Measure of Danger

by Jay Klages

  “Hey, sir, can I make a phone call? It’s an emergency call to my sister.”

  The guy looked him up and down.

  “Sorry, buddy. I’m in a hurry.”

  “You can use mine,” a guy said from behind another side counter. An employee. It looked like he was selling truck parts and accessories. He passed Kade a cordless handset.

  “Thank you,” Kade said. He dialed up Janeen’s cell phone number, stepped a few feet away, and kept his voice low and calm. The call connected and he heard the voice of his sister.

  “Hello?”

  “Janeen, it’s me.”

  “Kade! Are you okay? Where are you?”

  “Janeen, listen to me. You’re in danger. Where are you?”

  “I’m in Portland with Alex at the hospital.”

  “What? Really?” Kade ran his hand through his hair. Alex is alive, thank God. He would leave the discussion on how the hell Janeen made it out to Portland and found Alex for another time. “Is he okay?”

  “Yeah, he’s had three surgeries, but he’s going to be okay. He’s expected to be discharged in a few days. Alex made me stay here and not go looking for you. I did go get his truck and managed to convince Enterprise to pick up my rental.”

  Kade’s heart sank. “Three surgeries . . . my God . . .”

  Yes, it could be worse, but not much.

  “Kade?”

  He had to focus and not let his emotions take over.

  “Kade?”

  “Yeah, okay, listen. There’re some very dangerous people who may be looking for you. I want you to be very careful while you’re at the hospital.”

  “Kade, where are you right now? Can I come get you?”

  Yeah, duh. His mind wasn’t working as fast as it should. He was beyond exhaustion.

  “Yeah, that sounds like a great idea. Come get me. I’m in Longview, Washington. At Clark’s Truck Stop.”

  Kade heard some mumbling on the other side of the phone.

  “That’s a little more than an hour from here off I-5,” Janeen said. “I just asked the nurse. I’ll get more directions on the way. I’m going to leave in a couple of minutes.”

  “Okay, when you get here—stay in your car and just park near the car wash. No one’s there, so I’ll find you. I’m going to stay out of sight until then.”

  “I will,” she said. “See you in a little while.”

  CHAPTER 51

  Saturday, June 29

  10:12 a.m. (PDT)

  Portland Emanuel Hospital

  The female nurse brought Kade and Janeen to Alex’s hospital room on the second floor of Portland Emanuel. The room was comfortable and decorated in pastel colors with paintings donated from local artists. A male nurse assistant working at a computer station in the corner nook of the room turned and waved when they entered.

  Alex was lying on his back with the bed inclined. A number of intravenous bags hung above him and multiple monitor clips gripped his fingers. His face looked listless and pale, but brightened when he saw the visitors.

  “Kade . . . you made it,” he said.

  Kade’s eyes began to fill with tears as he moved to the side of Alex’s bed. He put his hand on top of Alex’s and lightly squeezed it. This is all my fault.

  “How ya doing, buddy?”

  “Think I’m going to make it.”

  Kade shook his head. “I’m so sorry, so sorry, man.”

  “That’s all right. I didn’t need my spleen anyway.”

  Kade shut his eyes. “They took out your spleen?”

  “Yeah. Bullet hit my bowel and spleen. I was lucky on the bowel. Suture repair, no resection. Not so lucky on the spleen.”

  “Are you in a lot of pain?”

  “Some. I’m on oxycodone.”

  Kade sighed. Janeen slid a chair in behind him and he sat down in it. She sat down on the nearby sleeper sofa.

  “Kade, you look like shit,” Alex said.

  Kade opened his eyes. “I look like shit?” He laughed once and wiped his eyes.

  “Hell yeah, you do. But, hey, you’re here. That’s good news for you, huh? You must’ve done what you needed to do.”

  “I don’t know. I hope so. I couldn’t have done it without you.”

  “Bus twenty-six, brother.”

  Tears ran down Kade’s cheeks. “Yeah.”

  “Your sister’s been an angel to me.”

  “I’m sure she has.”

  “Alex,” the female nurse from outside said, “the chaplain you requested is here to see you now.”

