Measure of Danger

by Jay Klages

  Kade put his clothes on.

  “So what now?” Walter asked. “You guys are going back, right?”

  “Yeah, I’m going back,” Hank said. “Now I have some business I want to take care of.”

  “I’m with you, Hank,” Kade said. “Walter, you say a word about what we discussed here to anyone and you’re a dead man.”

  “I won’t.”

  “Good.” Kade walked up close to Walter and looked down into his face. “Because you have one strike against you—you already checked in with headquarters and told them to come here, didn’t you?”

  Walter broke eye contact. “Yeah.”

  “Thought so,” Kade said. “Do something like that again and you’re dead. And now, I never got to finish my bathroom break. I’ll meet you guys at the side door.”

  The three exited the MRI suite and walked down the hall toward the waiting room area. They could see Constantino and three other uniformed Guardians standing outside the side door at the end of the hall. The clinic administrative assistant stood inside with the keys in her hand.

  “Tell ’em I’ve got to use the john real quick before I go,” Kade said.

  Kade walked along the hall at the back of the waiting room, short of the yellow crime scene tape, and saw that Alex’s backpack was no longer at the coffee station.

  The police removed it. Damn.

  He returned to the bathroom, and scanned the inside again while he was finishing up at the toilet. He had checked everywhere. No, not everywhere. There was a red plastic medical waste can. He picked it up in both hands but there was nothing in it. Nothing in the paper towel dispenser either.

  He looked at the baby changing station mounted on the wall and pulled the folding table down. The Glock and two extra clips were there in separate Ziploc bags. He removed the Glock from its bag, jammed it just inside the rear of his pants, and pulled his crinkly AgriteX shirt down past his butt. He stuffed the other bag in his right cargo pocket.

  After he washed up and splashed some cold water on his face, he headed back out and down to the side door where the admin lady was waiting.

  Constantino and another Guardian, Lloyd, were waiting for him outside with another Tahoe pulled up to the front. Hank and Walter were in the other vehicle with a new pair of Guardians sitting inside.

  “What’s up?” Kade asked.

  Constantino said, “Marshall’s ordered everyone on restriction until further notice, and there’s going to be a Verax review on everyone. There’s been a large security breach.”

  Kade thought about Alex and leaving him behind, bleeding somewhere. Maybe he needed to make a stand right now. He stood in place and put his hands on his hips.

  “So what the hell am I supposed to do about it?”

  “You’re supposed to come with us right now,” Constantino said.

  Kade could tell Constantino and Lloyd were tense. He felt it with the same sensory clarity as when Hank accosted him with the knife. For a split second, he considered making a break for it, but he didn’t like what he read in their faces. They were serious, with their weapons within reach. His Glock was tucked away next to his tailbone without a round in the chamber.

  I’ll get shot first.

  He didn’t like the thought of going back to the Chapter HQ. But at least he now had a weapon, and the chip in his head was out of commission. He still needed more evidence.

  He clapped his hands together once and the two Guardians flinched.

  “Okay, let’s go home then,” he said.

  The two Guardians seemed relieved. Kade started walking toward the vehicle.

  “Oh, and Guardian Constantino?”

  Constantino looked at Kade and raised his eyebrows. “What?”

  “Belated thanks for saving my life.”

  CHAPTER 28

  Tuesday, June 25

  1:17 p.m. (PDT)

  AgriteX

  Owens found Pierce in the hallway after making a quick call on the two-way radio. They both stepped into an empty AgriteX training room and sat down at two of the desks.

  “What happened at the clinic?” Owens asked.

  “We have one dead from a shooting,” Pierce said. “Sentry Cummings died at Portland Emanuel. Three of our Associates were there when it happened.”

  “Who?”

  “Lefear, Stanfield, and Sims,” Pierce said.

  “Where are they now?”

  “On their way back here.”

  “How did this happen?” Owens asked.

