Illegal Contact

by Becky Harmon

  Immediately several voices answered and within seconds two TU officers appeared. Jamison motioned for Tinnes to lead the way into the bathroom, leaving the other Flagler agent to work the crowd. With Sheldon and Heather on her heels, Jamison saw that the urinals were not in use but both stall doors were closed. Tinnes kicked the first one open, finding it empty. Jamison leveled her pistol on the door of the second stall as Tinnes kicked it open.

  “Down on the ground,” Jamison commanded to the scruffy, terrified-looking young man squatting with his feet on the toilet seat.

  Tinnes holstered his weapon and pulled him from the stall, pushing him to the ground. Quickly he patted him down and secured his wrists with a plastic restraint.

  “He doesn’t have the backpack,” Tinnes said, looking at Jamison. “I’m sure he didn’t pass it to anyone. There were only three men in here when he came in and I’d have noticed if they were carrying it when they came out.”

  “Then it has to be here,” Sheldon said, looking around the small room.

  “Here.” Heather pulled on black leather tactical gloves and began digging through the large metal trash can under the sink. She pulled the black backpack from inside the can and set it on the floor. Gently she pulled the zipper to get a view inside. Standing, she stepped away from the bag. “We need a bomb team.”

  Sheldon and Jamison both spoke immediately into their microphones. The bathroom door opened before Jamison had completed her request and Kinsey walked in with Jack.

  “I heard Tinnes call you and headed this way. Let me take a look. I can see what we’re dealing with.” She held up a hand to Jack and he immediately sat.

  Jamison nodded for Tinnes to pull their captive into a sitting position and she knelt in front of him. “Why are you carrying explosives?”

  He shrugged.

  “Who else is working with you?”

  Again he shrugged.

  Kinsey stood with the explosives in hand. “We’re good. He didn’t activate the charge yet. See here.” She held the bomb up for everyone, including the suspect, to see. “He’d have to stick this piece into the explosives and then pull this out. It separates the igniter from the explosive.” As she spoke, Kinsey did each of the tasks making the bomb active.

  Jamison spoke slowly, “Kinsey, what are you doing?”

  Kinsey gently placed the bomb back into the backpack and stood, lifting it by the straps. She walked toward the suspect and stopped in front of him. Over his head, she gave Jamison a wink.

  “I’m just helping him out.”

  Kinsey squatted in front of him and set the backpack in his lap. His eyes were huge and filled with panic.

  “That’s what you wanted, right?” Kinsey asked. “To make the bomb explode?”

  His eyes grew wider and he started to squirm on the floor, trying to get the backpack off his lap.

  “What’s wrong, man?” Kinsey asked. “Weren’t you trying to set it off?”

  “I…I was just supposed to place it in a trash can at Gate G. I don’t know how to turn it on or off.”

  Kinsey nodded. “Okay that’s a start. Who was supposed to wire it?”

  The man looked down at the backpack in his lap and his whole body shook. “He was Scooter’s friend. He said no one was going to get hurt. The bombs would be detonated after the game if the Tigers won.”

  “And if they didn’t win?”

  “I was supposed to collect them before I left the stadium.”

  “Them!” Jamison stepped toward him.

  The man dipped his head. “I had three backpacks. The other two are still at the vendor stand. I hadn’t placed them yet.”

  Jamison stood and looked at Heather and Sheldon. “We need a coordinated search. He might not be the only idiot they hired.”

  “How do we find your friend Scooter?” Sheldon asked the suspect.

  “He’s selling pizza at Gate C.”

  “Did he bring in backpacks too?”

  The man shrugged. “Probably. It was good money.”

  Sheldon shook her head as she turned back to Jamison. “We probably shouldn’t assume they haven’t been activated but I don’t want to pull the dogs from the entrances.”

  “Have the TU officers locate the packs and I’ll collect each one,” Kinsey suggested.

  Jamison nodded and pulled out her cell phone, dialing Carlton.

  “Is the cub okay?” Carlton asked without greeting her.

  Jamison’s heart lurched. “She was when I left her. Jeremy’s with her.”

