by Peche, Alec
As each of them awoke and entered the suite’s living room, they were quickly brought up to date on the game plan, and Nathan was of course the last to make an appearance. Michael was bringing in additional Kevlar from Denver to protect the four civilians and working out a protection detail. He wanted to put every available agent on the mountain so they would capture Brown.
Jill was researching curare. Did a killer have to buy a commercial preparation, or could they make it themselves? She discovered in the end that a killer could make the solution, and load the dart canisters without sophisticated equipment. This made it likely that the killer had an unlimited supply of dart syringes.
Next she looked for a signature of the gun or the canister. With a gun, each bullet had a unique marking from the barrel causing markings as the bullet left the chamber. Could the same be said for a safari gun? It didn’t look like it caused much of a marking on the syringes and since they hadn’t found a syringe; they had nothing. Sadly it seemed that they needed to catch this guy in the act of shooting the gun.
She would follow that by looking at curare. It had to reach the bloodstream and it would take a fairly large quantity. However, there were multiple outlets to buy it so that would take more time to run that down. The paralytic agent required a prescription from a veterinarian to order the product. She would look into whatever records she could find. She wondered if David had any hacking skills. Since the FBI was in the room, she would wait until she had David alone to ask if he could and would hack into the purchasing system of RMCT. Of course since they lacked a search warrant it was an illegal search, but if they did find a purchase of paralytics by RMCT, they probably could go get a warrant for the vet supply that was used. She decided to take a break and see how the others were doing then it might be time to change into her ski gear to go up the mountain to ski. She hadn’t figured out yet the perfect tactic to use to connect Jason Brown to Joseph Morton’s shooter and that gap was driving her nuts. Perhaps the pristine air of the mountain would give her some inspiration.
She invited David out on the balcony and he nodded as he noted the hand sign she gave him that she wanted to chat with him. He stood up and followed her outside to admire the view.
“David, how is it going?”
“This work and your team are interesting; thanks for allowing me to join in.”
“You have been a real help and in fact I was hoping you would agree to do something more.”
“Sure, how can I help?”
“You seem to be very talented with computers, I have been wondering if you could take it a step farther? Do you have the ability to hack into other companies’ computers?”
“That is illegal.”
“That is not my question. Do you know how to do that?”
“Of course,” David replied with a smirk as if that was ever a question.
“I have been searching for a way to tie Jason Brown to Joseph’s killer. In looking at the agent used - curare has several sellers. It has to be a veterinarian supplier as it is not used on humans anymore in the United States. So if I could find that RMCT bought that product from an animal supply house, it would help establish a link. Do you think you could hack into the RMCT purchasing system?”
“Is that all you want? That small bit of information will be easy to find inside their system. I could do the reverse and check out the supply companies, but I think going to RMCT will be faster.”
“If you find the data with RMCT, I think it will be easy for the FBI to get a warrant for the vet supply businesses. Since we’re extracting the data illegally, they won’t be able to be use it as evidence against Mr. Brown. You could also be prosecuted for hacking into their system. No matter how good you are, it is not worth that risk. I know I seem to be giving you conflicting signals here but while I really want you to hack something, I also really want you to consider the downside of my request.”
“Okay. Once everyone clears out for the afternoon ski adventure, I’ll hack into their purchasing system at that time.”
“Just be careful. Remember they, and I don’t know who the “they” are, had some kind of warning that Peter was digging into company data and about forty-five minutes later he was dead.”
“Thanks for the reminder and I will be careful. Most companies don’t put as much security and encryption on their purchasing side so there may not be any monitoring at all.”
“Have you found anything usable in the email or files you restored on Joseph’s drive?” asked Jill as they returned to the suite’s living room.
“Yes, I can see some of the conversation between Joseph and the RMCT staff concerning the data from the trials. It points to motive but I don’t think it is incriminating - at least what I have found so far.”
“You know the general theory of what we’re chasing here so let us know if you find anything definitive.”
“Will do.”
Nathan prepared them all a high carbohydrate lunch to fuel those that would be on the ski slope. Then Michael assisted the four civilians in putting on the Kevlar protection. They got very hot very quickly with the extra layer of protection and Jill went outside on the balcony to cool off while the others finished getting dressed. Soon Michael deemed them ready. He went over some self-protection moves and had them all practice. Then he had a conversation on how to get off the lift in an emergency. Again they proved to be excellent students. Jake wanted to be on the mountain in hopes of taking down Jason Brown. After a little sleep, he had left his home in Denver and driven up the hill to the ski resort. Through walkie-talkies, Jake would make sure that he was always on the ground while they were on the chairlift.
The group was quiet as they left the hotel for the gondola. On one hand, they were excited to be up on such a superb mountain, on the other hand, they traveled to the lifts not knowing if they were being followed or not.
