Mark Midway Box Set: Mark One, Mark Two, Mark Three, and Mark Four

by John Hindmarsh

  “If we knew his location, I might entertain the thought. But we can’t find him. Maeve’s analysts have been trying to track him after the police released him; she says Goodwin somehow arranged that. He’s dropped out of sight and he’s good at hiding. The Brits now have warrants out for his re-arrest. The US authorities have arranged Interpol warrants and the Brits will also exercise those if they can. Assuming the local Cerberus people don’t derail the process.”

  “What about the DI and her associates? Do you think it’s possible to neutralize them?” asked Anna.

  “We’re lacking a solid law enforcement backing,” Scott said. “I’ve been in contact with the FBI team at our embassy in London and they think taking independent action in this country will be regarded harshly. The Brits don’t like private groups, foreign ones, ignoring their laws. We can defend ourselves without breaking the law, though.”

  “So we wait until these Cerberus…rebels arrive and attack the property before we can do anything?” Anna asked.

  “We’ve enough people to protect ourselves, at least for now,” Scott said. He turned to the two young Cerberus soldiers and asked, “How much longer will you and your team stay with us?”

  Thomas and Laura exchanged looks. Thomas said, “We might be able to persuade Colonel Hudson to extend our leave.”

  Laura said, “Or she can replace us with another group.”

  “We’d have to talk to her,” Thomas said.

  “Okay. Do that and let me know what she can arrange.”

  “Yes, sir,” replied Thomas.

  “Sir?” Laura asked.

  “Yes?”

  “What if we withdrew early? I mean, we must assume the Chairman or these Cerberus people are monitoring the property and know we’re here. If we left—”

  “He’d use the opportunity to attack?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  “You’d be able to leave and return without the Chairman or his watchers knowing?”

  “If our CO agrees, we’ll arrange for some of our company to arrive and pretend to cart us away. We’ll stay behind and hide on the property. They’d never know we were here,” Laura said.

  “Interesting. Let’s try it. Discuss your suggestion with your CO and see what she thinks. If necessary, I’ll speak with her, too.”

  “So we’re faced with sitting here, waiting for an attack. We don’t know when it will happen and we don’t know how many people will be involved,” Reb said, picking at her index fingernail.

  “Maeve is trying to convince local British authorities to help. She’s encountering problems because there are some Cerberus people in senior law enforcement positions, well above DI Goodwin, and we don’t know how many support the rebels. She said she’ll try to set up a phone call from the White House to Downing Street, which will mean additional Cerberus exposure. I don’t know how much is known at those higher levels. It’s got the potential to get messy.”

  “So we’ll all be arrested by MI5,” Scott said.

  “At least. Or arrested and deported. In some ways I want this attack to happen, so we can sort out Cerberus once and for all,” Mark said.

