Sally said, “Well, he returned to New York yesterday to take some exams in school and he’s glad to be taking a break. He says they’ve all been getting a bit frustrated with things in Boston. They keep going around and around but can’t seem to pinpoint any locations better than what they’ve already done. All they’ve come up with so far is a general area in a very large neighborhood. The energy signals are simply too faint. They’re lucky they even managed to do that much.”
“Hey, that’s still something,” said Tracy. “Hopefully the task force up there can search through all the suspect locations in that area and maybe find some incriminating evidence. Then they won’t need to rely only on what Robert’s psychic team is sensing.”
“Troy says they need probable cause to get a warrant for any searches and no judge will accept what a psychic says as good enough probable cause.” Sally shrugged and glanced briefly over at Missy. “He says they might wanna try using Missy for checking out a few of the places that seem likely. Oliver told him all about how she found those explosives in Philly and Chicago.”
“Hey! I’m sitting right here!” said Missy, smiling. “But, yeah … that might work but only if they can narrow the locations down like they did in Philly and Chicago; otherwise, it’ll be like looking for a needle in a haystack.”
Tracy giggled and said, “Well, if there’s even a ghost of a chance …?” She paused, left that hanging and looked expectantly over at Sally.
Sally of course chimed in with, “Then we know just the ghost, who will do her most, to succeed!” While she and Tracy began laughing hysterically, Missy merely raised her eyebrows and gave them both one of her most exasperated looks.
Chapter Twenty-Eight
Dec 18, 2019
Dale Hewson was in an excellent mood and brought several of his key task force personnel in for an update. The news was good. He waited until everyone had arrived and taken a seat in their conference room and then announced, “We think we’ve found them! There’s a company called Zahir Transportation Services in Dorchester, operating with a large warehouse right in the middle of that designated area which Robert’s psychics identified and the owner is on our BAT watch list. So are a couple of his employees.”
A voice from the back asked, “What makes you think they might be the terrorists we’re looking for?”
“Well, our surveillance teams have reported some very suspicious activity for some of their vehicles. Every day a few of their vans get driven over to parking lots near the Franklin Park Zoo and then, next thing you know, some remote controlled drones are out flying around. Sure enough, when these drones eventually return and land, they’re from these vans. We’re still working to identify the guys in those vans but what’s significant is, other than the drivers, they’re not in any of our databases. We’ve been checking payroll records for this company and there are several new individuals who don’t seem to be listed as employees. And, facial recognition isn’t showing these new guys as having any valid driving licenses issued.”
Edward Collinsworth said, “Well, that’s a red flag. Same thing was true for those WIJO cells in Philly, Chicago and New York. The new members were all in this country with false work visas and once they cleared immigration, they disappeared and dropped completely off the radar.”
“It’s these new guys who seem to be working all the drones,” said Dale. “I’m sure they’re being careful. Each of the drivers does have a license and is on the company payroll, so they wouldn’t flag anything if they were stopped for some reason. We’re not only trying to identify the new guys but we’re now also checking backgrounds on all the employees. As I mentioned, Zahir and a couple of his men were already on our watch list. This is a rather large group which has apparently been operating here, in plain sight, for some time now.”
Major Schermerhorn said, “What do we know about these drones of theirs?”
“Oh, they’re very advanced and clearly not anything available on the commercial market,” said Dale with obvious excitement. “Let me show you what one of our surveillance teams recorded.” He started playing a video on a large monitor over on the wall. Four drones came into view and could be seen maneuvering at a height of about two hundred feet. The camera taking the video hadn’t been very close but as they watched, it zoomed in for some close-ups and then backed out again. “That’s why I’m pretty certain we’ve found the terrorist cell we’re looking for. Look at what they’re doing! They’re definitely practicing for a deployment of some kind where multiple drones can be used over a target area. I can’t guess where that might be but, if they’re planning to attack somewhere, you can be sure we’d better stop them.”
Major Schermerhorn said, “Those drones don’t seem large enough to be carrying much in the way of explosives. Even so, there are lots of nasty things which they might be used for. If that threat we heard about was accurate, we could be very sorry if they succeed. We really need to know what they’re planning.”
Dale said, “Well, we’ve already discussed how we can’t get search warrants based on anything Robert’s psychics have told us. And, I’m pretty sure we can’t get search warrants merely because we see these drones, either. While this definitely looks suspicious, there’s been no criminal activity as yet. All we can do is wait and watch.”
“True,” said Ed. “Unless we can make any arrests good by catching them in the act of doing something really criminal, all we’d be doing would be warning them. Grabbing a few guys for false visas won’t stop whatever they’re planning. If that’s all we have, we won’t even be able to hold them. They’ll claim harassment and be back out on the street right away. We can’t take any chances.”
Another task force member said, “How about we do an illegal search of that warehouse and take a closer look at those drones while we’re at it? We won’t be able to use anything we find in court but at least we’ll know more about what we’re dealing with. Is there any way we can do that without their knowing about it? As Ed just said, we can’t take any chances and we don’t want them catching us since that’ll make our surveillance much more difficult. We might end up missing whatever their big play might be when the time comes.”