  Kade wasn’t a regular churchgoer, but he knew Alex was a Pentecostal. They didn’t talk much religion. “You want us both to step out?” Kade asked.

  “No, stay, man,” he said.

  “Okay.” Kade cranked his neck around to look behind him, and saw the tall, blond figure of the chaplain as he was shutting the door.

  It was Guardian Constantino. He was dressed in khaki pants and a white polo shirt bearing an embroidered caduceus design in the pocket area with the word CHAPLAIN above it. He pulled a large pistol with a suppressor attachment out of a computer bag in his other hand.

  Kade saw a smirk appear on Constantino’s face as he aimed the gun toward him, and he remembered he didn’t have his Glock anymore.

  “Two-for-one deal today,” Constantino said.

  Kade dove sideways toward Janeen, and as the wide-armed chair tumbled with him, he heard the explosion of two gunshots. He heard Janeen scream, then realized somehow he hadn’t been hit. He was now on the floor, turning on his hands and knees toward the door. Constantino was on the ground with blood soaking the chest area of his white polo shirt and his hand pressed against his bleeding neck. He glanced behind him and saw Janeen had crawled behind the sofa and looked okay.

  Kade picked up Constantino’s pistol off the floor, stood up, and backed up, keeping it aimed.

  “Kade, can you move over to this side of the room and set that gun down next to me?”

  Kade turned and saw the nurse assistant was still seated but now had a pistol aimed in a well-practiced double-handed grip. His muscles bulged through the short sleeves of his scrubs and his brown eyes couldn’t have looked more intense. Kade lowered his pistol and stepped toward him.

  “Is everyone okay?” the man said.

  Janeen sat back up on the couch.

  “Yeah, I’m fine.”

  “I’m good,” Kade said. “Thank you.”

  “Wow . . . unbelievable,” Alex said.

  Kade laid the pistol down and then moved to the couch, sat down, and put his arm around Janeen.

  The man removed one hand from his gun and spoke into a two-way radio, keeping his eye on the door. “Miller, it’s Stephenson. We have one unknown assailant, badly wounded, here in two-fourteen. We’re all fine. Not sure if there are any other hostiles. Okay, see you in a bit.”

  “We’re okay. We’re safe,” Kade whispered to Janeen.

  I’ve put my family and friends in danger. I should have never involved them.

  Two minutes later, there were four solid knocks at the door.

  “Come on in, slow,” Stephenson said.

  A disheveled-looking man in scrubs opened the door wide enough to squeeze through. He had a pistol drawn as he knelt down next to Constantino, who was now unconscious. Two uniformed security guards were behind him, along with an emergency medical team. They lifted Constantino on a gurney and wheeled him out.

  The man in the corner stood up and holstered his weapon under his scrubs. “I’m Agent Jeff Stephenson. Janeen, we’re going to move you to safer accommodations. Alex, you’ll have Portland Police officers providing security for you now.”

  “That was fucking cool,” Alex said with his eyes almost shut.

  “Kade,” Stephenson said, “we’ve got to get you treated and cleaned up. Then we need you over at the field office.”

  CHAPTER 52

  Saturday, June 29

  11:05 a.m. (PST)

  AgriteX

&nb
sp; Daniel, Lin, and Walter sat on a semicircular stone-aggregate bench near a small garden, talking quietly. Four sentries dressed in street clothes had loaded large duffel bags containing the Associates’ belongings into a full-size van. Joshua Pierce appeared, looking freshly showered and dressed in jeans, a black T-shirt, and running shoes.

  Pierce and a Sentry, Bernard, walked over to the bench.

  “It’s time to get going, folks,” Pierce said. His eyes looked weary and distracted. “Sorry for the bumped-up schedule.”

  “Where are we going?” Daniel asked.

  “Nevada,” Pierce said. “A few hours east of Reno. I think you’re all going to like it. Once you’re situated, we’re going to put you up in a nice resort in Tahoe for a week. I know everyone deserves a break.”

  There was no reaction to his statement.

  “You’ll also receive another cash bonus of forty thousand dollars,” Pierce added. “You’ve all progressed through the program well.”

  “Where’s Sims?” Walter asked.

