One Breath Brings Death (An Aaron Jaycynth Mystery--Book 2)

by John Charles

  Furious with the way Gillert was acting, Ian put his hands on Gillert's desk, lowered his head to the same level as Gillert's and said, as he looked into the man's eyes, "Gillert, I'm finished. You'll have my resignation in an hour." Leaving his boss staring at his back, Ian walked from Gillert's office.

  To make matters worse, the morning paper had front-page pictures of flames consuming a significant portion of Ian's house. The headline above the pictures read Second Remedcon Director flamed.

  Aaron had placed a copy of each photo onto his white board. The director's name was printed below each picture, as were the names of his spouse and children. Leaning against his worktable with arms crossed over his broad muscular chest, Aaron looked at the board and said, "What do you have in common? Why is someone targeting you?"

  Natalie had contacted one of the top profilers at MI5 for help. They were able to dig up more information on the drugs Remedcon was developing. With the information in hand, she walked into Aaron's lab. He was staring at the whiteboard with his back to the door. "I think you might want to see this."

  Aaron jumped when she spoke, so focused was his concentration. "What do you have?"

  "Remedcon was developing a vaccine to prevent seniors from getting a severe case of pneumonia. It looked like it might work, too."

  "Okay, so what does that have to do with this," he said pointing to the whiteboard.

  "Everything, I think," said Natalie. "It was not the vaccine that made this different. It was the delivery system." Seeing Aaron nod she continued. "This was one of the first vaccines to be administered via a nasal spray. Some houses had used nasal sprays for minor medications with a modicum of success, but this was the first to deliver a vaccine."

  "I presume that something went very wrong or they would have cornered the market, right?"

  "Right, but that is what we can't find. Something had to have gone wrong, but I keep hitting a wall."

  Aaron's desk phone rang stopping further discussion. When the call was completed, he said, "We have been asked to join the authorities and MI5 as they interview the directors of Remedcon. Shaun said this has gone from a criminal stalking, to attempted murder, and possibly to terrorism, so his staff is now involved." Akerheart and Robins were managing the protective details, leaving the two of them to join Shaun.

  Natalie drove them to the MI5 offices. They were escorted to the second floor conference suites where they met Shaun and several members of his staff. Two police detectives stood to the side of a group of nervous looking people. Aaron and Natalie recognized Darcey Taylor and Claire Fachan in the group.

  The board members were led into one conference room, the spouses into another. The directors were questioned about the bombings, the pictures, and why anyone might be targeting them. They were unusually quiet. No one seemed to want to talk. When asked individually about any problems or issues in the company, each looked to Gillert before voicing vague and non-committal answers.

  Both Aaron and Natalie saw the exchanges and decided to take a different approach. Aaron slammed his fist onto the conference table startling everyone in the room including Shaun and the MI5 agents. "I think I can speak for everyone in this room when I say we've had enough of your bullshit." He looked at each director before he spoke again.

  Shaun put his hand on one of the detective's shoulders holding him back from stopping Aaron's outburst.

  "We know about your attempt at creating the pneumonia vaccine. We also know that it failed. What I want to know is why this project is so hushed up?" He looked at Gillert and waited for an answer.

  Gillert sat stone faced and silent, so Aaron turned to each director and said, "The longer you keep this buried, the longer we will detain you." Looking at Shaun for effect he said, "Am I correct that you have the authority to hold these people for their own protection?"

  At that, Gillert stood and said, "Do you know who I am young man? You will not be holding me or anyone else."

  When Gillert started to walk to the door, a uniformed officer stopped him saying, "Sir if you attempt to leave, I will be forced to arrest you for impeding a criminal investigation." Gillert stopped in his tracks and reached for his mobile, but was prevented from placing the call, by the officer. "You are not under arrest at this point, but continue to evade the questions and you will be. Am I clear?"

  Aaron smiled and then continued his questions. "Someone please tell me why the research on this vaccine was halted."