  “Okay then. She’s fine or he would’ve called me.” She heard him sigh. “What’s going on?”

  “We found an explosive device at Gate G but it wasn’t activated yet. Can you coordinate a search of the rest of the stadium? Ask your officers to call it in when they find one and Flagler Agent Brooks will collect it. The bombs might be inside generic black backpacks.”

  “I’m on it.”

  Jamison looked at Kinsey who stood beside her. “Take one of the TU officers and start with the two at the vendor booth, please.”

  Kinsey called Jack to her and they left the bathroom.

  Jamison looked at Heather. “Can you have TPD pick up this guy and Scooter?”

  Heather smiled. “Already done.”

  “Sounds like you guys got this so I am headed back down to the field.” Jamison waited as Sheldon’s phone rang.

  “What do you have, Todd?” Sheldon pressed a finger to her opposite ear to block the stadium noise.

  Jamison and Heather waited while Sheldon listened for several seconds and then grabbed Heather’s hand, to use as a writing pad, jotting down several numbers.

  With a huge smile she relayed Todd’s information to Jamison and Heather. “Todd found our guy on facial recognition entering Gate B. He searched the scanned tickets through that gate at the same time and linked him to seat number one, row fifty-six in section thirty-three.” She read the numbers from where she had written them on Heather’s hand. “He’s trying to locate the identity of seat number two as well as tracking who made the purchase of the tickets.”

  Heather looked at the numbers on her hand and rolled her eyes at Sheldon. “I carry a notepad, you know?”

  “Yeah, me too,” Sheldon answered with an evil grin. She looked at Jamison. “Let’s go get this fucker.”

  “Hold on. Let’s get surveillance on him first.” Jamison pulled out her cell phone again and dialed Carlton. After getting the location of the television trailers, Jamison pocketed her phone and the three of them headed outside the stadium.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Carlton held the trailer door open and the three women followed him inside. Television monitors covered one wall. Two women sat on either side dwarfed by a large man with a huge belly. They all stared intently at the screens. One of the women held up a hand for them to wait. Jamison watched as one of the cameras panned the Tiger sideline and she caught a glimpse of Shea standing beside Liam and Jeremy. Shea wore a huge smile on her face as she removed her helmet and laughed at something Liam said to her. Her sweat-soaked hair was plastered to her head and she swiped a hand through it pushing it out of her eyes.

  Heather read the numbers from her hand and Carlton directed the cameraman to the proper section. They all stared silently as the man in question dipped his hand into a bag of popcorn on his lap. He chewed slowly, his attention never straying from the game. He sat on the aisle with the two seats to his left empty. He didn’t seem to be talking with anyone in front of or behind him.

  “Now can we go get the fucker?” Sheldon asked.

  Jamison nodded. “Carlton can you stay here and let us know if he moves or if anyone joins him?”

  “Absolutely.”

  The three women left the trailer with Jamison issuing instructions as they ran back toward the stadium. “Heather, get some uniformed officers to come down from the top of the stadium behind him.”

  Heather was already dialing as Jamison talked.

  “Do we have a w
arrant for Sullivan?”

  “We do,” Heather answered.

  They showed their passes and entered the stadium. Jamison oriented herself to the stadium map in her head. A few people still milled around in the concourse area but most had returned to their seats. Jamison took off at a jog to the right. At the first tunnel leading to the seating section she stopped. “Heather, go up about midway before heading over and we’ll come in from the other side.”

  Heather pulled her shirt over her badge and began walking down the tunnel.

  Jamison and Sheldon jogged to the next entrance and then slowed to a walk. Sheldon had already covered her badge and Jamison zipped her Windbreaker halfway to do the same. They stepped out of the tunnel into the roar of the crowd. Jamison leaned against the metal handrail and glanced around. “There’s no way to approach without him seeing us.”

  Sheldon winked at her. “Follow my lead.” She started up the stairs, reaching behind her to take Jamison’s hand. She said in a falsetto, “Come on, honey. Let’s find our seats.”

