An Unlikely Hero (1)

by Tierney James

  “You’ll have to admit it had all of us, FBI, CIA, NSA and every other acronym you can think of scurrying around like it was the second coming of Christ,” Carter said nonchalantly. “I think the isotope angle is what we’re after. Global Navigation is located on a ridge about an hour away from Auburn.”

  “I’m sorry. Global Navigation? I’ve never seen anything about it. I come through Auburn all the time.” Tessa knew her ignorance showed like a glowing orb.

  “Global Navigation has the potential to become a major provider of isotopes for North America. It’s located off the beaten path; nondescript place considering the important work they do there.” Carter removed his feet from the desk and leaned in toward Tessa, realizing he just might have a captive audience to impress. “Currently we depend heavily on the Chalk River reactor in Canada to supply us with isotopes used to diagnosis cancer and heart disease. The problem is the reactor is 53 years old and tends to have problems. In 2009 there was a heavy water leak which ended up shutting the whole thing down for 15 months. So the world suddenly faced a loss of about one third of all the isotopes available. The Department of Energy had already begun its own reactor project in 2002 unbeknownst to California tree huggers who would have done everything in their power to keep it from completion. People hear ‘nuclear reactor’ and think you’re making bombs or energy. The Global Navigation website indicates they’re on the cutting edge of medical research and disease resistant crops for third world countries.”

  “A lie?” Tessa questioned innocently.

  Benjamin took his hand held computer and punched in a few commands casually. “Not a lie exactly. It’s just not the whole truth,” he said, turning his body slightly to view the pictures that appeared on the flat screen behind him. “I think you’re right, Carter, but why here? Why now? What’s the point?” He nodded toward the screen. “These are the players so far. All seem to be taking orders from Essid. Having people at Oak Ridge, Los Alamos and here takes a chunk of change to orchestrate. Essid’s financials show he’s comfortable but not wealthy by any means.”

  Vernon moved to his own computer and began searching. “It will take a while to look around. If the FBI guys didn’t find it…”

  “The FBI didn’t know enough to keep him from working for the Secretary of the DOE so I doubt they looked to see if he had a sugar daddy someplace!” Ben said hotly.

  “Which one is Essid?” Tessa cleared her throat nervously, not wanting to stand out as an imbecile among these brilliant Enigma agents with supersized egos. She stood slowly as if by doing so would increase her attention to detail. Everyone looked at her incredulously as if she were kidding. “I mean, I know he was on my computer yesterday, but to be honest things were happening so fast I didn’t really get a look at him.” She was stammering like a sixteen old year school girl who’d just been ask to prom by the star quarterback. Tessa tried to retreat back into her chair, but felt Zoric’s hand pat her hand that clutched the armrest.

  “It’s okay, Tessa Scott.” Although his voice sounded gravelly, Tessa noted a tone of kindness.

  Chase moved toward the screen and pointed to the picture of a man standing in front of a mosque, dressed in traditional clothing. The CIA had managed to find an old file photo which showed Essid when his beard had not been shaven or his hair cut in a western style, but the resemblance could not be mistaken in the photo. He noticed a recognition spring to Tessa’s eyes mixed with a little fear. If Chase had not arrived as a plumber when he did, it would have been only a matter of minutes before Essid issued an order to kill her, if not worse. This was a man without a conscience.

  “Is he from Russia or an old Soviet republic?” Tessa said joining Chase at the screen.

  Ben joined the two. “No. Why do you ask?”

  “Because he’s standing in front of the Juma mosque in Baku, Azerbaijan.” Finally, something Tessa knew about. All eyes fell on her like a ball ping hammer. Their expressions were a mixture of anger and disbelief at the absurd interjection concerning things beyond her comprehension. Noting the skepticism, Tessa quickly explained. “Last year I took a class at Nevada County Campus of Sierra College in Grass Valley. It was called Journeys to Religious Shrines of the World. I chose the countries in Central Asia that touched the Caspian Sea for my final project paper. One of those countries was Azerbaijan. According to Soviet history, the Russians liked to use Azerbaijan as an example of how they demonstrated religious tolerance. But the fact was that out of the hundreds and hundreds of mosques that once dotted the countryside by the 1980s, only twenty one large mosques were allowed to hold services in Baku. There were maybe eleven to fifteen others that remained in the country of any consequence. Out of that there were thousands of officially private houses of prayer and unfortunately, many secret Islamic sects as well.” Tessa took a deep breath. Now that she’d rambled on with excitement about her project, she realized with disappointment that it really did sound a little self-serving.