  “He’s continuing his Guardian training,” Pierce said. “You’ll see him again soon.”

  “I thought he failed a drug test and was terminated,” Walter said, looking at Lin and Daniel in turn. All three Associates intensified their stare at Pierce.

  Before Pierce could respond, Lin added, “Guess it’s getting harder to keep track of the lies, huh?”

  “No, no, you’re correct,” Pierce stammered. “My mistake. Sims was terminated. We had to move some other people into Guardian training from other regions. It’s a busy time. Look, I know you’re all tired. I’m exhausted too. Let’s try and stay positive. You’ve done well in the program.”

  “The problem is,” Daniel said, “people in the program are dying. We’re supposed to be taking your word for it, and it’s not adding up.”

  Pierce clasped his hands and stooped over like he was speaking to a kindergarten class.

  “This has nothing to do with you three. We have great plans for you all. Some people just aren’t right for the program.”

  The three broke eye contact and looked unconvinced.

  “You’ll have Sentries Bernard, Maravar, Ash, and Patrick taking care of you. I’ll see you all in a week or two from now.”

  “We still haven’t been able to call anyone,” Lin said.

  “We have some cell phones we’ll pass around on the drive,” Bernard said. “You can make calls once we get going.”

  The group got up and filed into the van, Bernard taking the driver’s seat and Ash sitting shotgun. Maravar and Patrick sat in the rearmost two seats while Lin, Walter, and Daniel spread out in the other two rows.

  “Have a safe trip and see you soon,” Pierce said. He slid the side door shut and patted the door panel with his hand. The van backed out and he waved in its direction as it turned and headed out of the parking lot.

  Pierce pulled out a new Nabishi two-way radio from his belt clip. He’d ordered everyone make the switch to those radios because of their high level of encryption.

  “Hey, Marshall, it’s Josh,” he said.

  “What’s up?” Owens responded.

  “This is where we are. The Associates have been shipped off and the remaining Guardians are also gone. Sentries have been pulled back to the inner zones. L-FAC and the Zulus are ready to go.”

  “Perfect. Has Constantino reported in?”

  “Not yet.”

  “I wouldn’t give him more than an hour. Can’t risk it this late in the game.”

  “I agree.”

  “And you need to get going now,” Owens said.

  “I’m leaving in ten minutes,” Pierce said. “The mobile command unit is waiting for me out at Gale’s Creek.”

  “Okay. Good luck to you and your team.”

  “Klahowya sikhs, Marshall,” said Pierce. Good-bye, my friend.

  “Klahowya sikhs. Tomorrow will be an unforgettable day.”

  CHAPTER 53

  Saturday, June 29

  12:37 p.m. (PDT)

  Portland Emanuel Hospital

  Morris crossed the sky bridge to the nearest hospital tower and paused before he entered the building to call Velasquez.

  “Chris, good news. We have Joe’s approval for the SWAT team and a THU bird to extract Jenkins from Kidders Butte.”

  Joe Caldwell was the special agent in charge, or SAC, of the FBI Portland field office. The tactical helicopter unit, or THU, was used to support FBI SWAT operations, and Morris knew Velasquez had previous experience working on a SWAT team.

  “Great,” Velasquez said. “I assume you want me going along?”

  “Yeah, I’d like you to fly with them. Flight mission brief is at two. I’ll be about a half hour late. This op is now a director’s priority, and so we’ll be briefing FBI HQ at two thirty.”

  “Where are you now?” Velasquez asked.

  “Portland Emanuel. Flash is cleared for discharge but he’s sleeping. I’m going to give him another hour of z’s since he’s going to have a long debrief later. I’ll see if I can get any info out of Kevin Constantino in the meantime. Thanks for the backgrounder you e-mailed.”

  “Sure. Good luck with him,” Velasquez said.

  “Thanks. Talk to you later.”

  Morris took the elevator down to the main level. He found his way to the telemetry unit and checked in with Alondra, the nurse supervisor he’d spoken with earlier.

  “Hi, Agent Morris. Follow me, please.” Alondra led him down the hall past a number of room bays with sliding glass doors until they reached the one with a uniformed police officer posted outside of it. After the officer checked Morris’s ID, Alondra brought Morris inside the bay and stayed there with him.