  “Lefear provided a rough phone report, but that’s all we have for now. The shooter was one of a pair of Mexican men who came into the clinic for treatment and opened fire. Police on the scene suspect it’s drug related.”

  “Less than twenty-four hours after Messia’s visit. This can’t be a coincidence,” Owens said. “When can we get more details?”

  “We’re following up with our county and state police sources.”

  “Were there any other injuries?”

  “Yeah, another person who was shot ran out of there on foot. Not one of ours. I’m trying to find out who it is.”

  Owens nodded. “Assuming this was Messia’s design, we can’t let him distract us from our main effort. Unless we find he’s going to make a major move, I don’t want to expend the resources. Just have a contingency plan ready.”

  “Agreed.”

  “And what’s the status on finding our mole?” Owens asked.

  “I’m sure we’ll have resolution tomorrow,” Pierce said. “We’ve narrowed it down after reviewing all of the access logs and surveillance. We’re going to put several groups through the Verax and conduct some more interrogation to finalize our action.”

  There was a reflective stretch of silence before Pierce gave Owens a look of concern and asked, “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah,” Owens said and patted Pierce on the shoulder. “We knew we’d have some of these challenges as we got closer to launch,” he said. “We’ve war-gamed this down to every conceivable obstacle. If we need to make adjustments, we’ll make them.”

  “We’re in the home stretch. Are you still having fun?”

  Owens smiled. “Oh yeah. Now things are getting interesting.”

  CHAPTER 29

  Tuesday, June 25

  5:32 p.m. (PDT)

  FBI field office, Portland, Oregon

  Twenty minutes after leaving the field office and changing into workout clothes in a Subway, Zach Poole detached his Schwinn Paramount road bike from the rear rack, donned his helmet and sunglasses, and started cycling. The steep six-hundred-foot trail took him to the top of Rocky Butte State Park, built on an extinct volcanic cinder cone. He finished on one of the dirt paths, pulling up to the short wall of cut stone topped with vintage lanterns.

  Catching his breath, he took in the spectacular view of Mount Hood and the Columbia River Gorge to the east and the view back toward the airport, across the river into Washington State, where he could see Vancouver and Camas. He’d broken a sweat during the ride and the slight breeze felt good.

  Less than ten minutes later, another cyclist pulled up alongside him. A wiry man with black hair and large, flared nostrils.

  “What’s up, man?”

  “Hey, Paul. Just another beautiful day, living the life,” Zach said.

  “Amen, brother. You’ve got some news for me today, I take it?”

  “I do. And is this a day where I can expect a little extra?”

  “Yeah. I know you’re due.”

  “Okay.” Zach took a quick unnoticeable scan of the area from underneath his sunglasses. The closest people nearby, a young couple, were more than fifty yards away.

  “The op targeted against AgriteX is underway,” Zach said. “It started no later than June tenth and is scheduled to be complete in mid-July.”

  Paul’s own sunglasses couldn’t hide his anxiousness. “Really? How can you be sure?”

  “I noticed an operation activity listed on the staffing matrix to indicate resource
s being used, but it was left off the master project calendar for some reason. I knew from the staffing matrix that four agents were assigned to it. Recently, they assigned an analyst to the op, and I tracked her down today. She said she was assigned on the tenth and could expect to be off the op in mid-July.”

  “How do you know this op is targeting AgriteX?”

  “I saw some of the analyst’s notes. Just a five-second look. But I saw the name Marshall Owens, plus AgriteX and the Chapter, listed in the notes, right when she confirmed her participation in the unnamed op.”

  “You’re positive?”

  “No doubt in my mind,” Zach said.

  “Okay, thanks. This is going to sound some more alarm bells,” Paul said.

  “I figured.”

  “Are you getting low on water?” Paul asked.

  “Yeah, can I borrow some of yours?”

  The two swapped their identical bike water bottles. Zach knew that in the pocket of the outer shell of the water bottle he received would be a payment. This time, a roll of ten hundred-dollar bills.