  “We’ll make sure our fortress is secure,” Scott said. “Don’t forget, we’re testing the cell phone battery destruction this afternoon. As a precaution, Gabrielle will collect all cell phones and take responsibility for removing the batteries. The test is scheduled for two-thirty. Thomas, I know you’re planning a sweep across the woods at the rear of the property with your team at one-thirty. Make sure you hand over your phones before Gabrielle runs her test. Failure to do so will be painful.”

  ~~~

  Maeve reviewed her notes on Wentworth, the FBI EAD for National Security. She was certain he’d had some manner of involvement with Mercante and perhaps was responsible for the most recent attack on Schmidt. It was a pity that she’d killed the hospital intruder instead of knocking him unconscious. Similarly, because her team had killed Reverend Barker, she had no answers to a number of other questions. She was confident Barker had arranged for the attack at the hospital, although she didn’t have a link yet between him and Wentworth. There must be a trail; Barker wouldn’t act on his own, without payment of some kind.

  “Harry, will you find Linda for me?” Maeve said to her assistant. “Ask her to meet me in my office as soon as she can. Topic is offshore banks and Reverend Barker.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  Within minutes there was a knock on her door and Linda Schöner entered with two of her analysts. Maeve joined them at the small round conference table in the corner of her office.

  “This is a top priority task,” Maeve said. “I want to know if we can find a financial link between Wentworth and Barker. Let’s assume Barker received a fee for sending the killer after Schmidt, possibly paid to the same offshore account used for the payments from Mercante. We know the bank, it’s Bermudan, and we have the account details. Try your Treasury contacts. These acticities fit within the scope of the Office of Foreign Assets Control so they should be interested. OFAC has been helpful in the past. Schmidt has friends there; check his contact list. If you can’t get anywhere with Treasury, do some other research—how is your decision. I don’t need to know but I’ll protect you, understand?” She knew one of the analysts at the table was an exceptional hacker who explored offshore bank computers with ease.

  Linda nodded her head. “Yes, ma’am. We’ve already contacted OFAC and they were helpful. Marion, you have the details.”

  Maeve said, “Anticipating me, again.”

  Marion said, “I visited the OFAC people earlier today. I’ve friends there and I checked with Schmidt’s contacts. They’ve issued an informal request to the Bermudan bank and expect to have a copy of all Barker’s transactions for the last twelve months by first thing tomorrow morning. Unofficially, of course. The Bermuda Monetary Authority would be upset if they were aware of our communications. But the bank knows Barker is dead and they know he’s been engaged in terrorist activities, so they seem happy to help.”

  Maeve said, “I hope we get the material I need.” She looked at the other team member. “Well Perez, have you had a look?”

  He looked startled. “I’d never—”

  Maeve frowned.

  Perez continued, “Yes, ma’am. I found three accounts and I have an electronic copy of each. But I’d prefer for us to wait for details from the bank, tomorrow. And to answer your next question, yes, we’ll have the information and links you’re looking for. Probability is greater than 95 percent.”

  Maeve sat back in her chair. “Ah, good news. Excellent, well done, all of you. Meet with me in the morning when you have the official materials from OFAC and we’ll figure out our next steps.”

  ***

  Chapter 35

  The next morning Mark watched as three truckloads of young Cerberus soldiers arrived from their base to reclaim their missing fellows. Colonel Hudson had readily agreed to the idea proposed by Laura to seemingly remove the team of soldiers and leave the house and grounds defenseless. Scott had earlier detected a small drone overhead, presumably monitoring the property. After a quick conference, Mark had decided not to destroy the drone until later in the day, so that it would first relay their morning activities.

  The soldiers all milled around, creating enough confusion to hide what was happening in the apparent transfer of the twenty Cerberus soldiers. Finally, four trucks, including the vehicle the soldiers had first arrived in, roared off, to all appearances leaving no one behind. But both cottages were full of young people who would not move outside until nightfall. Gabrielle and Niland waved enthusiastically as the departing trucks rolled past the front of the house and the soldiers in the trucks all waved back.

  Mark checked in with Scott, who was busy in the security room, while Sera helped monitor their cameras. “There’s nothing in sight,” Sera said when Mark asked if anything was happening. “All I’ve seen is one or two crows and a fox. Yesterday it was two foxes. The second one must be
hiding somewhere.”

  “I don’t suppose our friends have enlisted the foxes,” joked Scott. “Although GoPro’s probably designed a harness for one.”

  Mark shook his head in exaggerated disbelief and went to find Anna. She was with Reb, sitting in the atrium. Both were enjoying the warmth of the springtime sun. He sat next to Anna and said, “I think this is the lull before the storm. My guess is they’ll attack us tonight, after midnight.”

  Reb looked concerned. “I’ve had a similar premonition; it’s given me a headache.” She reached for Anna’s hand. “It’s why Anna’s keeping me company.” A worried expression disturbed her face. “It’s okay, isn’t it? For Anna to sit here with me?”

  “Of course it is,” Mark said. “Both of you relax, take it easy.”

  “Oh, good. I thought you might want her or something.”

  Mark stood and patted his sister’s shoulder, careful to choose the one that wasn’t injured. “Don’t be silly. As I said, relax. If you hear some shooting, don’t worry. Scott’s going to take down that drone later this afternoon.”

  “They saw the soldiers leave?” asked Anna.

  “Yeah, the little subterfuge seemed to work. One of the trucks was behind the second cottage, out of direct view of the drone. There were enough soldiers milling around to confuse me, so hopefully the watchers fell for it. Our five little inventors are building their cell phone exploding devices and they plan to install them this evening. Remember, when the devices are switched on, their range will include the house. You’ll need to give your phones to Gabrielle. She’s in charge of battery removal to make sure you don’t get burnt.”