  Jamison cringed but followed her. Stopping or resisting would only draw more attention to them now. At the first landing, Jamison drew even with Sheldon, her body pressed against Sheldon’s back. “I’m going to kill you, you know?”

  Sheldon threw her head back and laughed as if Jamison had said something really funny. She stepped around a fan, gripping Jamison’s hand tighter as they passed Sullivan.

  Sheldon spun, dropping Jamison’s hand and squatted behind Sullivan. She grasped his arms and pulled them tight against his sides. The bag of popcorn flew into the aisle and rolled down several stairs. Jamison couldn’t hear Sheldon’s whisper but she could tell by the look on Sullivan’s face that he didn’t like what she was saying.

  Sheldon raised her voice as she stood, pulling Sullivan to his feet. “Robert Sullivan, you’re under arrest.”

  Heather slid between Sheldon and Jamison with a pair of handcuffs which she slapped none too gently on his wrists. Heather and the TPD officers led him down the steps to the tunnel exit.

  A sudden roar of anger from the crowd caught Jamison’s attention and her heart stopped when she saw Shea lying on the field. Lynnette and several others from the Tigers sideline sprinted onto the field and she held her breath until they helped Shea to her feet. Sheldon nudged her as they watched the replay on the jumbo screen. Shea released the ball on a pass play, and was slammed to the ground by a defender. When he was too slow getting off their quarterback several offensive lineman tossed him aside, clearing the path for the Tigers’s medics.

  “She’s pretty tough,” Sheldon stated as the jumbo screen switched to Shea pacing the sidelines. Her helmet was still on her head even though the rules required her to sit out at least one play.

  “Yes, she is.” Jamison watched the screen, searching for any sign that she was injured.

  “Still want to jump in there and kick some ass though, don’t you?”

  “Yeah but she’d probably beat me to it,” Jamison said more to herself than to Sheldon. She knew her words were true but she still wanted to keep Shea safe. She realized Sheldon was now watching her instead of the jumbo screen and she tilted her head toward the field. “I think I’ll head down there now.”

  “Okay. Don’t hurt anyone. I’ll let you know when Sullivan starts singing.” Sheldon smiled and touched her arm as they reached the tunnel. “I’ll call you myself.”

  Jamison made her way back down to the field. If it wasn’t for drawing attention she would have jumped the railing. As tough as Shea was she had been hit hard and she needed to make sure she was okay. She hoped, and not for the first time in the last forty-eight hours, that they had finally stopped the threat against Shea and the Tigers.

  Shea was sitting on the bench with her helmet off. She looked angry. Jamison stepped behind her where Liam had been standing and gently touched her neck.

  Shea immediately turned with a look of relief on her face. “Are you okay?”

  Jamison chuckled. “I was going to ask you the same thing. That was quite a hit.”

  “It was nothing but Coach is using it as an excuse to keep me on the sidelines.”

  Jamison glanced at Liam and he shrugged. “Medic says she might have a concussion and everyone thinks they have enough of a lead to let her sit for a while. Maybe for the rest of the game.”

  Jamison grimaced. She knew Shea wanted to be on the field. She glanced at the scoreboard and her face spread into a smile. The Tigers were on top thirty-four to seven with only four minutes left in the game. Jamison put a hand on Shea’s arm and directed her back to the bench. “Have a seat, superstar. I think your day is over.”

  Shea rolled her eyes but obeyed. When the second string quarterback was taken down for a loss, Shea was back on her feet. She joined the coaches as they all talked animatedly, waving their arms and pointing at the field. Jamison was pleased to see that Shea had left her helmet on the bench and wasn’t trying to get back in the game. She seemed content for the moment to assist from the sideline.

  With all the timeouts, the final four minutes on the clock lasted over ten minutes even though the Tigers offense stayed with running plays to keep it moving. Jamison, Liam and Jeremy rushed to Shea’s side as the final seconds ticked off and the Tigers sideline erupted in celebration. The cameras swooped in immediately and the coaches took their time herding the players toward the locker room. Jamison allowed Shea room to move but stayed close. Shea accepted congratulations from the Jacksonville players and was interviewed by several networks before Coach Sutton finally rescued her and they headed for the locker room.

  As they stepped into the tunnel the noise from the celebrating crowd dropped to a low rumble and Jeremy finally relaxed the finger he had pressed to his headset.

  “Everything okay, Jeremy?” Jamison asked, watching his face as they walked.

  He nodded. “Just the postgame traffic.”

  “Go help out. We’re good here.”

  “If you’re sure. It’s a mess out there.”

  “Go. Get it cleared so we can get out of here too.” Jamison handed him the radio Carlton had given her earlier. “Return this to the chief for me, okay?”

  As Jeremy made his way through the locker room, Jamison removed her earpiece connecting her to the other Flagler agents and slid it into her pocket. She leaned against the wall beside Liam, her attention on Shea again. She was talking to yet another reporter on the far side of the room and the distance between them made her uneasy.

  Coach Sutton stepped out of his office and stopped beside Jamison.

  “Congratulations Coach,” Jamison and Liam said together.

  “Thank you.” He shook both of their hands. “We’ve got a couple of hard weeks ahead of us before the championship game.” He stared at the players running around the room. “Where are we with this situation?” He motioned toward Shea.

  “TPD grabbed McGomery this morning and he led us to another guy who’s in custody now.” Jamison didn’t see a need to tell him about the bombs they had gathered during the game since none were active and Kinsey had given the all clear. Carlton would fill him in later.

  “And that’s it?”

  Jamison grimaced. “I’d like to have the person that started it all before we call it quits.”

  “That’s what I wanted to hear.” He patted her arm. “It’s time to end this party.” Walking into the center of the room, he greeted the media and congratulated players and coaches. Then, holding his hands up until the room finally quieted he declared, “It’s been a good season and thanks to the win today we aren’t finished yet.” The room erupted in cheering and he held his hands up for silence again. “We have two weeks to prepare for Atlanta and I don’t want to waste a minute. Go home tonight and celebrate safely, take tomorrow off and be ready to hit it hard on Monday. Athletic trainers will be around the weight room tomorrow if anyone needs to come in for therapy, or call the office to set something up.” Before the noise increased again he called, “It
’s time for the press to go.” He looked at his assistant coaches and they began moving around the room, herding reporters toward the door. When they reached the reporter with Shea, he shook her hand and headed for the door.

  Shea spoke to a few more teammates and then headed for Jamison, pulling off her shoulder pads to expose a black and teal T-shirt soaked with sweat.

  “I need a shower!”

  “I’m expecting press in the hallway since they were just kicked out of here so let’s move fast.”

  Liam took the lead. They moved together into the hallway and Liam pushed through the crowd clearing a path. Shea ignored the reporters, giving them only a wave. When they stepped inside the women’s locker room, Shea took up her normal position inside the door while Jamison and Liam cleared the room.

  Liam touched his earpiece. “The Flagler crew is meeting in the parking lot right now to debrief. I’m heading out there before they disperse. I’ll be back to help you get the superstar to your car.”

  “Sounds good. Call me on your way back. I’m keeping the door locked.”

  She crossed the room, stopping at the entrance to the shower and watched Shea under the spray, arms stretched above her head, her body glistened under the dim lights. The water dripping off her body held Jamison’s gaze.

  Shea stepped toward her, wrapping a towel around her shoulders. “Let’s take those thoughts in your head and go home.”

  Jamison could only nod. Her voice lost in her desire to be with Shea.

  Shea stopped in front of her and leaned in for a kiss, brushing her cool lips across Jamison’s.

  “Get dressed or we’re not going to make it home,” Jamison groaned.

  Shea laughed and stepped away from her.

  Jamison took her usual seat on the mats against the wall and tried to think about the best way to exit the stadium. Shea’s naked body kept intruding and she rubbed her face to clear the image. Her phone vibrated in her pocket. Sheldon’s number displayed. Instantly on alert, hearing sirens in the background, Jamison skipped the greetings. “What’s going on?”