Vials

by Alec Peche

  "Thanks, Agent Brown. I will move on to her other methods of gaining access to high-rise buildings."

  Jill resumed her examination of the spreadsheet. Another tactic Aleksandra had tried quite successfully in about 40 percent of her targets was to trip the fire alarms and in the ensuing chaos gain access to her victim’s home. She had also completed 2 of her hits in the stairwell as the victim evacuated. With these hits, she didn't use a rifle, as it was too difficult to hide with so many people around. Jill thought that Aleksandra would try the fire alarm tactic in her present building.

  The final 50 percent of hits came from her impersonating a delivery person. Her favorite delivery was flowers, followed by milk. When the mark opened the door to her, she shot them with a gun with a silencer attached just inside the doorway. She made sure that the body was inside, left the delivery in the home, and then quietly exited the area.

  Jill thought that this last method showed how relaxed and unsuspecting her marks could be. No wonder she was mad with Jill as the mark. There had been 3 failed attempts so far unheard of given her past record. She composed an e-mail to Agent Ortiz copying Agents O’Sullivan and Brown with her thoughts regarding Aleksandra’s probable behavior.

  Jill’s only unknown now was how long would it take Aleksandra to find her location? How did one go about finding an FBI safehouse? She thought it would be next to impossible unless Aleksandra had planted a GPS tracker on her, or someone had followed the car containing the agents from Palisades Valley. Since she was now officially paranoid, she decided to go through her possessions to see if she could find anything.

  Chapter 20

  Aleksandra had indeed planted a GPS signal device on the agent’s car as it sat parked in Jill’s driveway before she entered the house searching for Jill. She believed in covering her bases in case she was unsuccessful at this latest attempt on Jill’s life. Surely the FBI would move her. It would be incompetent to leave her in her own home.

  She picked up the GPS sensor and followed the car at some distance to San Francisco. She tailed the car as it exited the freeway. She wanted to make sure she didn't lose sight if it turned into an underground garage and she lost the signal. She suspected that they intended to travel to FBI headquarters and was slightly surprised when the agent turned into the government building across the street. After the car with the agents and Jill turned, she continued straight and pulled into a parking garage 4 blocks away.

  She thought that law enforcement might have her picture posted from video cameras at Jill’s house. The city was windy, so she could legitimately tie a scarf around her face. She also put on a wig that made her a brunette with her hair pulled back in a ponytail. She applied an instant bronzer to her face and hands and completed the look with a pair of large, nerdy-looking glasses. She walked back to the building to scan the security.

  America had added a lot of security around their federal buildings after the 9-11 terrorist attacks. Cement barricades prevented trucks with explosives from getting too close to a building. There was one pedestrian entrance with a metal detector and two security guards. She counted 4 cameras around and inside the entrance. She kept on walking past the building. She walked another 2 blocks and found a stone wall to sit on. She pulled her iPad out of her purse and connected it to the Internet. She pulled up the schematics on what she saw to be the IRS building and thought about her strategy to kill Dr. Jill Quint.

  First she needed to figure out where in the IRS building Jill was located. She looked at the FBI building and knew that she could hit her from directly across if she was on a low enough floor. Of course, that would mean that she would have to break into the FBI building, but she thought she was up to that challenge. Studying the schematics, she discounted the first 15 floors solely devoted to government offices filled with cubicles. So it was unlikely that she could use the FBI building to get off a shot.

  There were 2 floors near the top of the building that looked to be more divided into small businesses or apartments. She eliminated the divided spaces that had no windows. If the people protecting Jill were keeping someone here for several weeks, the person would need a window. Through process of elimination, she narrowed her choices down to 3 spaces on the 24th floor. She then reverted to thinking of her 2 favorite methods to get into the building, pull the fire alarm or make a delivery.

  She was going to make a disturbance with the fire alarm. She studied the schematics again to decide how to make the maximum disturbance. Should she go into the building during the day when there would be more pedestrians to create confusion, or should she go at night when resources were reduced?

  She decided that she would strike the next day close to 9:00 in the morning when employees were arriving to work and the public was lining up to visit the IRS. She picked the 3 places where that she planned to set off an alarm. She would have to set off the first alarm before she hit the security screen, otherwise there was no way she'd get her gun into the building. She needed the fire alarm shrieking to cover up the metal alarm alert when she walked through.

  Aleksandra contemplated how to get upstairs. This might be one of those buildings where the elevators were brought to the ground floor and placed out of order once the alarm was activated. She hated to climb 26 flights of stairs, not because she was out of shape, rather it was the time she would lose time climbing the stairs and steadying her breath before she would have good aim at the target. No shooter could pant and have good aim. One always needed slow breath and a slow heart rate. Once there, she would have to go through each apartment searching for Jill. She could waste further time if she happened to be in the last apartment.

  She pulled up information about the elevators from the planning department at the city, and according to the documents, she should be able ride the elevator to the 26th floor. She memorized all locations of elevators and stairwells and their proximity to the 3 apartments. She had a variety of master pass keys, electronic credit card keys, and an excellent pick-lock kit. One of those 3 things had always gotten her into an apartment. Once she had her game plan ready, she packed up her purse and returned to take one more pass at the building in which she intended to kill Jill Quint the next morning.

