by Mike Ryan
“You keep saying that.”
“I understand your angst over the matter, Michael. But it’s only been about five hours. I’m making progress.”
“Can’t you make it quicker?”
“You know as well as I do that tracing the movements of someone with multiple aliases, and who technically doesn’t exist, in a government program that doesn’t exist…takes quite a bit of time,” Jones answered. “I said it’d be about a day and it should still be that.”
Recker sighed. “Fine.”
“Go home, relax, see a movie, go out and about, do something. Come back tomorrow and I should have something for you.”
Recker contemplated his options for a minute before finally agreeing. Although he was hesitant to leave, he figured it was better for his nerves if he did. He’d never before been so anxious to get someone’s location, but then again, he never was on a mission before as personal to him as this one was. Part of him thought that if he left, something would go wrong and they’d lose Agent 17’s location for good. Recker then realized that his presence had no real bearing on whether they found the man or not since Jones was the one doing all the leg work.
“Fine. I’ll go home and come back tomorrow,” Recker said.
“Don’t come early,” Jones told him.
“Well what time would you like me to show up?”
“Early afternoon should suffice.”
“You better have it by then.”
Chapter 3
Jones worked continuously throughout the rest of the day and night, hardly taking any breaks at all. He only slept for about four hours, knowing he was on a deadline that Recker would be strict about. He still felt badly about not telling Recker about finding Agent 17 a couple weeks before and was pressuring himself to re-find the man as quickly as possible. And that was before Recker’s warning about it being ready. If he needed more time, he was sure Recker would understand, as long as it was a reasonable amount. Though he couldn’t rule out bodily harm if he crossed the wrong side of Recker again. Jones was sure his friend would never do that to him, but there was a small piece of him that thought that Recker was so obsessed with finding Agent 17 that nothing was off the table with him.
Recker hadn’t slept much either. Once he lay down, all he could think about was getting Agent 17 in his sights. He thought of almost every possible scenario in which their confrontation could go down. In every single one of them, the ending came with Agent 17 getting a bullet. Sometimes it was in the head, sometimes in the chest, but they all finished with Recker standing over the lifeless body of his victim.
Doing as Jones had requested, Recker spent the morning away from the office, giving the professor enough time to find their target. At least, Recker hoped he’d given Jones enough time. If Jones told him that it’d take more time, there was no telling how Recker might respond. However, he responded, it wasn’t likely to be pretty. And it definitely wouldn’t be calm. He wanted Agent 17’s location and he wanted it today. No more excuses.
Recker finally rolled into the office a little after two o’clock, and in his opinion, giving Jones plenty of time. Once Jones heard the door open, he looked at his partner arriving, then looked at the clock. Recker came a little later than Jones had anticipated. With how anxious Recker was, Jones envisioned him coming a minute after twelve. He figured that was Recker’s definition of early afternoon.
Recker thought that he’d be able to tell by Jones’ face how the search was going, without him having to say a word. But surprisingly to him, he couldn’t get a read on it. Jones didn’t look especially happy, indicating that he found their guy, but he didn’t look stressed or worried either, indicating that he couldn’t find him yet. Recker walked right up to the edge of the desk where Jones was sitting, ready to get a report.
“Well?” Recker asked.
Jones looked up at him from the computer and opened his mouth to say something, but just froze, trying to think of the best way of putting his thoughts. Since the professor didn’t come right out with it, Recker assumed that he couldn’t locate him.
“You didn’t find him yet, did you?” Recker asked.
Jones put his index finger in the air as he replied. “I am almost there.”
Recker sighed and threw his hands up in frustration. “I’ve heard that before.”
“No, seriously, I am almost there,” Jones replied, turning his attention back to the computer, resuming his typing.
“How much longer now?”
“An hour. Tops.”
“One hour?” Recker asked, not convinced of the time frame.
“Guaranteed. He’s back in the United States,” Jones revealed. “I’m extremely close. I’ve tracked his last flight back here and I’m seeing where he went from there.”
“What flight?”
“He landed in New York.”
“New York?” Recker asked, surprised at how close they physically were.
“He’s not still there though. That’s what I’m currently tracking.”
Not wanting to bug Jones too much and throw his concentration off since he seemed to be so close, Recker resumed his position from the previous day, pacing throughout the room as he awaited word that their target had been found. Though he wanted to ask every few minutes how it was going, Recker refrained from doing so. Even though he didn’t ask the question, he looked at Jones almost constantly, trying to read his face and actions as to whether he found him yet. After almost an hour exactly, Jones suddenly stopped typing, leaning back in his chair as he stared at the screen. Recker stopped his pacing as he anxiously awaited for Jones to say something.
“I’ve found him,” Jones looked up and said.
Recker rushed around the desk and sat down next to Jones and looked at the screen with great anticipation. “Where is he?”
“Ohio. Just outside of Columbus to be exact.”
“3248 Eddington Road,” Recker read off the screen. “What is that?”