  Once again, no one spoke, so he turned to Shaun and said, "These people need some time to think." Shaun nodded, looked at each agent and officer in the room and walked to the door with his men in tow.

  Once outside, an agent locked the door and depressed a button on a panel adjacent to the door. "This is a mobile phone blocker. They will have no signal until we decide."

  Aaron's smile widened as he looked at Shaun. "I need to get more involved in your agency." He led the group of investigators and agents to the adjacent conference room and stopped at the door. They could hear what appeared to be people arguing in the room. "Do you have a video feed from this room?" he asked.

  "Yes," came the reply from one of the agents. "Follow me, please."

  The agent led the group to a room on the opposite side of the floor. It was a sophisticated tech center with monitors along the walls and desks and computers in the center. Upon entering, he keyed a series of codes into one of the computers and brought up both conference rooms on monitors. He switched on the sound from the room that housed the director's spouses.

  Darcey Taylor appeared to be furious. She was asking questions of each director's spouse. Two of which were men. "Something is going on and Gillert will not tell me what it is. He has never confided in me when it came to Remedcon. Do any of you have information that might help us?"

  Natalie seemed pleased that Darcey was doing her work. "I'd let her continue. She might get more from them then we could." Shaun agreed.

  "I'd bet my life it's the vaccine project. My wife told me it was the worst thing Gillert ever pushed on them," said one of the men. "She told me that Gillert had threatened to fire anyone who mentioned that project or its failure."

  Darcey was stunned by his revelation. "Gil never mentioned it to me. What happened that he wants it kept quiet?"

  "That's just it, she won't even tell me. She said if it leaked, she would lose her job and all her stock options in the company. We've even taken a mortgage on our home to buy more options." He looked down at his shaking hands and said, "That would ruin us. We'd be wiped out if Gillert does what he threatened."

  Darcey looked from the man to the others in the room in horror. They nodded in agreement. "Someone please tell me this is not true. My husband is not like that." When no one spoke, she sat, put her head into her hands and sobbed.

  Natalie looked at Shaun. "We have to find out what they are hiding. Can you pull some more strings and help me get to the bottom of this?"

  Shaun picked up a phone and made a call. When he finished, he said, "We are putting our best on this. Go to the fifth floor and find Joanne. She will help you from here on out." Natalie left the room. Turning to Aaron, Shaun said, "That was good work. You have them frightened, but we really can't detain them much longer. You're good with the cyber stuff so work with my guys and see if you can find the people who are doing this." He turned to the two detectives and said, "Let's go and release them."

  Gillert Taylor was more than furious when Shaun and the detectives returned. "We are not the criminals here, so unless you want a huge lawsuit I suggest you release us immediately."

  "Fine, but don't expect anyone to come to your rescue when you scream for help. You are holding back evidence in a criminal investigation. That is a crime. If I wanted to, I could have each of you charged and held indefinitely or until the court finds reason to release you."

  Ian placed his hand on Gillert's shoulder and said, "You've done enough already. Don't give them any more reasons to hold us." Turning to Shaun he said, "If you have n
o further questions I'd like to take my wife home." Then realizing his home had been destroyed in the fire he said, "We'll be at the hotel if you need anything." He maintained contact with Shaun's eyes, then turned and left the room. Gillert and the other directors followed in silence.

  Chapter 13

  Joanne sat in a small cubicle crammed with technology. In addition to three monitors and a laptop, every surface was covered with papers, folders, and books of all topics. Most were open or had a bookmark sticking out. "I don't rate one of those fancy labs you just came from, but this place actually works quite well for me," she said while moving papers and books from the only chair in the cubicle. "So I understand you are hitting some walls."

  Natalie explained the frustrations she ran into while researching the Remedcon vaccine project. "From what we witnessed earlier, I know they are hiding something that could be ruinous if it hit the press."