Dale said, “That’s a great suggestion but, as you and Ed are saying, we absolutely cannot afford to tip these guys off.” He had no intention of embarrassing Homeland Security by repeating the same mistake Jonathan Pritchard had made. He looked at Robert Ulrey and smiled. “We don’t want to ask Robert’s psychics to go find these terrorists all over again should they manage eluding our surveillance.”
Robert laughed and said, “No, please! Once was enough!” He thought about the suggestion for an illegal search, however, and then he thought of Missy. “My psychics might have a way of finding out more about what’s inside that warehouse without any risks.” He looked around the room and said, “Let’s not forget it was my psychics who not only found those terrorists in Philly and Chicago but also told us about the explosives and suicide vests.”
“You’re right!” exclaimed Ed. “I forgot about that. We were brought in and began our surveillance because of their reports about explosives.” He looked at Robert and the major and was puzzled. He’d listened to their explanation about using equipment items from WIJO training camps to locate people from those camps. Now, as he wondered how the explosives and vests had been identified, he realized there was maybe a lot more which he had not been told about. He decided he’d better wait to ask his questions later.
The discussion continued for another half hour, with Dale handing out assignments to various team members. Robert was told as long as his psychics didn’t alarm any of their suspects, then by all means, he was to report back on whatever info they might sense by doing whatever the hell it was they did.
-----
Paul Morelli knew he was in serious trouble. According to his father, his uncle Ray was more upset than ever before and he, Pauli, was the cause. Ray had been forced to sell his Lexington Street property to D’Amato and lo
se face with all the other families. The cost for one of these was in the millions while the cost for the other was incalculable.
The fact his father was explaining this to him meant Pauli’s life had actually been spared. However, he was now finished as far as anything to do with the family business was concerned. Those bets he’d been taking at school for his uncle’s bookie? Forget about it! Any future in Ray’s organization? Not gonna happen! And, he’d better be careful not to fuck up again or his father wouldn’t be able to intercede in his behalf. Pauli would be executed.
The same was true for his two buddies, Frank and Clay. They’d been interviewed and, since Pauli had been the leader and had actually done the two killings, their lives were being spared. But, they were now out as well. For those with poor judgment, there were no second chances.
“How could you be so stupid?” asked his father, shaking his head. “Now you got no future! You’re lucky to still be alive. If it weren’t for your mother, I doubt Ray would be giving you this pass. He sure as hell wouldn’t be doing it because of me.” There had been many conflicts over the years between the two brothers but their wives had always been close.
Paul said, “What I don’t get is why Uncle Ray didn’t just deny it was me. I doubt he’d be so pissed off except for D’Amato’s people blaming me.”
His father sighed and said, “D’Amato was having you followed, thanks to you shooting your mouth off and making threats about some girl he’s got running his charity fund. That damn Roseanne Fund thing has ended up diverting so much revenue from the other families over to D’Amato it’s no wonder he had somebody watching you.”
“But, that was before I talked to Uncle Ray. He warned me to stay away and I was doing that.”
“Oh, so instead you decide to place bets with one of D’Amato’s bookies? That’s how you stay away?”
Paul knew he had royally messed up and there was no hope for fixing things in the near future. He had no response to his father’s accusation. He was dismissed shortly thereafter and went off to be by himself. He needed to think things through.
He realized his big mistake was in getting caught. He hadn’t been careful enough. The more he thought about his situation, the more furious he became about the recent events which had led him to where he was now. Fucking D’Amato and that damn Roseanne Fund. And, fuck that Alice Mathews! Yeah, things had been going just fine until she interfered. Well, maybe he’d focus on interfering with her. Get some revenge. Yes, D’Amato had been worried he might mess with her, huh? Well, all right then! If she was so important to his organization, let’s see how badly that organization would miss her!
Only, he’d learned his lesson. He’d make certain he didn’t get caught. If anyone was watching him or watching her, he’d simply make sure he found a way to avoid being seen. Later? When the fucking D’Amato organization was hurting because of his “interference”? Because he’d made Alice Mathews disappear? Maybe then his Uncle Ray might even be willing to forgive him.
It all depended on his being careful and doing it right this time. He had finished all his classes and exams at school. The next couple weeks could be spent focusing on his new goal. Avoid any surveillance. Go up to Boston and do some surveillance of his own. And then? When there was an opportunity to grab that Mathews girl without being caught? Oh, yeah! When life handed you lemons, you made lemonade right? You just needed to add plenty of sugar so it was sweet. Well, he was already looking forward to finding out exactly how sweet he could make all this end up being!
-----
After some further discussion, Robert Ulrey was able to get Drew Martinson’s approval for having Ed Collinsworth join “P” Branch on an arrangement similar to when he himself had been brought on board. And, along with that, Ed’s assignment at the FBI would also be changed, with his joining Robert’s Psychic Division full time. In addition to showing a strong interest for doing this, Ed had passed all the checks and been fully vetted. Robert was very pleased to be getting the added help.
He explained to Connie, his ex-wife but now both his fiancée and partner, “Ed’s been asking more and more questions lately, so it will be a relief to fill him in on everything our supernaturals have really been doing. Not to mention, I really need the help since we now have so many activities for my division.”