  Morris left a bag of fresh clothing for Kade on the floor next to the door. As he stepped closer to the bed, he saw that Constantino looked horrendous, but his eyes were open and blinking.

  “So, Kevin, looks like you’re doing okay now,” Morris said while leaning on the bed rails.

  Alondra put her hand on Morris’s shoulder and whispered, “Please sit down.”

  Constantino continued to gaze across the room while Morris pulled up a chair and sat facing the chair back.

  “You want to share anything about why you were sent here to kill somebody?”

  No reaction.

  “We’re on our way to arrest your boss and close down AgriteX right now,” Morris said. “The party’s over.”

  Constantino turned his head an inch and his eyes moved as if effort were required. But a trace of a smile manifested in his lower lip and chin.

  “I don’t think so,” he whispered. “You’re too late. It’s already begun.”

  “What’s already begun?”

  “Impossible to stop. You lose.”

  Morris scooted the chair closer and grabbed Constantino’s shoulder. “What’s begun? What is the launch? I have a long memory if you do the right thing and help us. Otherwise . . .”

  “Sir,” Alondra said to Morris, “I’m going to have to ask you to stop now. This isn’t the time or place for that kind of questioning.”

  “Okay, one more simple question,” Morris said, and Alondra gave a reluctant nod. Morris pulled a cell phone out of his pocket and the plastic bag it was in. “You got a message about ten minutes ago. Any idea what it means?”

  Morris held the phone in front of Constantino’s face so he could see the text message.

  84210994

  Constantino’s expression was quizzical while he looked at the number. He then blinked his eyes twice slowly and looked up at the ceiling. Morris leaned in closer, wondering if Constantino was going to respond.

  Three seconds later, the electrocardiogram monitor sounded with an alarm.

  CHAPTER 54

  Saturday, June 29

  2:13 p.m. (PDT)

  FBI field office, Portland, Oregon

  During their drive to the field office, Kade was surprised Morris didn’t chew his ass out about Alex’s involvement or Janeen showing
up, and he wasn’t sure how to read it except to conclude Morris was quite even-keeled and professional. Or that he was embarrassed the emergency transmitter didn’t work.

  Morris had first asked him why he didn’t use the cache site sat-phone or transmitter as planned. Kade told him he tried activating the transmitter, and when there was no response, he then attempted to make it to the cache site, but ran into a hostile group of armed men he had to evade. Morris apologized and said he’d have the transmitter analyzed as part of the after-action report.

  When Morris asked why Alex had come out to Oregon and was in the Nehalem Clinic, he said Alex brought his pickup and he had planned an extra backup opportunity for escape. Morris then asked him if he learned anything about Chapter drug cartel activity, and he explained what he could.

  Kade asked what day it was—Morris told him Saturday, and joked that since his wife and three daughters were out shopping at the mall, it was better he wasn’t around anyway. Kade sensed that Morris was a dedicated family man and imagined what long-term life in the FBI must be like. Morris was steady and methodical, and those traits must have served him well in his career.

  After they reached the briefing room, Kade recognized Agent Stephenson sitting nearest the door at the conference table and made a point to say “thank you” once more. A printed map of the CLEARCUT operational area was spread out on the table with the electronic version displayed on a wall flat-screen monitor.

  Kade saw a woman in her early thirties walk over toward him from the other side of the table.

  “Hi, I’m Carla. Nice to meet you, Flash,” Singleton said. She was going to shake his hand but saw his bandages and bruised face. “You look like you’ve been to hell and back.”

  “Yeah, the burned hair is a good look for me, I know.”

  He now realized that the nickname the ball-busting personal trainer had given him weeks ago had somehow been officially assigned to him as the alias of their operational source. Nice touch.

  A voice came over the speakerphone.

  “Good to hear your voice, Flash. How are ya feeling?”

  Kade recognized the voice and Texas accent. “Hey, Jerry,” he said and sat down at the table. “I feel better, thanks.” Kade was skittish about saying more than he had to. He still felt like he wasn’t being told much about what was going on.