“I wish this guy would shoot and miss us so we could get this cat and mouse game over and just enjoy the mountain,” Marie declared. “I am going to try and come back every year now that this mountain has spoiled me for the local resorts. Michael, with your help I feel very comfortable on the mountain.”
“How long had you guys been skiing yesterday when shots were fired at you?” asked Jill.
Marie looked to Michael for an answer, “About two hours. They are obviously following you and it takes them time to not only follow you up the mountain but to make arrangements to shoot you. They have to be in the perfect position which is not easy with you guys constantly on the move. This time if I were them I would shoot you from the ground and I would use the dart gun rather a gun. I would aim to take us down with paralytic agents.”
“OMG!” exclaimed Jill. “I should have brought an antidote for us as well as an ambu bag in case any of us gets hit.”
“Not to worry, I have the antidote in my backpack as well as a manual resuscitator. Besides you’re all wearing Kevlar so unless a dart hits an uncovered part or at a particular angle, you should be safe. All of you avoid taking off your helmet and gloves except inside a bathroom stall and I think you’ll be protected. Gentlemen, for any bathroom larger than a single, avoid the urinal and use the stall for all business. Jill, if I should be the one to go down, let me tell you what I carry in my emergency pack.” Michael listed off a series of first aid supplies plus a few additional items unique to skiing and high altitudes.
“What did you mean that the dart could get through the Kevlar if it hit a certain angle?” asked Marie.
“Kevlar is best known for protecting law enforcement from bullets. The way it does this is by the Kevlar fibers locking and repelling something hitting them. They spread out the force of a bullet across the fabric. However in the case of knives, there is a cutting action that allows you to get through the fabric. Darts fall somewhere between the two. If the dart is fired from some distance and comes at you with some force, your Kevlar will repel it. If the killer should engage in close range knife or dart combat, where the motion is much slower, you
may be vulnerable,” Michael disclosed.
“Do you have enough antidotes for all of us? I think the guy could get one or two of us at close range, but not all of us,” asked Nathan. “How does the antidote work in case you or Jill are incapacitated? How fast does the paralytic agent work? Would we have time to inject the antidote ourselves?”
“Good questions Nathan. I have about ten antidotes with me. In addition to you four there will be other agents on the mountain. Each agent is carrying an antidote in addition to my stockpile and I’ll give each of you an antidote to carry. The drug works quickly so you will have one to two minutes to self-inject at the most. The antidote works in two-three minutes, so it is quite possible for you to have complete respiratory failure even if you get the antidote injected. Stay in pairs so that one of you can give mouth to mouth while waiting for the reversal-agent to work.”
“That’s a grim thought,” exclaimed Marie. “I think I like the threat of guns more.”
“You and me both,” agreed Jill. “We just need to make sure that no one gets close to us. I have a sixth sense for bad people getting close to me, so we have that in our favor. Michael, do you have pictures of the other agents so I know who the good guys are up on the mountain?”
Using his phone he brought up pictures of the agents. Then while pointing out the chairlifts and discussing which ones they should take, he managed to identify for the group all the agents in his vicinity. The chairlifts generally seated six people on each chair. The agents were going to rotate and ride the chairlift as that sixth person. Michael took them through a series of warm-ups on easy slopes getting to know everyone’s strengths on skis. They were all advanced intermediates probably willing and able to ski anything on the mountain except the double black diamond rated slopes.
Nick was amazed with this ski resort. It was as good as any resort in Europe that he had skied. He liked the atmosphere in this American resort and wanted to return sometime for a vacation rather than work. Maybe instead of looking at towns with medium populations around half a million, he should concentrate on resort areas where the rich played, but still wanted security protection.
Marie was looking forward to another wonderful few hours of skiing with Michael, even though the threat of the paralytics hung over them. She had loved the few hours of skiing she had enjoyed the previous day with him as a guide.
Jill had mixed emotions. On one hand she was going to enjoy some time with her friends. On the other hand she felt guilty for not doing work to solve the case and she was worried if any of them should be hit by the paralytic agent and they were alone, they could die. She was going to work hard to make sure that none of them were alone at any time.
Nathan was tense. He just had a feeling that something was going to go wrong this afternoon. They were out on the ski slopes inviting trouble and the hair on the back of his neck had been up for the past fifteen minutes. He was freaked about anyone getting close enough to touch any of them. It was still early in the ski season so the lines were light, but it was now the week-end and so the day skiers from Denver had arrived and both the resort and the town were busier. It seemed the only place they were safe from the killer was on the chairlift. It was really wrecking his enjoyment of the snow, his friends, and the beautiful day.