“It’s a residential address,” Jones answered. “It appears to be where he lives.”
Recker quickly turned his head toward his partner at the revelation of having Agent 17’s home address.
“I would temper your enthusiasm at having a quick and clean operation,” Jones warned.
“Why’s that?”
Jones switched screens and pulled up a picture of a woman holding a young child.
“Who are they?” Recker wondered.
“That would be his wife and two year old son.”
Recker stared at the picture for a few moments.
“Does that change anything?” Jones asked. He thought that once Recker saw that the man had a young family, that maybe his thoughts on the operation might change. He clearly didn’t know Recker as well as he thought.
“Changes nothing,” Recker replied.
“If you kill him, you would tear this family apart,” Jones reasoned. “A child will grow up without a father and a mother will lose her husband.”
“Doesn’t mean anything to me.”
“How can you sit there and say that?”
“He killed an innocent person. And he did it happily. I’m not letting him off the hook for that just because he’s married with a child,” Recker answered. “He’ll be lucky if I don’t do to him what he did to me.”
Taking a few seconds to think about his statement, Jones became horrified at the meaning, if he was correct in his assessment.
“Please tell me that doesn’t mean what I fear it does,” Jones stated.
Recker shrugged. “I dunno. You tell me.”
“I hope that wasn’t an indication that you would consider killing his wife and child.”
Recker squinted his eyes like he was thinking, then shook his head. “I wouldn’t kill a child.”
Jones let out a sigh of relief. “Thank goodness for that. I would hope not. I thought I knew you better.”
“The woman’s another story,” Recker said.
“Michael, I know you’re consumed w
ith rage at this man and I’m honestly not saying you’re wrong in feeling that way. But you cannot kill innocent people just to satisfy your thirst for revenge,” Jones pleaded. “She’s an innocent woman who’s probably blissfully unaware of her husband’s dealings. You cannot let her take the fall for his perceived mistakes.”
Recker leaned back and put his hand on his chin as he thought about it. Trying to think about it more calmly, he agreed with Jones’ position. Regardless of his feelings for Agent 17, no matter how angry he was, no matter what he said or thought, he wouldn’t knowingly kill an innocent person. As he was aware from his own time in the agency, he knew that the agent’s wife most likely had no idea what was going on. No, he wasn’t going to put anyone else’s life in jeopardy. There was only one person who was going to pay the price and one person only.
“I won’t take her out,” Recker stated.
Jones closed his eyes and let out another sigh of relief. “Thank you for that.”
“He’s as good as dead though.”
“I understand,” Jones said.
“What’s this guy’s name, anyway?” Recker asked. “I’m getting tired of calling him Agent 17.”
“Which one? He’s got at least six names that I’ve identified,” Jones told him.
“Whichever one he’s going by right now.”
“That would be Gerry Edwards.”
Recker proceeded to read everything Jones had uncovered about Edwards. He read Edwards’ files, reports, personal information, every assignment he’d been on, everything right down to the smallest details. He looked at several snapshots of Edwards, as well as his family. According to the reports Recker was reading, Edwards seemed to be highly thought of within the agency. He was twenty nine years old and had been in Centurion for about three years. He’d been married for six years to his college girlfriend and had a two year old son. On the surface, he seemed like a normal, regular guy. If somebody was reading his information, they wouldn’t see anything that would give them pause about the type of person he was. Nothing specific seemed cold or callous. But they never heard what Recker did. As Recker looked at Edwards’ picture, he heard his voice again, replaying their conversation in his mind once more. He thoroughly remembered how much pleasure Edwards got out of killing Carrie. There was no sorrow or sadness in his voice. There was no sense of regret about killing an innocent person. The longer Recker stared at the picture, the hatred and rage inside him grew as well. If he had a gun within reaching distance, he’d put a bullet right through the computer screen where Edwards’ picture was.
Jones was reading some of the information as well, and periodically looked at Recker. As Recker silently sat there, staring at the screen, there was an intensity about him that worried Jones. He was concerned that in Recker’s quest for revenge, or justice, that there was nothing that would stand in his way. Whether it be legal or illegal, moral or immoral. Jones worried that Recker would go to any lengths to get the man he was seeking. Not only did he worry about Recker crossing the line, Jones worried that he’d obliterate the line. Jones thought that underneath that silence, Recker’s blood was boiling over. In an effort to calm him down, at least on the inside, Jones started talking to him to break his concentration of Edwards’ picture.
“So I take it that you’ll be leaving soon to take care of this matter,” Jones stated.
“Yep.”
“When do you plan on leaving?”
“I’ll leave later tonight or in the morning,” Recker answered.
“I thought so. What else do you need from me?”
“Just to help disguise my movements.”
“What did you have in mind?”
“Well, after I kill him, the CIA’s gonna wind up looking into it,” Recker said. “They’ll look into everyone coming in or out of town. That means I have to avoid cameras.”
“That would leave out planes and trains for sure.”