  Meanwhile, FBI agents were developing a plan to implement in case the fire alarm was activated any time in the next week.

  Chapter 21

  Jill was leaving nothing to chance. She sent an e-mail to Agent Ortiz outlining Alexandra’s modus operandi with a specific request that she be told how the agents would respond in the event of any of the 3 scenarios that Aleksandra typically used in her hits.

  Agent Ortiz responded back, Jill, our ballistics experts have determined that no shot can come from a sniper on the roof of the FBI building, so you can delete scenario one. A delivery to the building will never make it past security. The lobby guard, with the help of the FBI agent stationed there, has orders to immediately detain and hold any delivery person for questioning in your second scenario.

  In response to the third scenario of a staged fire alarm, I'll be arriving at your apartment in 30 minutes to discuss everyone's roles.

  Jill felt comforted by the e-mail. They were taking her analysis seriously. She looked forward to the agent’s arrival.

  Thirty minutes later she stepped into her safe room, while Agent Brown opened the door to Agent Ortiz. A minute later she was given the all clear to unlock her bedroom door and come into the living room.

  “Hi, Jill. How are you settling in to the apartment?”

  “Well, I would rather not be here with a trained killer on my trail, but the bedroom is fine, the refrigerator is well stocked, and there is wine on hand. So, I have no complaints with the lodging.”

  “Great. Let’s discuss your e-mail about Aleksandra. We agree with your analysis, as she seems to be a habitual person. Everything she has done so far fits her pattern of operation. I don’t know when she will locate this building and figure out which apartment is your temporary home. It could be that she knows now and
has scoped out the building already. Let’s plan on that. So this building’s evacuation plan is approved by the San Francisco Fire Department, a requirement of all high-rises.

  “We can’t just ignore an alarm and assume that Aleksandra is in the building. We could be wrong with a deadly outcome. She has got to get a gun into the building through the metal detector or find a way in through a delivery area. We’re locking down the delivery doors. They had good security already, but I made a small change to improve them further.

  “I think our biggest vulnerability is that front lobby, especially during shift change. The guards will have to stand away from the metal detector so as not to block the exit if the fire alarm is activated. The sound is loud and will mask the metal detector alarm if someone walks through with metal on them. We expect those evacuating the building will have metal on them and thus will set off the metal detector. I can’t predict how vigilant the guards will be at securing the entrance. I’ve got one plain-clothes guard in the lobby now, and I’m thinking of putting a second guard in plain clothes back by the elevators. Depending upon the number of people in the area, 2 may be plenty or not enough.”

  “Given that you're on the 26th floor and she can’t afford the time to walk up 26 flights of stairs, we think she’ll try for the elevators. We know that the elevators will be working even as the fire alarm is sounding. We will make every attempt to grab her in the lobby. She rarely wears a disguise, but I think she will this time. We provided our agents with her picture and some mockups of her appearance wearing a disguise. They are under orders to shoot her if she fails to yield to their command to stop.

  “If she makes it up to this floor, we don't know if she knows which apartment you're in. She may have to search the other 2 first. If the alarm goes off downstairs, you will be notified in this apartment. One agent will assist you into the bedroom to make sure you engage the locks. That agent will stand in front of the door. The second agent will stand behind the front door waiting for her to make an attempt to enter. The 3 of you will remain in those positions until one of the lobby agents comes to your door to give the all clear.”

  “And if there is a real fire?” questioned Jill.

  “You all will still assume the same positions. We will work with the fire department to find out if it is a real fire and to determine if that real fire is limited in scope and does not require evacuation. If evacuation is required, we will try the stairwell on the west side of the building, as that stairwell is inaccessible by the main lobby without passing all of the guards.”

  Agent Ortiz looked at the 3 of them and queried, “is the plan clear, and have I left anything out?”

  “I hope to God you get her in the lobby,” stated Jill.

  “So do I, and I hope we capture her alive. I’d like to know who hired her,” said the agent.

  Agent Ortiz wrapped up the conversation and got ready to leave. Jill was exhausted. The adrenaline rush of the morning had long ago disappeared. She washed her face, brushed her teeth, and dropped off to sleep 20 minutes later, secure behind the locked door of her safe room.

  Early the next morning, she showered and dressed. There was coffee in a pot in the kitchen, and she reached for a cup. Searching the refrigerator for breakfast choices, she selected a cheese and bacon quiche. She finished breakfast, cleaned up the dishes, and settled on the sofa with her laptop. She felt fairly confident that she had Aleksandra as completely understood as was possible from the data collected by Interpol over the years. It was time to again focus her attention on Lott. Agent O'Sullivan sat on the opposite sofa also doing some work on a laptop.

  Jill looked at the clock as it chimed 8:00. Shift change, a potential opportunity for the fire alarm to be triggered. Had Aleksandra found her this soon? She listened intently for about 10 minutes but heard nothing, so she relaxed and went back to work researching Lott. She was intent on understanding the plea deal that he had worked out. She couldn't figure out why he had been able to keep 30 million in taxpayer dollars.