  “All right, I better be going,” Paul said. “I’ll check in with you next week.”

  “Okay, good luck,” Zach said, and remounted his bike.

  Now he was really looking forward to a no-strings-attached night of fun with a girl close to home and getting his wife a gift for putting up with his late nights at work.

  CHAPTER 30

  Wednesday, June 26

  9:17 a.m. (PDT)

  AgriteX

  Kade had only slept for three hours during the night, tops, but now he was wide-awake, sitting on the floor near the window in the soft gray light of the sunless morning.

  During the balance of hours lying awake with his eyes shut, he took a bathroom visit and transferred the Glock and ammo to the toilet tank. Hopefully, without observation or suspicion. His eyes moistened for a few seconds when he again thought of Alex’s sacrifice during the drop.

  Please, God, let him be okay.

  Other than a breakfast bar tossed in his room, he hadn’t eaten since returning the evening prior, and he felt like he was starving. Another headache gnawed at his temples and made his eyeballs hurt.

  He swore to himself he’d try to escape at the next available opportunity. He’d wait until the security posture dropped and his room door was once again unlocked during the day. Stuff would calm back down again. He now knew the route to Lost Lake that Carol had shown him, and from there he could find his way to Kidders Butte by sight.

  He would try to escape right after an evening meal, make it look like he was going to take a jog for exercise. There’d still be plenty of daylight left. If he got caught or confronted early on during the jog, he’d just say he felt great and had lost track of the distance on his route. This plan might give him an hour or two before they realized he was missing.

  If he tried to get out by force, he’d most likely get killed, since there was no shortage of armed Sentries and Guardians who could be called at a moment’s notice when an alarm was sounded.

  He thought he had some information that could help prosecute the leadership of AgriteX. False imprisonment. Assault. Battery. But he knew he needed better evidence and more of it. All of the weapons and ammo he’d seen had to be stored somewhere, and where they stored the small arms, there might be more heavy-duty firepower nearby.

  It seemed too convenient that Sentries did double duty as inmate mentors at the LLFC. Maybe that provided the right appearance of separation to cover militia activity.

  He would try to find the weapons storage and get photos before slipping away. Maybe look for the cannabis seed if he had time. That was the best he could do at this point. He thought about the current risk combined with everything he’d been through already. The measure of danger was at a critical level, and his body had been through a lot of trauma. The FBI couldn’t expect much more from him. They might want more, but he sure as hell didn’t remember the risk of forced medical procedures being in his prep briefings.

  He thought about the Verax machine, the announced review today, and whether he would be able to screw up the results like before. What would they do afterward? Beat him again? His body couldn’t take much more of that. Another reason to get the hell out.

  There were no other team members to carry on this mission without him.

  I’m no good to anyone if I’m dead.

  About one hour later, while he continued to ruminate on his options, the door access reader beeped, and the automatic lock on his room clicked open. To Kade’s surprise, Sentry Ignaty entered, bearing a tray of breakfast food.

  “There you go, Sims.” Ignaty set the tray down on the floor just inside the door. He looked up just enough to make eye contact and paused.

  Kade gave him an incredulous look.

  “What? You want a fucking tip for room service?”

  Ignaty returned a crooked smile as he retreated out the door and it shut behind him. The breakfast was a cold, plain bagel with a square of butter, a strawberry yogurt, and a carton of orange juice. He scarfed down the bagel, scraped every drop out of the yogurt cup with the plastic spoon, and licked the interior. He thought about his pants getting looser and the increasing amount of slack in his belt.

  Another hour later, Ignaty and Hill returned.

  “Okay, Sims,” Hill said. “Before you come along, the chief medical officer said you have to take this pill. She said you’d know what it is.”

  Hill produced a pink pill in a small crimped paper cup while Ignaty half filled Kade’s water glass and handed it to him. Kade could tell from the color and markings it was carbamazepine.