“That’d probably be their first inquiry. And if my face pops up…”
“Unless I were to hack into the camera system and temporarily disable it,” Jones mentioned.
“No, too suspicious. Then they’ll know the exact times someone boarded the planes and start narrowing the list down. Everything’s gotta seem natural. Can’t force anything or they’ll know something’s not right,” Recker said.
“After that you’r best bet is either a bus or drive down yourself. Driving down there will take about fourteen hours or so.”
“More than I’d like but I think it’ll be the safest way to avoid detection.”
“There’s cameras on the freeways too,” Jones noted.
“Yeah, but my vehicle won’t come up on any lists and my license plate won’t get a hit.”
“What about the cameras at tolls?”
“If I put on a hat and wear it down low near my eyes it won’t pick my face up clearly.”
“Well if you’re planning on driving you’d probably want to leave as soon as possible.”
“I’ll wait until the evening rush hour is over. No sense in fighting traffic along the way,” Recker replied.
They spent another hour or so going over some plans. Recker figured if he left around six that he’d get to Columbus around eight if he drove nonstop. If he floored it he could get there by six or seven in the morning. Hopefully, he could sit outside Edwards’ house before he left and Recker could get him as he left in the morning.
“Could I make a suggestion?” Jones wondered.
“As long as it doesn’t involve trying to talk me out of it.”
“No, I know that would be an impossible task. If you decide on killing him…”
Recker just gave him a look. “I am killing him.”
“Poor choice of words, whatever you decide to do, whenever you decide to do it, please don’t do it in front of or inside his house.”
“Why?” Recker asked.
“For the sake of his wife and child. Regardless of their relations, no wife should walk in and see her husband murdered in their own home. No child should see their father gunned down and bleeding to death inside their home. That should be his sanctuary from the world he’s about to grow up in,” Jones explained.
Recker frowned, letting Jones’ reasoning rattle around inside his head for a few moments. Then he nodded, agreeing to his plea.
“OK. I’ll make sure they don’t see it,” Recker told him.
“Thank you.”
“You sure do have a lot of conditions, and a lot of empathy, for these people.”
“Only for the innocent, Michael, only for the innocent. That is the business we’re now in, remember? Protecting the innocent.”
“Yeah.”
“I fully understand your reasoning for killing Edwards. I completely accept what you’re about to do and have no qualms about your actions. But I will fight for the lives of those who are not connected to his dealings,” Jones said. “And what do you plan to do about Mia?”
“What do you mean? What about her?”
“You did suggest that we help her with her situation.”
“She shouldn’t run into any problems in the time that I’m gone,” Recker responded. “I won’t be gone that long.”
“Do you think it might be wise if you told her that you were going to look into her situation so she backs off for the time being?” Jones wondered.
“Yeah, might be a good idea at that.”
Recker tried calling Mia’s cell phone a few times but couldn’t get through, only getting her voicemail. Though he initially thought that she wasn’t being honest that she had to work, he started to think maybe she was.
“Guess she had to work after all,” Recker stated.
“I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” Jones replied.
“Why?”
“I’ve uhh…gotten into the hospital time clock software program that they use.”
“And?”
“And she hasn’t clocked in yet,” Jones answered.
“Then why wouldn’
t she be answering me?”
Jones simply shrugged. “Maybe she’s already underway in her investigation. Didn’t you say she said she already started?”
“Yeah, but I didn’t think she really meant anything by it. I thought it was just her way of drawing me in,” Recker responded.
“It would seem you misread her.”
Recker sighed, not needing any problems to pop up right now. “Ah boy.”
“What do you plan to do now?” Jones asked.
“Keep calling until she picks up.”
Recker did as he said he would and kept calling Mia’s phone every ten minutes. After an hour of unsuccessfully trying to get a hold of her, Recker was starting to get worried. He hadn’t left any messages up to that point as he tried to avoid doing that, just in case the CIA could pick up his voice through one of their voice detection programs they sometimes utilized.
“Are you sure she’s not at work?” Recker asked.
“Not unless she’s working for free today,” Jones answered. “You could always try calling the hospital just to be sure.”
“Yeah. Maybe I’ll do that.”
Recker then called the hospital and after a brief hold, was told that Mia wasn’t scheduled to be in that day. After hanging up, he looked over at Jones and shook his head.
“She couldn’t have gotten herself into any trouble already, could she?” Recker asked.
“Is that a question you want answered or are you just talking to yourself?”
“Both. I mean, what are the odds that she would’ve found something already that would make her not pick up the phone?”
Recker went back to repeatedly calling Mia’s phone, calling it every five minutes again. Though he still wanted to avoid leaving messages, he finally relented and simply told her it was important and to call him back as soon as possible. He started pacing around the room again, his mind wandering about where she could have been. Another twenty minutes went by with still not a peep from Mia.
“Why don’t you sit down?” Jones asked. “Pacing around the room isn’t going to get her to call faster.”
“I can’t sit down.”