Connie laughed and said, “Tell me about it! I’m the one who has been trying to keep all those activities organized for you.” She had been a huge help as finder witches from all twelve covens in the U.S. had been slowly agreeing to join Robert’s division. Word of mouth had helped with that, of course, but since Robert had been so very busy, it had many times fallen on Connie to meet with these witches. She had proven to be really effective in allaying their fears and concerns about joining a government agency which was aware of who and what they were.
“And, you do know how much I appreciate that.” He smiled at her. “I’ve been so tied up with chasing terrorists that our goal for helping local law officials around the country with locating kidnap victims has been secondary.”
She said, “Not to worry. I’ve been sending our other staff members out to work those kidnapping cases with your psychics and they’ve been very successful. Many agencies are now singing the praises for the help your division has provided and, at last count, there have now been sixteen victims who were saved.”
Nodding, he said, “And I hear our staff members have been really amazed as well. Since most don’t know our psychics are actually witches, it’s been interesting.” As with Ed, there were a few staff members to whom he’d needed to explain about the supnats but most didn’t need to know yet and hadn’t been cleared.
Connie asked, “When will Missy and Mike be able to help check out this warehouse over in Dorchester?” She knew it was partly due to getting them involved that Robert had wanted to bring Ed on board.
“Drew will talk to Missy but he knows her last exam is Friday morning. He’s guessing she’ll be willing to teleport up here once she finishes with that. Mike will be available then and Drew will clear things down at the academy for her disappearing.”
“I’m sure Tracy will help with that as well. It’s been convenient having them be roommates this semester. It will be interesting next semester when they both have new roommates who aren’t supnats.”
Robert laughed and said, “It will be interesting to see Ed’s reaction when Missy joins us up in the helicopter. We’ll be flying over the area so I can point out to her the warehouse and any of the vans which might be parked over near the Franklin Park Zoo. Most likely, she’ll pop in like she did last time, in her cat form. Mike will be on the radio with us and can communicate anything she wants to say.”
”Will you have any of the witches with you?”
“Oh, sure! Troy is in New York and Oliver is back in Washington, D.C. but Millie and Desiree are still here. Having a couple of my psychics with me in the helicopter will reinforce this whole business of it being they who are doing all this. When I provide my report to the rest of the BAT Team afterwards, it will be assumed the two of them were somehow able to sense things while flying with me in the helo.”
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Dec 19, 2019
Ben Marchitto answered the phone and then, looking over and seeing Sal was free, he told him, “Sal, your daughter is on the phone!” They were both in Sal’s upstairs study, which he used as an office and preferred being in on most days.
Sal picked up his phone and said, “Hey, Sandy! What’s up?” Ever since her kidnapping and amazing rescue, he’d been making himself much more available to her and they had actually grown a lot closer.
Sandy said, “Hi Dad. Just checking with you on something. You know how I’ll be finishing up here tomorrow, right? Is it okay if I go stay with Alice for a few days before coming home?” From her boarding school near Danbury, Connecticut, it was only about a three hour drive to Boston. She knew her two bodyguards would take her up there and stay nearby, no problem, provided Sal approv
ed.
“Sure, that sounds good.” He was always happy to see his daughter spend time with Alice. He knew how much that was helping her in dealing with everything she’d experienced during her kidnapping ordeal. “Anything special going on?”
“Actually, yes. Alice will be staying up there all weekend since she and Mark are going to a wedding on Sunday. She says I’m welcome to go with them. Missy will be there too since it’s her sister getting married and she’s the Maid of Honor.”
“I see.” Sal was momentarily taken aback, thinking of Missy doing something so normal and being with her family. “Wonderful! I’ll have Ben tell Santos to bring you wherever you say. I guess I don’t need to be worried while you’re at that wedding.”
They talked for a few more minutes and then said their goodbyes. Sal turned to Ben and explained, “She’ll be staying with Alice until Monday. Let Santos know he and Remy are to drive her up there and keep a close watch until they get her back home here. They can relax a little on Sunday, though. She’ll be attending a wedding and security there won’t be a concern.”
Ben raised his eyebrows and asked, “Why not?”
Sal smiled and said, “’Cuz the wedding is for Missy’s sister. I can’t think of any safer place to be then right there where Missy is, can you?” They both chuckled in agreement.
Then Ben said, “Funny to be talking about Alice and Missy like this, isn’t it? Almost like they were normal girls … friends of the family.”
“Well, you won’t hear me admit this to anyone other than you, Ben, but those two girls have definitely changed my opinion about a lot of things. Especially about women. I’ve been rethinking some of the directions where I want our businesses to be going. And, I am now giving consideration to when Sandy eventually graduates from college.”
“What sort of new directions? And, are you maybe thinking Sandy might have a role here someday?” He knew the only future Sal had ever seen for his daughter before this was for her to be married. While Sal was expecting his son would someday take a leadership role in the organization, that had never been a possibility for Sandy. Until now, perhaps.
Missy's Operation Lily Pad (Missy the Werecat Book 6) Page 20