  Natalie watched as Joanne worked her computer. She was reminded of how Aaron hit the keys in an attempt to seduce information out of the system. Joanne felt that she could dig deeper than Natalie had done, yet she ran into the same walls, as Natalie had. "They are good and have it hidden well, but I have more resources then they do, so I'll find the answer. That's why Shaun pays me the big bucks," she said laughing at her own joke.

  Joanne went to university for computer engineering. While there she realized she had a skill for the network side of technology. One of her friends suggested she look into working for one of the new police divisions specializing in cyber crimes. "Ten years ago, the job was more like who hacked into the college grading system." On one project, she bumped into a much more sinister crime and sought out additional help. Her boss put her in touch with Shaun, "And the rest is history. I've been here for about three years digging into lots of different criminal situations. People think they can hide what they did, but we have ways of finding their secrets."

  Joanne and Natalie worked for over an hour. The vaccine project was pivotal in the development of nasal spray delivery systems, but it didn't work well with this particular vaccine. Joanne found reference to severe complications that one test subject developed during the vaccine trials. The information on that case was limited. "Give me a little time to dig into this. You don't need to sit here while I curse at the system," said Joanne in her dry humor. "I'll call you as soon as I have something."

  Natalie rejoined Aaron in the tech center on the second floor. "Find anything?" she asked as she leaned on the edge of the desk.

  "Yeah we did," said Aaron leaning back in his chair. "It appears that I was right about the car. The same car that drove along Taylor's street, slowed down in front of the Fachan house. And they agree with my thoughts about a remote control setting off the bombs," he said, pointing to the others in the room.

  "Any identifying pictures of the people in the cars?" asked Natalie in a frustrated voice.

  "No. They wore hats that covered their faces and never looked up, so the cameras only caught the top of their heads."

  Their conversation was interrupted by an agent entering the room. "There is a carryall sitting in the middle of the Remedcon lobby. No one is claiming ownership."

  "How the hell did someone get a carryall into the building?" asked Aaron.

  "Did you evacuate the building?" asked Natalie.

  "The police are there right now doing just that," he said as he ushered Aaron and Natalie out the door. "Keep your badges and use them to get past the police lines," he said as they ran to the stairs.

  Aaron called Akerheart in route to Natalie's car. "Where are you and Robins? Have you heard about the carryall in the lobby?"

  "I'm at the loading dock. Robins is at the door to the lobby along with police and several MI5 agents. The security people evacuated the building before we could tell them to detain anyone. Everyone is scattering as fast as they can," said Akerheart.

  "We're on the way. Find Tanni and hold him no matter how hard he resists," said Aaron as Natalie sped through the crowded London streets. "I want access to every camera in that building."

  The scene on the street in front of the Remedcon headquarters looked like a movie set. Television trucks lined side streets, reporters and cameramen were vying for better shots of the building from police lines set up across the street. People gathered in clusters, looked at the building waiting for something to happen. A bomb squad truck sat about a hundred feet from the front door. Three people dressed in heavy protective armour slowly walked into the building. One of the bomb squad held a remote control in his hand directing a high tech robot past the door.

  Aaron and Natalie approached the police line holding their Andrews and MI5 IDs in front of them. A young cop lifted the police tape and pointed to an older man near the bomb truck. "He's in charge."

  Aaron introduced Natalie and himself to the officer and asked for an update, which was nothing more than they already knew.

  Adjacent to the truck was a monitor showing what the robot camera saw. As the robot approached the carryall, the operator directed arms from within the machine to hold an X-ray unit in front of the bag. One arm held the receiver plate behind the bag while another held the transmitter in front. When activated, the X-ray showed a canister, wires, and what looked like some type of control unit.

  Without warning, the control unit hummed. The bomb squad operators ran from the building shouting to everyone to get back. Heavy smoke filled the lobby and escaped from the open front doors. People close to the doors fell to the ground gasping for breath and holding their chests.

  Aaron and Natalie, along with the bomb squad officers, and other uniformed police retreated far enough from the building that the fumes didn't affect them. Two EMTs wearing oxygen masks got to the four people who had been overcome from the fumes. Each was pulled to safety and given oxygen. One by one, they opened their eyes, coughed and sputtered as they regained consciousness.

