Chapter 38
Crossing Over the Columbia...
Instead of Under It
Jahnni and her little band of escapees crawled up the ladder behind Zale. He motioned for them to hold while he scanned the island for campers, boaters, or the rare river patrol boat. It was clear. He raised the door hatch open and climbed out, turning to help his brother next. They all waited around the grass dome while the hatch closed.
“Wow, that is really cool Mr. Zale. I mean Mr. Bapatisteaeas. I mean...” Crutch said.
“Please Crutch, call me just Zale. And, it’s Baptiste. But it doesn’t matter. We are all equals,” he said as he patted Crutch on the shoulder.
Zale then pulled out his mobile phone. He stared at it, then held it up in the air, turning in circles. “Hmmm,” he groaned. “I can’t get reception. I was gonna order an Uber to meet us at the dock but I just remembered that it goes by your immediate location. We’ll figure it out when we dock. Might have to use a landline and call a regular cab?”
Beau realized what he was doing and said, “Oh, wait. This isn’t five miles away from the airport.”
“Of course, it isn’t five miles. Even diagonally to the airport, as the crow flies, it’s a couple miles at most.” Zale answered.
“Ya, I forgot to tell you that all cell service is down in about a five-mile radius around the airport. Speaking of communication blocks, did you get our email?” Beau asked.
“Email? I only check my email on my phone or my tablet when I come up from my office bunker. I don’t know about any email,” Zale said.
Beau turned to Jahnni. “I wonder if my captain got mine. If they aren’t expecting us, they aren’t going to know who we are when we try to approach the airport. So, just to be safe, don’t refer to my weapon or mention I am an FBI agent to anyone. I will do that. I’ll put my ID wallet in an outside pocket. My holster is strapped under the breast of our lovely designer frocks but easily accessible. I’ll identify myself when we get back on site.”
They all nodded. Zale looked around once more and told them to follow him into the shrubbery. He pointed a hand-held device at a grassy knoll inside the dense brush and watched as the grass began to raise up. As it climbed higher, they could see the top of a windshield of a boat. He smiled and arced his arm from the ladies towards the boat. “Ladies, your carriage has arrived. After you. Watch your step, hold the rails.”
He slowly began motoring down the canal and slipped into the Columbia River. The boat idled quietly near the shore. Zale turned and hit a button on his device and through the thicket of shrubbery back on the island, they could see a glint from the late afternoon sun hitting the metal edges of the trap door as it lowered into the earth.
Jahnni remarked, “Just like it was attached to the ground by roots.”
Zale pointed to the pile of life-jackets. “Put on your life preservers. No one rides in a boat without a life preserver.” They each donned one, helped each other tighten them up, then turned as Zale slowly made his way across the river towards the Oregon side. He kept a keen eye out on the water.
“What are you looking for?” Crutch asked.
“Oh, I’m looking for floaters, logs. Sometimes, when you least expect it, you hit one, and it isn’t fun,” Zale answered him.
“Have you ever hit one?” Crutch asked.
Zale smiled at Crutch before answering. “As a matter of fact, I have. A few years after I settled in here, I was going rather quickly down the river when I hit the edge of a very large snag. The boat bumped and twisted and I was thrown out. I was underwater for longer than I cared to be, as the undertow dragged me down the river, holding me down. As I was on my last second of air, it spit me into a calmer area. I managed to swim towards the sandy beach where some boaters gave me a lift towards my boat. It was floating down the river, a little further down from where I landed on the beach. They waited while I checked everything out, and made sure the engine would start.”
Crutch was holding his breath. “I know that feeling. So, what happened after that?”
“I promised myself that I would never get in a boat without putting on a life preserver,” Zale answered, firmly.
Mr. T had been silent for some time. He was looking around at the water and watching the shoreline. “This reminds me of the Aliakmon. I miss home.”
“As do I brother. As do I,” Zale answered, giving Mr. T a warm smile.
The boat silently cut through the water as Zale guided it towards the house boats that were surrounded by an aged, but functional ramp made of older pilings with a newer platform.