  Shit.

  “I’ve got to make sure you swallow it,” Hill said.

  Kade took the glass of water and swallowed the pill, opening his mouth and lifting up his tongue.

  “And we’ve got to cuff all of you Associates and take you to the holding room for the next couple of hours,” Hill said. “Not going to be a pleasant day for you all, I’m afraid.”

  “Wonderful,” Kade said, and held his hands out in front of him until Hill put the cuffs on.

  Kade was happy they didn’t put a hood on his head. It seemed like they were in too much of a hurry this time. They led him through the northwest quadrant, where he knew the other Associate rooms were located. He had no idea where the Sentries and Guardians lived. The southwest quadrant held the medical office, rec room, kitchen-and-cafeteria complex.

  They approached a sizable secure door, currently wide open, as two Sentries passed through chatting. He got a glimpse of the enormous entrance atrium, but Ignaty and Hill guided him left and led him through a door to a small hallway that bypassed the lobby altogether. Once they entered the southeast quadrant, it was only a short walk to a room with an unlabeled four-foot-high door and a Sentry posted outside of it.

  “Go ahead in,” Hill said. “Sit down next to Slade. Eyes toward the door and no talking.” The Sentry popped the door open and Kade ducked in.

  Lin and Daniel and were already sitting on the concrete floor against the far wall of the windowless room. Both looked worried, but Daniel nodded, and Kade thought Lin mouthed “Hi” when he glanced at her. A pair of fluorescent tube lights shone through their wire enclosures from a ceiling mount, glaring off the glossy white painted cinder-block walls. The room smelled like there were too many nervous people in it.

  Kade sat down, back against the wall, cross-legged. Across the room he saw a surveillance camera mounted above the door, and also noticed the door had no visible knob or lock on the inside. The movement of cool air through a one-foot-square ventilation grill was the only audible noise. Four Sentries stood facing them, two on each side of the door. Their pistols were holstered, but each person gripped a handheld stun gun with two metal prongs on the end.

  The next person ducking through the door was Hank, followed by Walter and Carol. They were instructed to sit in sequence to Kade’s left. Carol glared at Kade when she walked in, while Walter gazed about. H
ank gave Kade a one-finger wave and seemed calm.

  A Sentry with a blond flattop stepped into the room.

  “We’re waiting on the special assistant who’s going to speak with you all. In the meantime, no talking. No looking at each other. No moving closer together. Remain sitting. If you don’t follow instructions . . .” He held up a stun gun to reinforce the point. “Any questions?”

  There were no questions, and Kade thought it best not to contribute a smart-aleck comment. The pill was helping him concentrate better, but the more he thought about Dr. Drakos forcing him to take it, the more he worried. He bet she’d deduced that his disorder was messing up the Verax system. Maybe he was overthinking, but the Chapter had gathered a ton of information on him and ransacked his apartment. They somehow were getting access to various government and private databases. Given the network of Chapter alumni, his military medical records and maybe even his private medical records could have been hacked.

  Joshua Pierce ducked through the door and stood in front of them. His beard stubble seemed thicker than it had been the last time Kade saw him, and his eyes revealed some strain. He cleared his throat and put his hands on his hips.

  “Good morning, Associates,” he said. “I apologize for the handcuffs, but we have a significant security situation here. One of you has committed a serious violation of the Knowledge Tenet. Someone has been communicating with people outside of the Chapter and giving them information about our sensitive activities. This unauthorized communication has done damage and jeopardized ongoing operations. It’s also resulted in a Sentry being killed. Does this turn of events sound familiar to anyone here?” Pierce paused and scanned the room. “Would anyone like to come clean with what they have done right now to avoid an additional Truth violation? This is your last opportunity.”

  Kade didn’t look at any of the others.

  They know about my communication to Alex. That whole incident at the clinic with Sentry Cummings somehow had to be related to me.

  Cummings must have died.