  "What is that gas?" asked Aaron as he watched the scene unfold in front of him.

  "Not sure," said one of the bomb squad officers, "but it smelled like freshly cut grass or hay," as he looked in horror at his boss.

  The building ventilation system was shut off as soon as the bomb squad arrived so the fumes didn't infiltrate the space above the lobby. Huge fans were put into the building to vent the remaining fumes. Two hours later the bomb squad re-entered the building donned in their protective gear following their trusted robot.

  The carryall was lifted by the robot arms and placed into a container, which was then placed into the bomb truck. Once that was competed, the lead bomb squad officer approached the officer in charge. "We found this in the satchel," he said handing an evidence pouch to his boss.

  The officer looked at the evidence pouch and then turned it so Aaron and Natalie could see it. It contained a piece of paper with one line of type that read We are all around you - You can no longer hide!

  Aaron used his mobile to take several pictures of the note and the scene in front of the building. He handed the officer his card and said, "Please keep me informed." Turning to Natalie he said, "Let's find Akerheart and Robins. Hopefully they have detained Tanni."

  Aaron and Natalie found Akerheart and Robins at the loading dock holding a shouting Tanni. "You have no right to detain me. When Mr. Taylor finds out what you are doing, he will have you arrested."

  Aaron was in no mood for his tantrums. His face inches from Tanni's, he said, "I just left Taylor in a holding cell. You want to join him?"

  Tanni stopped fighting, looked from Akerheart to Aaron and said, "No. I am just doing my job. Why is Mr. Taylor being held?"

  "For withholding evidence in a criminal investigation," said Aaron not moving from his position in front of the now frightened man.

  "What do you want?"

  "We can't get back inside today, so I want you to tell me how to access all the monitors in the building including all the labs. And don't tell me there aren't any, I've already found your security room feeds."

  Tanni's ey
es, wide with fear said, "That is private information. I'd be fired if Mr. Taylor found out."

  "Okay then," said Aaron. "I guess you can explain that to Taylor from a jail cell." Turning to Akerheart he said, "Take him to Shaun's man out front and tell him this man is withholding information. And ask him to put Tanni in the same cell as Claire Fachan. I bet she'll have a field day with him."

  Before Aaron could move, Tanni yelled, "No, I am not withholding anything. I am just doing my job."

  "It's your choice, but I'd hate to be in a room with that lady right now. Can you imagine what she'll do to you when I tell her that you and Taylor are responsible for the fire that destroyed her home?"

  Defeat took hold of Tanni's body. His shoulders slumped and his eyes looked down. In a whisper he said, "What do you want from me?"

  "Bring him to Andrews. He is going to show me how to gain full access to all of the Remedcon security feeds."

  Akerheart and Robins kept a tight hold of the man as they walked to their van. Natalie looked at Aaron and said, "Wow, I said you needed to open up, but I think I released a monster in you. You going with them or me?"

  "You. I want him to know the fear that sitting next to Robins will instill. That man even scares me at times! Let's go. We have a lot to do before Taylor finds out that we have Tanni."

  On the way to Andrews, Natalie's mobile rang. Joanne had found some interesting details about the vaccine trials and wanted to review them with her. "I'll be at my desk in about twenty five minutes. Can I call you back?"

  Aaron was deep in thought for most of the trip to Andrews. He wanted more responsibility, but this was way more than he anticipated. His personal life had taken a surprising turn. His relationship with Natalie and the others at Andrews was different, too. Was this the life he wanted?

  "Penny for your thoughts?" said Natalie as they approached the Andrews facility.

  Aaron looked straight ahead as he said, "I'm not sure you want to hear my thoughts right now. But I'll give you this." Taking a minute to compose his reply, he said, "I'm not sure I want all of this, but I know I don't want what I had last week either. We'll talk more when this is over."