  “And how’d you do?” Captain Chase Hunter folded his muscled arms across his chest and smiled as he arched his eyebrows.

  “Excuse me?” Tessa said, feeling that wave of shyness wash over her under his steady gaze.

  “The project. How’d you do?”

  Tessa raised her chin in pride and tried to stand tall. “I made an A.”

  Chase chuckled and used the back of his hand to slap Benjamin lightly across the chest who now stared with new eyes at the picture of Essid. “And why haven’t any of you noticed that!” Ben barked as he cut his eyes to the others. “A civilian had to see something none of our government agencies noticed!” He turned his sharp eyes back at Tessa. For a second he felt swallowed up in their tranquil beauty. This woman had no idea what she’d done. “How do you explain all of this, Mrs. Scott?”

  “All of what, Mr. Clark?” Tessa took a step back and tried to lean against the desk where Carter still sat.

  “This! These men invade your house, take your neighbor that just so happens to be a nuclear scientist, and then you just happen to know Dr. Haskin who does the leading isotope research in the U.S. Then,” Ben took a step toward her, keeping his voice low and calm, but losing none of the intimidation factor, “you save one of Captain Hunter’s men from a terrorist, put yourself in danger for a pregnant woman and now you tell us you took a class that caused you to study Azerbaijan which has made you give us what is possibly the key to this whole mess.” By now Ben towered over Tessa who had inched herself onto the desk, leaning back away from his physical presence. “How in the name of Heaven do you explain that, Mrs. Scott?”

  “Divine intervention?” Tessa said with the sudden realization that everything she’d ever done and experienced had led up to this moment. Could God have set before her opportunities, gifts and encounters to arrive at this one place in time so that she could help save her country from those that would do it harm. An avalanche of warm courage began surging through her body as she looked around the room at the other Enigma team members. They looked skeptical but impressed with her retort to Benjamin Clark. “Divine intervention,” she said again with confidence this time. “How else would you explain it?” A smile began to break lazily across her face.

  Benjamin couldn’t help himself and returned the smile. “If that is true, then may God help us all at Enigma.” He looked at the others and pointed accusingly. “Don’t let those Langley know-it-alls find out about her.”

  Tessa hopped off the desk. “Does that mean I’m part of the team?” she asked quickly.

  “No!” Sam answered crossly. “You can’t waltz in here and throw a tidbit of info out and expect us to think you’re one of us,” she said sarcastically.

  Vernon brought his laptop around to the front of the room and hit a button so that more information appeared on the large screen. “Hold that thought, Sam.”

  Carter came around the desk and stared at the screen. “Now we’re making more sense.” He nodded for the others to gather closer. “Global Navigation is accepting their fi
rst large shipment of Molybdenum 99 this week to meet the demand of a reliable supply of medical isotopes. Anyone care to guess where it’s coming from?” Carter smiled over at Tessa whose eyes were wide with interest. “That’s right, girls and boys! Russia!” Carter moved to Tessa’s side and slipped an arm around her shoulders. “And thanks to Tessa, we just might know why everyone’s favorite terrorist, Essid, is involved.”

  Vernon highlighted a column of numbers. “It seems several countries around central Asia have been bankrolling Essid’s project. He has an off shore account in the Caymans under another name. See?” The Enigma team looked at the name in astonishment. “None of these Caspian Sea countries have any love for Russia. If they thought they’d make Russia’s credibility sink lower than it already is and hurt the U.S. in the process, it would be like killing two birds with one stone,” Vernon said offhandedly.

  Carter felt Tessa move out from under his arm as he spoke. “Russia needs this let me help save mankind image to take hold. Their disputes with the new oil fields in Turkmenistan, the ongoing turmoil in Chechnya and a gradual slide back toward communism have the whole world looking at them like European trailer trash.”

  Chase Hunter sighed. “He’s right. But why is Essid so up in arms about Russia. It’s gotta be more than destroying mosques in Azerbaijan. The Essid I know is not a very good Muslim. A full profile was compiled when we caught him in Afghanistan. He’s been known to eat pork, drink until he couldn’t hit the floor with his hat and go weeks without praying. He might be playing that Jihad game for the world to see, but trust me; he isn’t religious unless it suits him.” