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

by John Hindmarsh

  “Thank you for seeing us, I know you’re a busy man.” She nodded to one of her team. “We have a number of documents we’d like you to review.”

  The Cerberus agent handed a folder to the EAD and passed similar folders to Maeve and her fellow agent. Wentworth opened the folder. The first document was a copy of the bank statement from which funds had been transferred to Barker’s account. His face paled though he remained silent.

  Maeve said, “We uncovered several documents during our investigation. This first statement represents an FBI black ops account. The second document is a transfer instruction and attached to it is a handwriting analysis by…well, you can see we used FBI experts for the task. The third document is a bank statement reflecting the deposit of funds transferred from the black ops account. This account is linked to the late Reverend Barker. The final documents include a transfer receipt and a bank statement belonging to the person I shot in Schmidt’s hospital room, who, we believe, was there to kill Schmidt. Thoughts?”

  “Bitch—”

  “I meant thoughts regarding the documents.”

  Wentworth closed the folder and sat back in his chair. “I’ll claim these are all forgeries.”

  “That would be easy to disprove. We’re waiting for the National Security Advisor to communicate the President’s decision. I’m in favor of prosecuting you. We shipped Mercante off to Gitmo. As an alternative to the publicity a prosecution will attract, you might like to join him there?”

  Wentworth opened the folder again and mindlessly flipped through the documents. “If I don’t fight this—what can I expect?”

  “With full disclosure, of everything you and Mercante were involved in? Including anything else you’ve been doing, within the FBI?

  “Yes.”

  “Minimum of ten years, in a high security federal prison.”

  “Very well. You want my resignation, now?”

  “Yes. Hand your Bureau ID card to my agents. You won’t have an opportunity to return to your office. It’s under seal and a team of agents is conducting a thorough search.”

  ***

  Chapter 36

  Mark found Reb in the atrium; it seemed to be her favorite place. Her greeting was hesitant, which disturbed him. “What’s on your mind?” he asked.

  “I don’t know what to tell you, after hearing about the others leaving you.”

  “You’ve started, so you should finish.”

  Reb spoke in a rush. “You know I’ve remained in contact with the marine employment agency. They have a position for me. It’s a good one. The yacht’s based in the Med. It’s owned by a champion tennis player. They want me to sign the contract today and fax it back. If I take the job, I’ll have to travel to Monaco on Sunday.”

  “Why are you hesitant, if it’s what you want?”

  Reb picked at her index fingernail. “It means leaving you and Anna and my friends.”

  “We all knew you were heading back to a job at sea some time.”

  “I know. It’s…it’s just, well, so many are leaving you. But I don’t need to go until Sunday.”

  “Reb, you do what you need to do. No one is going to think less of you.” Mark hugged his sister. “Now I need to find Anna.”

  “She’s in the garden, I think.”

  Anna was in a small greenhouse adjacent to a large vegetable garden, examining the potted plants which the gardeners intended to plant out when the weather warmed.

  “Are you taking up gardening?” Mark asked.

  Anna looked up and smiled. She reached for his hand. “No, I’m really curious. Gardens and plants haven’t been part of my life until now. I think I could enjoy them in future, though.”

  Mark outlined the events of the last hour with all the departures. “It’s an unexpected exodus but I can’t fault any of them.”

  Anna gripped his hand. “What about Scott?”

  “He said there’s no way he’s leaving, he’s having too much fun. Or words to that effect. What about you?”

  “Me? I’m not leaving you.”

  “Maybe you should. Temporarily, anyway. I want you to take the children away tonight. It’s about two miles to the village. Our map of the grounds shows a footpath through the woods at the back of the property. If you leave after dark, you’d be okay. Then, when the DI and the Chairman raid us, you’ll all be safe.”

  She stepped in closer and hugged him. “I said I’m not going to leave you. I’ll arrange for Scott to take the children; he’s supposed to be their father, after all. Assuming you can convince them to leave. They’re determined to help you take down these people.”