“I have made friends with another older man over the years. He told me to park my boat here anytime. He knows that I liked to go fishing, or so he thinks,” Zale explained as they neared the dock.
They slowly motored a little further and drifted up against the dock. Beau jumped out and grabbed the rope to tie it off. Everyone waited until they were told to stand, and then one at a time, Beau reached to give them a hand out of the boat. Jahnni shooed her hands at them to insist that everyone go before her. Except Zale wouldn’t hear of going before her and Jahnni lost the argument as he motioned in a very insistent way, that she was to go before him. She reached up to grab Beau’s hand and he practically lifted her out of the boat through the air, grabbing her to him so she didn’t fall back.
“Oh my. I can fly!” she whispered.
Beau just smiled those lovely dimples that made Jahnni melt and forget how to form words. His green eyes searched hers then out of the blue he said, “Let’s go boating sometime.”
“Oh, uh, I, uh... okay,” she stammered. “I’ll check my schedule. Oh look, it says I’m busy today. We better make it some other day.” She giggled. I sound like a little school girl. I can’t believe I giggled. Ugh, she thought to herself.
Beau grabbed her hand as they walked up the ramp towards some boat houses. “Hang on. Sometimes a wave comes and you can lose your balance.” Jahnni didn’t answer him, but looked back at Zale to see if he was keeping up. When she turned forward to continue walking, she returned the curled fingers around Beau’s grasp, but she was careful not to squeeze too hard for fear Beau might realize he was holding her hand by mistake. She memorized the gentle grip he had on her hand and allowed herself to bask in the protected silence as they strolled along the little pier’s squeaky boards.
Ahead, Samantha had hold of Crutch’s hand as they walked along. He didn’t appear to mind all the mothering. Sam turned and grabbed Mr. T’s hand behind her. “You too, sailor. Spit spot. Keep up,” she ordered, smiling as Mr. T caught up.
Zale made quick time to pass everyone and arrived at end of the ramp, or rather the beginning of the ramp if you were arriving from the road. He motioned for them to stop. “I’m going to use my friend’s phone to call a taxi. He can be pretty crotchety so, you all better wait here.”
“Wait for me Pops. I need to call in so they know I am coming. There’s no way they will allow anyone close to the airport without being, or rather, unless someone from a local field office meets us,” Beau explained.”
The group mulled around in the same spot, never more than an arm’s length away from each other. On one hand, Jahnni felt impatient, anxious, still glancing over her shoulder every thirty seconds. On the other hand, she felt a sense of calm coursing through her, shooting relief into her veins with every heartbeat. When they heard Zale and Beau’s voices walking towards them they all turned in unison to hear what they had to say.
“A van is on the way,” Beau began, “HRT is at the airport. They already had a close idea of what was going on and who we were. They work fast. They were under the assumption that we may have been taken hostage. We need to clear up some assumptions and fill in the blanks asap. They will meet us at the intersection of 82nd and Airport way to take us to the Agent in charge of the investigation at the airport.
Ten minutes later, a man driving a large, newer taxi van arrived to pick them up. He hurriedly got out to open the van doors
for the group. “You said that you wanted to go to the airport, but there is a lockdown of some kind. It’s all over the news. You can’t get close.”
“Well,” said Beau, “I happen to have it on good faith that they will let us in. They are waiting for us at 82nd. Just head to the airport and get us as close as you can. If they stop us, I’ll do the talking when we get close. I’ll throw in a big tip for the trouble. That is, if you accept damp money. My wallet took a dip today.”
“Yes, sir. You got it. All aboard? Seatbelts please.” And off the van went, with the six musketeers since Zale was now part of the group.
Chapter 39
Slow Motion Pain
Another agent from Pahlavi’s office walked up to her with a message, “This email was handed to me with specific instructions to hand deliver this to you asap. It comes from the Seattle Field Office. I drove it straight here from our office, because of course, we can’t call you with the lines down.”