  Just then the fire alarm sounded. Strobe lights inside the apartment flashed. Jill started, picked up her laptop, and locked herself inside the safe room. Agent O'Sullivan assumed the position in front of her bedroom door. Agent Brown, who had been asleep in the guest bedroom, hurried out with his bulletproof vest and gun in one hand and zipping up his pants with his other hand while he got into position behind the front door.

  In the lobby, chaos ensued. Aleksandra had played one more trick. She had dropped a smoke bomb in a trash container. This gave the sense of a real fire and reduced visibility in the lobby. She held a shoebox labeled 2011 Tax Year so that she would look like the average citizen trying to visit the IRS. She had put foil around the gun to make its shape less obvious on the scanner.

  Throngs of people exited through the metal detector area. The alarm shrilled, and the metal detector was alarming as people exited with purses, lunch boxes, and briefcases in their possession. Perfect, thought Aleksandra, just the chaos she had sought. She reached up to make sure that her wig and nerd glasses were in place. The guards were distracted by people chatting at them on their way out of the building. She supposed she could've heard the fire trucks except that the noise was so loud inside the lobby that it was difficult for people to be heard by the guards.

  She easily slipped through the metal detector and walked toward the elevator bank. The doors opened, and people exited the elevator car. She set one foot in the car before she felt a hand on her elbow. She looked over her shoulder, prepared to say something, when her arm was pulled behind her. She felt handcuffs being slapped onto first one wrist and then the second. The shoebox fell to the floor, and the gun spilled out. The appearance of the gun caused a fresh commotion in the lobby. She attempted a sidekick to the groin of the man who had placed her in handcuffs. He turned at the last moment but took a hard hit in his thigh and went down.

  Aleksandra, hands behind her back, took off running but found herself tackled a few steps later. She took a hard fall without her hands to brace her, wrenching her shoulder and splitting her lip, momentarily winded. She struggled to get loose, but too many people held her. She felt the wig pulled off of her head.

  The man who had originally handcuffed her said, "Aleksandra Gora, you are under arrest for the attempted murder of Jill Quint.”

  He followed with her Miranda rights, and she was soon surrounded by at least 5 officers.

  She knew that this was the end of the line for her. She should have known better than to do a favor for an ex-lover. She knew she was on Interpol’s most wanted list and that she wouldn't make it out of an American jail.

  She had no intention of going to prison and had for years carried a lethal capsule of cyanide to take at the appropriate time. All she needed was to have her hands cuffed in front of her to carry out that final task.

  She was searched for weapons and then walked across the street to an interrogation room inside the FBI building. Once inside that room she was shown to a chair, and her hands were moved from the back to the front and she was re-cuffed with a chain to a hitch cemented into the floor.

  Aleksandra asked for a glass of water. Agent Ortiz left the room to get the water. Assuming that she was being observed through a two-way mirror, she very subtly grabbed the tiny capsule from her front pocket. She actually habitually carried 3 capsules on her person to make sure that she could reach one of them when the time came. Just as the glass was put on the table in front of her, she moved her head to her hands, popped the capsule into her mouth, swallowed, and made a grab for the drink to make sure it ended up in her stomach. It would be all over in less than 5 minutes. No oxygen was being carried to her brain, her nervous system seized as she slid to the floor. Paramedics were unable to revive her.

  Agent Ortiz was disgusted with herself and her team. They had searched her for weapons but not cyanide pills. They had subsequently found 2 additional pills on her person. Aleksandra would not be a source of information about Lott.

  Back i
n the apartment, Jill had been released from the safe room. Agents Brown and O’Sullivan were still with her. She knew that Aleksandra had been captured and was now across the street in an FBI interrogation room. She hoped that the FBI would learn something about Lott from the woman. The 2 agents heard a knock on the door an hour later and opened it to Agent Ortiz.

  “Unfortunately, Aleksandra committed suicide with a cyanide capsule about 45 minutes ago. We got nothing out of her before her demise. This was a failure on my part to instruct my team to search her for more than weapons. We wonder how she found this apartment so quickly. First we scanned your possessions for GPS trackers and found nothing. Then we tried the agent’s car and found the tracker she had placed just behind the front grill. We've notified Interpol and the Albanian embassy in Washington DC."

  "Well, the world just got safer, given her success rate for killing people,” stated Agent O’Sullivan.

  “It is too bad that she died before the FBI could question her. I'm not sure of my next step. Do I assume that Lott will hire another killer to immediately go after me and therefore it's not safe to go home?" asked Jill

  "I’ve been thinking the same thing myself, and frankly, I don't have an answer. Since I don't have an answer, I believe it would be best for you to stay in the safehouse while we resolve that question. Certainly Lott could afford to hire additional assassins. I think we need to find the other people who made an attempt on Graeme’s life and put all efforts toward understanding Lott better.”

  “If there is a new assassin after you, we won't know his or her style. The contingency plans we put in place to protect you from Aleksandra will continue until further notice.” Added Agent Ortiz.