  “I know. I think they have all their equipment ready to install once it gets dark. It’ll be interesting to see what happens when people bring their cell phones within range of the field.”

  “From what I saw of Gabrielle’s test, a battery caught in their system could cause severe injuries, whether it explodes or catches on fire.”

  Mark said, “That’s their intention. They’re a bloodthirsty lot, the five of them. Come on, we should talk to Reb and Scott. Maybe you and Reb…we’ll talk about whether or not you should take the children away from here.”

  They collected Reb on the way to the security room. When Mark made his suggestion, Scott nodded his understanding. Reb looked doubtful but didn’t speak.

  Mark asked, “Why the face, Reb?”

  “I don’t think the children will want to leave you. There’d only be you and Scott left to defend yourselves. The house is too big for two people.”

  “It might be easier, in some ways. If we moved after dark into one of the cottages, the Chairman won’t know where we are. We’d be able to engage in a guerrilla action.”

  “I don’t know. I’d never forgive myself if anything happened to either of you.”

  “My decision. Scott, I think we should do this. Anna and Reb will take the children out of here after dark. After they’ve set up their equipment, of course. The children will have to accept my decision. Once they’ve all left, we can consider moving to the far cottage.”

  ~~~

  Sera’s departure was a subdued event. The taxi arrived just before four o’clock and she rushed her farewells to the small group seeing her off.

  “I’m sorry I have to go, but I didn’t think we’d be involved in some kind of deadly fight. I’ll be back in Boston, if you ever—”

  “We understand,” Scott said. “Have a safe flight.”

  Gabrielle and Niland were nowhere to be seen. Anna and Reb waved their goodbyes.

  As the taxi drove away, Scott said, “It’s for the better.” As he turned to re-enter the house, Gabrielle and Niland rushed up. “Has she gone?” asked Niland.

  Scott indicated the taxi as it flashed its brake lights at the turn of the lane leading to the main road. “Yes, she’s on her way.”

  “Good,” Gabrielle said. Despite inquiring expressions from Reb and Anna, she remained silent. Niland did not comment. They made their way inside and prepared for the evening.

  ~~~

  Mark called a meeting after Sera’s departure. He announced he wanted Reb and Anna to take the children to Tunbridge Wells, which seemed to be the closest town where they could find a hotel, although London was only about thirty miles away. Scott would stay behind to assist Mark. Anna reluctantly agreed to accompany Reb. To Anna and Mark’s surprise, there were only token objections from the five children. Mark was suspicious at their willingness to leave but was unable to pin down a reason for his unease.