Agent Pahlavi unsealed the envelope. “Thank you.” Then she began reading. “Uh huh, okay, makes sense, that’s what I thought, just like they said, uh huh, mmm, good. Glad that’s confirmed. Ingenious. An email.”
After Agent Pahlavi met with Carolyn and some of her agents one more time, she had made a decision. Not the decisions she originally planned on making, but because Perry was looking so pale and confused, she used her SAT phone and made a call. The next plan for Perry was in progress. His ride would be waiting outside in about ten minutes. She went back to the food court where Carlton was still waiting just like he was told. She sat back down in front of him and asked, “Can you really help me?”
He nodded, “I promise.”
“Okay then. Do I need to take anything with me down there?” she asked.
“No, but remember, you promised me that you would hear me out when this was all over before you press charges. You promised,” Carlton reminded her.
“My word is good Carlton. I promise I will help you if you help me,” she said as she shook her head slightly up and down. “I need to talk to Officer Boulder quickly and I’ll be right back. Oh... who has the level of clearance that we need for this... journey?”
He pointed to Rick, the head of maintenance. “He does.”
“Okay then. I’ll go talk to him first, then I’ll be back in a little while. Do you need anything?”
“No. I’m good. I’ll be right here.”
Agent Pahlavi walked quickly back to the Port Office where they were holding Perry. She saw Boulder standing guard at the door. She opened the door and walked in with a smile on her face, Boulder right behind her. “Hello again Perry. Do you need anything to drink?”
His mouth had a twitch that she hadn’t noticed before. But it fit the profile. He glanced her way before turning back to face the wall again. “No, I am good. But when can I go?”
“Soon, Perry. Very soon. I promise,” she answered him in a low tone. She just left out where he was going to go.
She motioned for the same agent that had been waiting with Perry that she was going to remain outside the door a couple more minutes. Boulder followed her back out and pulled the door behind him.
She turned to Boulder, “Did you read my message I passed to you when we came out of the office before?”
“Yes ma’am. Still in agreement. I’ll hand him over to Agent McNichols. He knows we are coming out?” Boulder said.
“Yes. I’m not sure if I will be gone by then, but just in case. I wrote the booking codes down so there isn’t any confusion on what I’m doing, concerning Mr. Prattle. He is in over his head and I don’t believe we can get anything more out of him because of his condition. I am beginning to think he doesn’t know the true facts, or know the difference between fact and fiction. I firmly believe he needs medical attention,” she whispered.
“I agree, and if you need anything more, I’ll be here all night wrapping things up,” Boulder said.
“I’m following a hunch that I think will pull all this together. My partner Agent Anthony and I are following up on a lead. We’re good?” she asked.
“Still in agreement, Delaram. I mean Pahlavi. I mean Agent Pahlavi,” he corrected himself.
“You can call me Delaram in private. No problem. But on the job, it’s Agent or Special Agent Pahlavi.” She smiled. “Okay, here goes. Just let me handle him.”
They reentered the room like a boomerang. “Last time,” she whispered. Then she said in front of Perry, “Officer Boulder, would you mind escorting Mr. Prattle to his transportation?”
Perry looked confused. His head whipped around back and forth as his eyes roamed the room. “What do you mean? Aren’t you going to let me go back to work? I am very important you know! The seriousness of this emergency must be attended to. I... I... must find something. I mean someone. Uh, those girls. I need to help find that wayward airline agent! She’s d-danger-dangerous.”
“Well, Mr. Prattle, since...” Agent Pahlavi began to say when Perry interrupted her.
“You can call me Perry, remember? We are helping each other.” He paused to see that she was looking at him, then leaned forward towards her side. “We are on the SAME TEAM,” he whispered loudly like he was giving her a secret message.
“Yes, Perry. I understand,” she said, trying to assure him to keep him calm. “We are. But as I was going to say, since there is so much commotion going on here, I believe it is in your best interest to be taken to... a safer location. I’ll make sure you are taken care of.”