  ~~~

  The children were all ecstatic. Their fake test had worked perfectly; the cheap cell phone had exploded into smoke and flames within seconds of its exposure. Gabrielle had collected everyone’s cell phones and removed the batteries before running the test and Lewis had done an excellent job with the explosion.

  Now the five young people were working in almost complete silence, building the equipment they said was needed to install and run their processes. Mark entered the boys’ room and watched while the children worked. Occasionally there would be a muttered curse, or one of the teenagers would say something indecipherable in a soft accent. Gabrielle looked up the second time Lewis said something that sounded odd.

  “It’s okay, Mark. They’re not being rude. But I am learning some interesting new words. Not as many as I learned from the soldiers, though.”

  When Mark started to protest, Gabrielle laughed. “Don’t worry, I won’t use them on social occasions.”

  “Thank you. So how’s progress?”

  “We’ll be finished by six o’clock or so,” replied Niland. “The code is functional, we’ve installed all the motherboards, and we’re working on the carrier software you developed to make it work faster. These are the best coders I’ve ever met.”

  They all laughed at the seriousness of Niland’s statement. Gabrielle said, “So you’ve worked with lots of coders, have you?”

  “Yes—no. I meant I’m the fastest person I know and Lewis and Owen are as fast and Carys is way faster.”

  “I’m glad you clarified,” Mark said. “Otherwise we’d still be confused.” Niland looked up, apparently uncertain whether or not Mark was teasing him.

  “I see,” he said and dipped his head to refocus on his task. “I’m busy. Go away.”

  ~~~

  Maeve studied the account statement her team had received from OFAC. She said to Linda Schöner, “It seems straightforward. We can tie Wentworth to this account. The FBI is developing bad habits; their account’s clearly being used for black funds. Wentworth’s the only one with signing authority. The remittance goes out on this date and shows up here in Barker’s offshore account three days later, the same amount less the transfer fee. Did you get a copy of the transfer instructions?”

  “Yes, it’s underneath the bank statements, there.”

  “Okay, the transfer form shows both accounts. The signature—any thoughts?”

  “We analyzed the handwriting and there’s 90 percent probability it’s Wentworth’s signature. It’s not in his real name of course. I think it looks like McCarr.”

  “The name Mercante was traveling under—another link to our CIA friend. Unless you or your team have reservations, I think it’s a wrap.”

  “We all agree. Legal said it’s enough to get search warrants. There are other payments we can investigate, all with the same signature, that might also be enlightening. We obtained copies of the transfer instructions for each.”

  “Well, we’ll be able to take him out of the FBI picture. I’m not sure yet whether he’s a candidate for Gitmo. Do you know anyone we can recommend for a promotion? A Cerberus person, of course.”

  For a moment Linda looked surprised, then a slow smile appeared. “I’m sure we can find one or two strong candidates.”

  As she tidied the papers that contained evidence marking the end of Wentworth’s career, Maeve said, “Not that we would influence the appointment, of course.”

  Linda’s smile grew. “Of course.”

  ~~~

  The exodus started after lunch. Scott drew Mark’s attention to the monitors displaying feeds from around the property. “Look, the soldiers were supposed to stay hidden until nightfall but they seem to be packing up to leave. There are no vehicles available for them. I don’t know what’s going on. Do you want me to go check?”

  “No, you stay here. I need some fresh air.”

  Mark reached the nearer cottage as the young Cerberus team was preparing to depart. Each soldier carried a small backpack. They stood to attention when they saw Mark.