  The plan was simple. An hour after sunset, Anna and Reb would lead the children along the path at the back of the property and onto a more frequented footpath to the nearby village. Once there, they would find taxis. Of course, the weather was closing in with another early spring storm that promised to dampen everyone.

  ~~~

  Fifteen minutes after departing the manor house, Gabrielle, who was in the lead, suddenly stopped, bringing the procession to a halt. The rain was starting to make it
s presence known, and the narrow footpath, where it moved away from the partial shelter of trees, was accumulating small mud puddles. Gabrielle turned to Anna. They could only just see each other, in the dark.

  “I’m not leaving Mark and Scott to defend the house.”

  “We can’t go back. We’ll be in danger and we’ll put the men in danger, too.” By this time the others had crowded around Anna and Gabrielle.

  “We prepared for this,” Lewis said. “We borrowed two of the tents from the army and set them up in the trees near the entrance to the property. They’re camouflaged, so no one will see them. We borrowed some sleeping bags, too.”

  “And we searched the barns and found three shotguns and about sixty shells,” added Owen.

  “Okay,” Anna said. “You’d better explain all this.”

  “You’ve got some devious plan in mind,” Reb added. “Where are the shotguns?”

  “We hid them near the tents. When the attackers arrive, they’ll probably leave people guarding their vehicles,” Gabrielle said. “We’ve made sure no one will be using their cell phones, at least when they’re near the house. So we can ambush the vehicle guards and the Chairman won’t know, ‘cause he’ll have the battery out of his cell phone and so will anyone with him.”

  The way Gabrielle mentioned cell phones caught Anna’s attention. “Explain about the phones,” she directed. She felt almost tangible exchanges between the five children. There was a long moment of silence, and at last Gabrielle nodded.

  Owen said, “We rigged the cell phone test. The whole thing is a dummy.”

  “What—” Reb said.

  “We all thought someone was leaking information to the Chairman, so we set a trap,” Gabrielle said. “That’s why I had everyone hand over their cell phones and pretend I would make sure the batteries were removed. We found the informant when I checked all the call logs.”

  “An informant?”

  “Yeah, it was Sera. Her phone showed calls to UK numbers on a regular basis. She was reporting, at least daily. We traced the numbers. One was to DI Goodwin. We think the other one belongs to the Chairman,” Lewis said.

  “Does Mark know?”

  “Noooo. We planned to let him know in the next half hour. We wanted to make sure the Chairman didn’t find out,” Gabrielle said. “It was obvious when the subterfuge with the soldiers didn’t work—that either the Chairman was taking out insurance by kidnapping Colonel Hudson or someone was reporting to him.”

  Anna could not hide her shock. “I don’t know what to say. You’re far more devious than I realized.”

  Reb said, “Lewis, you should know better—”

  “Reb, it was our idea,” Niland said, protecting the teenagers. “We persuaded Lewis to assist us. I think we’ve done the right thing. We’ve reduced the pressure on Mark and Scott so now they only have to worry about themselves. We found out who the informant was and tricked her into leaking incorrect information. The DI and the Chairman are under the impression their cell phones’ll explode if they bring them close to the house, so they’ll remove the batteries. They may have radios, but we think it’s unlikely, because radios are not secure. Okay, we didn’t tell anyone, but it was necessary, to identify the informant.” A chorus of agreement from Lewis, Owen, and Carys supported Niland.

  “Hmm. I’m not entirely convinced,” Anna said. “Remember, if Sera was giving them information, the Chairman may know we’re leaving, too.”

  “Sera left before we decided to leave,” Gabrielle said. “I suppose he might have his people watching the house from the main road.”

  “Okay. Tell us the rest of your plans.”

  Lewis replied, “We ambush the drivers. They won’t protest too much when we threaten them with shotguns. We’ll take any weapons they have and immobilize their vehicles. We hid the keys of the cars in the garage and removed the batteries so they can’t be used. We’ll follow the DI and the Chairman to the house and attack them from the rear. A few shotgun blasts will startle and distract them. Also, I think we should alert the local police, and get them here.”

  Anna said to Reb. “What do you think? Should we go along with this crazy plan?”

  “It might help Mark and Scott, even though it has some risks. My only reservation is that Mark would be more than upset if the children were injured.”

  “And we’d be upset if anything happened to Mark and Scott,” Gabrielle said. “Mark’s our hero and Scott’s our remaining parent. He cares for us and we really like him.”

  Anna said, “Okay. I’m getting soaked standing here in the rain. Let’s do it.” She turned to Gabrielle. “I hope you can lead us to your tents without getting lost or alerting these people, if they decide to attack tonight?”

  “Follow me,” instructed Lewis.

  ***

  Chapter 37

  Mark and Scott sat in the security room watching the cameras covering the grounds around the house. It was just the two of them and Mark thought the house seemed inordinately lonely. He hoped sending Reb and Anna away with the children would keep them safe. Gabrielle had ceremoniously switched on their cell phone destruction system, which was powered through the garden’s lighting system.

  Scott said, “Why don’t you make yourself a meal, and when you take over from me, I’ll do the same?”

  Mark wandered off to the kitchen. All the doors and windows were locked. The doors had additional bars that prevented anyone opening them from outside, while the windows, at least at the ground-floor level, were set into stone and were protected by iron bars. Mark thought it would require considerable force for anyone to gain entrance.

  He made a sandwich of thick slices of roast beef on a crusty roll, smothering the meat with a horseradish sauce that made his eyes water. He carried the sandwich and a mug of coffee back to the security room. Scott left to make his own sandwich. He returned minutes later, anxious to see if there were any prowlers on the grounds, acknowledging to Mark he also thought the monitoring process was boring.

  The buzzing of Mark’s cell phone alerted him to the arrival of a text as well as reminding him he’d forgotten to remove the battery. He set his sandwich and drink to one side while he read the text. He burst out laughing.

  “Glad you can see the funny side of all this,” Scott said.

  Mark spluttered. “I’m glad I didn’t have a mouthful of roast beef when I read this. The children rigged their battery explosion test; it was all staged. The damn batteries won’t explode. It was a trap they set because they were convinced we had a spy. They claim Sera was making regular calls to the DI and to another number that they think belongs to the Chairman.”

  “What do those Welsh kids say—amaze balls?” Scott shook his head in disbelief.

  “They enlisted the help of Lewis and his two siblings. Lewis got his hands on some gunpowder from a shotgun shell and set off a small explosion electronically, to make it seem the phone battery exploded when they turned on the system. They’re convinced the DI and the Chairman will believe they can’t use their cell phones, which cuts down their ability to communicate. So, we can also assume it was Sera who advised the DI about our little subterfuge with the soldiers.”

  “I think that’s probably also who turned off the fuel line to the standby generator. I checked it late this afternoon and wondered. I turned it back on.”

  “Glad you caught it. I hadn’t thought to check,” Mark said, reaching for his sandwich. “Let’s hope Reb and Anna can keep the kids safe.”

  “Maybe it’s the other way around. The kids will keep Reb and Anna safe.”

  Mark finished his sandwich and stretched out on a bunk in the security room. He forced himself to relax. It was ten p.m. and he was scheduled to relieve Scott at midnight. They had decided not to move to the cottage after Scott realized there were numerous external lights triggered by motion detectors and they wanted those lights to activate only if someone entered the grounds. They both expected action sometime before dawn, if it was going to happen at all
. Scott had his feet up on the bench in front of the monitors and was munching another sandwich. Mark dozed off.

  Mark woke from his restless sleep a little before midnight. He felt cramped and in need of another two or three hours of proper rest. He yawned and rubbed his eyes. Scott was wide-awake, eating yet another sandwich. Mark checked the video display; nothing unusual to see.

  “It’s far too quiet out there. I haven’t even seen the foxes.”

  “Hmm. They might have been frightened off.”