She left the room and walked towards the end of the hallway. Boulder and another agent soon walked out of the office with Perry and down the hallway too. By this time, she was standing in the open area where the carousels were. She waved at some of her team and nodded that everything was good. They stood firmly in their place. The evidence that was gathered when they apprehended Mr. Prattle under the main part of the airport in the bagwell area, was sitting in sealed bags at their feet.
Agent Pahlavi watched Perry being led away, Boulder on his right and her agent on his left. She observed Prattle looking intently at the window, glancing back and forth between where he was being led, and then back at the window. After they walked about fifty feet, he stumbled, bumping into her own agent who was helping to escort Perry. Officer Boulder and the FBI agent lifted him back on his feet and continued to walk. As before, Perry looked fixedly at the window then glanced forward at the revolving doors. Once again he stumbled, bumping into the agent and half falling to one knee. They lifted him back up and continued to walk towards the revolving doors. She turned to the big glass window but assumed he was looking at his reflection. Something didn’t seem right. There’s something not... Who is that? she wondered.
Pahlavi looked a couple seconds longer out the window and saw an FBI agent standing by a parked black FBI SUV, holding the back door open for someone as a small huddle of people waited for a man to climb out of the SUV. The agent put one of the SAT phones they’d all been using to his ear as he pushed the back door closed and turned to walk with the group. She looked down at the SAT phone clipped to her belt as it began to vibrate but couldn’t take her mind off the feeling that something was wrong. It was a blurred cloud of knowing that she couldn’t identify, hovering just out of reach.
She focused back at Boulder, wondering what was off. Wait. They didn’t move Prattle’s handcuffed arms back behind his back! I only wanted to loosen them in front of him to buy confidence. They should have re-cuffed him behind his back before they led him out! she screamed in her head.
She quickly looked again out the window to try to see what Prattle was so intently observing, catching a brief glance of the group calmly walking towards the revolving doors. She looked ahead of her at her agent that was escorting Prattle, Boulder on his other side.
“BOULDER! WAIT!” she shouted, as Perry began to fumble with his hands and sway his body.
Boulder began to turn to see what she wanted. In the briefest second he was turned sideways looking back at Agent Pahlavi
, the other agent was trying to keep a grasp on Perry as he faltered.
She watched everything unfold in slow motion. She drew her weapon and took off running. “TO YOUR LEFT BOULDER!”
Perry had grabbed the FBI agent’s gun out of its holster, having tested the release during his stumbles. Like slow molasses, his arms yanked upward, in the same instant the agent realized what was happening. The agent tried to grab his gun from Perry, as Boulder was drawing his. Pahlavi got a brief glance of the anger that was stretched over Perry’s face when he turned sideways away from her agent, and then shrugged his body back the other direction away from Boulder.
Boulder briefly looked towards the revolving doors to see what Perry was focused on. Perry dropped to his knees and tripped Boulder in the process. The other agent lunged again for Perry’s arms which were stuck together in front of him by the handcuffs. Perry raised his hands out of the way and the agent fell sideways in front of Perry and landed on the floor. Then he raised his arms rigidly straight in front of him and aimed again at the door.
Agent Pahlavi dropped to one knee and took aim. She shouted, “DROP THE WEAPON PERRY!” This finally got the full attention of all the other agents milling around and they drew their weapons. But in the commotion and tumble of people, they couldn’t shoot. Too many innocents. Boulder was blocking Pahlavi’s shot as he swiftly stood back up. She stood and began running towards them. Her eyes caught a glimpse of the people entering the revolving glass doors and in an instant, she recognized Jahnni’s face from the photographs and descriptions. She shouted as she ran, “DROP THE WEAPON PERRY! YOU ARE SURROUNDED!” She dropped again to a knee and took aim, willing a clear shot.
The words coming out of her mouth sounded far off and everything around her just kept moving like sludge. She yelled out as the revolving doors spun out the group of people who started walking into the airport, being accompanied by one of the FBI agents from her field office. “GET DOWN!” she shouted.
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