  He looked for Thomas and Laura but they were not in the group. “What’s happening?” he asked the closest soldier. The young man looked embarrassed and stared at the ground.

  Another soldier spoke up. “Sir, our CO has been kidnapped by the Chairman, at least we think it’s him. The message we got from our base is to stand down or she’ll be killed.”

  So the morning’s subterfuge had failed, or else the Chairman was not taking chances.

  “Where are Thomas and Laura?”

  Another voice muttered, “Go on, tell the man.”

  “They’re restrained, sir. We had to tie them up because they wouldn’t agree to stand down. We haven’t harmed them, truly. Well, Thomas has a black eye, that’s all.”

  “We’ll take them with us,” said another voice.

  Mark asked, “What about transport out of here?”

  “A truck’s due to arrive at the front entry in about fifteen minutes. We have to be there to meet it. We’re sorry, sir, but our CO looks after us and we need to look after her.”

  “I understand. Contact the authorities. You can’t try to rescue your CO by yourselves.”

  “Yes, sir. Thank you. We’ve spoken with our captain. He’s contacted army MPs and the local bobbies. We’re all hoping she’ll be released, you know, unharmed.”

  “So do I. Okay, if you have to meet with your transport, you’d better hurry. If I can speak to Thomas…?”

  “Yes, sir. He’s not hurt, really.”

  Mark walked toward the cottage as Thomas and Laura were pushed through the doorway. Their hands were tied behind their backs. Thomas had the beginning of a black eye. By tomorrow it would be a real shiner, Mark thought.

  “Thomas, Laura, I’m sorry for getting you into this predicament.” He turned to the other soldiers. “Come on, untie them. You don’t need to sink to the level of the Chairman.”

  Two soldiers rushed to remove the ropes. Thomas shook his arms to remove the stress of being tied-up. “It’s alright, sir. Our CO is a real hero to us, as you can tell. I saw our duty differently and we had a slight…argument.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Laura said. “I’m sorry we can’t stay to help.” She was close to tears.

  One of the other soldiers spoke up. “Come on, the truck will be waiting for us. It’ll leave
if we’re too late. Sorry, sir.”

  “No, carry on. I would have preferred to have your support here, but understand why you need to go. When you see the colonel, please give her my best wishes.”

  The young soldiers had started heading along the lane toward the front of the manor house. Mark watched them depart. Some of the soldiers turned and waved a half salute. Well, he thought, that was interesting; the Chairman had his share of cunning. He headed back to the house to discuss their situation with Scott.

  “More news,” Scott said, when Mark entered the security room.

  “Good or bad?”

  “Mixed. Sera decided she only signed on to be a mother—on paper—for the two kids. In her words, her assignment doesn’t include getting shot in some kind of war. She’s decided to leave.”

  Mark was silent for a minute. “Okay. Well, she’s correct, the scope of her assignment was to act as a mother. Do we need to drive her anywhere?”

  “She’s arranged a taxi from the village, for four o’clock. I think she plans on catching a flight out of Gatwick.”

  “What about you?”

  “Me?” Scott laughed. “I’m in for the duration. Life’s far too interesting around you to miss out.”

  “Thanks. And I hear you. I think I’m a magnet for trouble. I’ll update Anna and Reb, and talk to the children, so they all know what’s happening. You should shoot down the drone. Get rid of it now while you have time.”

  ~~~

  Maeve and two of her Cerberus agents met with Wentworth at the FBI offices at Quantico. Maeve had set the agenda, proposing a discussion of the attack on Midway’s New Hampshire property, to decide whether there were additional domestic terrorism aspects for the FBI to consider. The EAD welcomed her into a small meeting room containing an oval table and six chairs. A coffee flask and cups were on a sideboard and bottles of water were on the table. A small sign instructed attendees to clear the table when they finished their meeting. Maeve sat and waited as Wentworth selected the chair at the end of the table.

  “Welcome, Maeve,” Wentworth said.