He was manic, delusional, who knows.” Pahlavi was pacing, almost in place as she tried to isolate the facts from her anger at Prattle. “We apprehended him near a wall pillar that appears to be under the general vicinity of the water fountain. He was grabbing, clawing, and exerting a great deal of energy trying to get to what I assume is some type of underground plumbing. That is unless you have some other ideas.”
Officer Boulder waited to process what she was saying. He narrowed his eyes and asked, “What makes you so sure he was trying to get into some type of plumbing? Maybe he was trying to gain access to something else? Like, maybe... hmmm. Can’t think of anything else that a wall like that would lead to. Maybe he is psychotic and thought he was trying to go through a door or something.”
“Not likely.” Delaram answered. “I mean I would not rule out some type of delusions. Why else does anyone plan crimes? But he has been up to something this entire time. Look,” as she began holding up one finger with each point she as making. “He has been the Port Manager for some time. He has finagled his own security cameras in his office. He has somehow created another, or tapped into, the security main access program... from his office. He keeps disappearing from us, with no other place he could have been, because we all have searched for him. Then we apprehend him behind security, which means he also used a bypass door BEFORE we figured out that there was a quadrant that was not locked down. Which means that he has had full access, and probably anyone else who knew that their badges worked, this entire time.”
Boulder seemed cautious. “So, you are implying that this isn’t a random act of terrorism to plant a bomb in the fountain? You are saying this has been an inside job from the beginning? Why? For what?”
Delaram was talking as she also was gathering the different pieces of information to tie them together. “Okay... we have a fountain. We have a belief that someone is trying to plant a bomb, which by the way is vehemently denied by the First Class Air’s Manager when she was told it was one of her best agents. Told to her by the way, by Mr. Perry Prattle. It has also been brought to my attention by someone who, right now wishes to remain anonymous but that could change later, that Perry Prattle is the son of one of the original water plant scientists that helped develop the original land site here. He intimated that this may have been a long-time plan to gain access to the mysterious piping system that everyone thought was merely gossip and unfounded stories of mystery. Are you with me so far?” she asked.
“Yes,” Boulder said, his face showing he waited anxiously for the rest to unfold.
“Okay, apparently, as we saw in the playback video, Prattle has two people working for him who we are told, no one recognizes. Possibly private security detail, possibly Port cops waiting for their backgrounds to clear...” she added.
“Wait, I have never seen those guys on the video until today. I have met all my recruits and they aren’t allowed to patrol or act in an official capacity until their backgrounds are clear, they complete on the job training, and pass all their Port training exams after completing recruitment training and are sworn in. Even transfers must be BC’d again. I sign off on all the background checks and those guys are not on my list.” Boulder explained insistently.
“Okay, then they are rogue, working for Prattle. I checked earlier on the one guy, Craigs. Prattle claimed he was assaulted by Jahnni, and he’s still in the hospital. His head wound is still under observation. They can’t close it until the swelling goes down so he isn’t leaving the hospital any time soon. I’ve sent a detail to the hospital to guard his door. I’m not going to let him disappear on us. That’s for sure. But where is the other guy? And who is he? We didn’t see him down there. Remember, Prattle gathered one of our cooperative teams together down on the main floor to inform them that this Craigs guy was assaulted by Jahnni and an accomplice. He passed out photos and told us about some bomb plot that Carolyn from FC Air has completely debunked as garbage. She seems sincere, but we will still validate everything. I remember that I saw this other guy when he was standing with Prattle the first time he came down to say he was gathering some ‘behind the scenes’ info and would bring it to us. I admit that I wasn’t zeroed in on him. We also saw video of the back of his head in the replay that showed Jahnni and an older gentleman being strong-armed into an elevator. Which by the way, leads to the floor that Prattle’s office is on. So, if this guy has been with Prattle, where is he now? I can only assume he is holding the others hostage somewhere. Because they weren’t down there either!”
“But why,” Boulder asked, trying to fill in the blanks, “would Prattle go through all this trouble for a fountain that our own plumbing department has access to anyway? It doesn’t make any sense.”
The two were silent as they thought about that. Then in unison as if one brain was shared between the two of them they said, “Unless there really is another plumbing system.”
Delaram smiled. “You know. We can’t talk about this until we verify everything. There could be a major security breach happening. Or has happened. The public can’t know about this yet. Who knows who will talk anonymously. So please... let this be between you and me, and of course my partner Agent Liam Anthony, once I fill him in. That is, until we figure this out. There is always the fact that we could be wrong... and we will incite panic if we say anything at this point. Let’s be cautious. Let’s clear the room and talk to Prattle like we already know everything. Agreed?”
“Why even ask,” Boulder said. “Agreed.”
With that, they shook hands
and proceeded back into the room to speak with Prattle; with a little more confidence than they had a mere fifteen minutes prior.
Chapter 34
Sealing the Leak
The pipes were large, but not as big as the original intake and outflow that was used to draw water from the Columbia River or the aquifer that was used in decades’ past. Mimi and Adrian swam in a single file through the piping system, nodding to each other to verify that all was good. Their small but bright headlamps lit up the area wherever they pointed their heads. Dark water became clear. Dark walls became light. Further up, Mimi pointed to a hatch that they knew was their exit point after they finished the welding project they were sent to do. They swam a few feet more then stopped to remove the small loads. Mimi pulled the equipment off her back and passed the cables to Adrian. He swam back to the hatch on the ceiling of the pipe and opened it to gain access to their power supply.
It was a little daunting to work while wearing the insulated gloves but he was used to it. He just moved slower and with more purpose. He climbed back in the pipe and signaled to Mimi that it was ready and she began preparing the welding equipment to close the large rip in the wall of the pipe. It was almost too big, but they were told to attempt this first.
Adrian remembered that Zale warned them that if they couldn’t close off the leak, it would jeopardize the entire foundation of the airport. Maybe not in a week, or a month. But over time, it would erode the earth and cause serious damage. Irreparable damage. Why the airport manager detonated a small explosive device down the water fountain was beyond him. All he could figure was that Perry had some notion that it would create a breach in the pipe and lead him to some secret area. Desperation maybe? Crazy, unworkable ideas?
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