Michael was not wearing his ski patrol jacket today. He had too many people to guard and couldn’t afford the distraction of a skier in distress that he would normally stop and assist. He was carrying his ski patrol first aid kit and the antidotes. His fellow agents were doing a great job rotating and keeping a net around the group. He had set his phone to vibrate at the time that marked when they had been attacked the previous day. He figured that it took time for the killer to determine where they were skiing and perhaps get in-sync with their speed on the mountain. Since it was busier today, people were just standing closer together which made it worrisome. Someone could just walk by them and stab them with a poison dart and they wouldn’t see it until they collapsed to the ground. If one of them got hit with a dart while on the chairlift, that would be even more dangerous. He shuddered inwardly as he imagined someone being paralyzed on a moving chairlift high above the ground; not only would their ‘partner’ need to administer the antidote, they would also need to keep the victim from falling out of the chair. In addition, someone would likely have to ventilate the paralyzed person. He would just keep his fingers crossed that if an attack came, it would happen on the ground.
The group each with their own occasional worrisome thoughts, continued to enjoy the day despite the risks. Michael was able to coordinate all their bathroom and water breaks to a ski hut that he could watch anyone entering and exiting. It was getting down to the final thirty minutes that the lifts were open and everyone had begun to relax that an attack wouldn’t be coming that day. They had been on the T-bar for the past three runs and were taking advantage of Michael’s ski knowledge to improve with each run down the mountain. The lift came to a halt which it had done several times throughout the day. They all chatted expecting the lift to start at any moment.
Chapter Fifteen
Except this wasn’t any ordinary stoppage. This one was planned and executed by Bogachev. He and Brown were tired of this lady and her team getting too close to the secrets of their little arrangement with the RMCT trials. They could tell based on where she and her friends were looking in their computer searches that they likely understood their scheme. The two planned to end their relationship with RMCT and disappear. When they were ready to resurface again they knew they could set up a new scheme to make money by hacking into computers from anywhere on earth. Bogachev was tired of the snow in Denver; it was too similar to the cold of Russia.
Brown knew Jill Quint was about to expose the illegal scheme he had been working for almost a decade. Oh well, it was time to move on. He had been watching the four skiers with their FBI escorts all afternoon. He had a new dart gun that allowed him to fire more darts quickly. He had been close to the T-bar lift when it stopped. In fact, he had been speaking to Bogachev to make sure the lift stopped at the right moment where he would have perfect aim and execution. He planned to pick off the two women first followed by the two gentlemen, and then he would take down everyone around them as he thought they were all FBI or some such agency. He had a snow berm and tree to duck behind and then he planned to ski quickly off the mountain, head for his car, and leave the state.
He had been lying on his side as snowboarders were wont to do on the mountain, looking like he was taking a rest. He had managed to get his dart gun out of his backpack and assembled, loading it with ten rapid fire paralyzing darts. He had just been waiting for the lift to stop. He aimed and fired from behind the tree.
Marie was on the lead bar with Michael as her partner. Jill was looking straight ahead when she saw the dart hit Marie. She yelled at everyone “take cover”. She released the bar and dove to the ground while still more darts were being fired. Skis still attached to her feet, she used them to block an incoming dart. She heard a gunshot ring out behind her.
“Nathan, are you okay? Have you been hit?” Jill asked from where she was taking cover.
“Need the antidote” was all he weakly managed to get out.
She had been crawling on her belly to reach Nathan. She pulled an antidote out of her pocket and injected Nathan. She watched his respirations, glad for the smoke screen. Additional darts had been fired and had struck some of the agents. An agent had popped off his skis and taken cover behind the wide metal pole that supported the T-bar cable. He was keeping constant fire aimed at where the darts had come from and then he threw a smoke grenade in the vicinity of the shooter.
Taking a quick look around her, she saw Marie being bagged by Michael’s manual resuscitator and Nick assisting the agent with him. She got to her knees above Nathan and started to do mouth to mouth resuscitation. She had been giving him air for about two minutes, when he started to breathe a little on his own. Again looking around, she saw that Marie was doing b
etter as was Nick’s agent.
Just as she was saying a silent prayer for all of them, first a body, then a face appeared through the smoke screen and ran at her. It felt like slow motion, because he was moving slower due to his heavy boots and she was breathing hard from the horror of the last few minutes. The man running at her looked crazed. Jill had a few seconds to remember her martial arts teacher telling her how to shift her own weight to throw someone heavier away from her. She saw another dart clenched in his hand. She judged his shoulder, put her head down and managed to redirect his momentum to the ridge edge.
Before he could stop himself he went over the ridge. Michael believed Marie was on the road to recovery and, therefore had stepped towards Jill to assist. After her brilliant move, he instead focused his attention on Mr. Brown’s journey off the side of the mountain. He lay below, faintly asking for help, his knee and opposite shoulder at odd angles. Michael looked at the group to assess their recoveries.
“Marie, are you still doing ok? Having any trouble breathing on your own?”
Marie nodded and managed a small smile.
“Jill, how is Nathan and how is your shoulder?
“He is breathing on his own,” said Jill in a strained voice. “We’re going to need baskets to get these folks off the mountain. They’re too weak to ski down.”
“I’ll get help,” replied Michael in full control of the situation. “Just checking in with my fellow agents. Nick, how is my agent doing?”