  ~~~

  It was Anna’s turn to listen for approaching vehicles. The children had arranged the two tents so that they formed a single shelter. They built a flap system that provided a small space for two people to sit, protected from the rain yet still able to watch the lane leading to the property. An hour before, Reb had rolled herself up in a sleeping bag behind the flap that accessed the larger area and seemed to drop off to sleep without delay. The children were each on an hourly watch, and it was Niland’s turn to join Anna. Lewis sat with both of them for a minute before heading off to his sleeping bag.

  “It’s gone quiet out there,” Anna said, in almost a whisper.

  “I’m still asleep, I think. Is it really one a.m.?” Niland asked.

  “Shh. I think there are vehicles approaching.”

  The engine sounds were barely audible. Anna thought she could see three black shapes in the darkness, their lights off, making their way slowly toward the entry ramp onto the property. Each vehicle rumbled across the ramp and turned into the space where the soldiers had parked their army truck. The occupants had forgotten to turn off their internal lights and she counted six passengers and three drivers in the seconds before the doors were closed. After a few minutes a number of their visitors set off down the lane leading to the manor house. Anna thought they were carrying weapons. Wind gusts blew streaks of rain across the lane, obscuring details.

  “Wake up Reb. Quietly,” Anna instructed Niland. “Then all the children. Tell Gabrielle I want to talk to her. No noise.”

  She continued to watch as two drivers got out of their vehicles and joined the driver in the third vehicle. The interior lights momentarily displayed the men as the two got into the back seat. She could not determine whether they were armed or not.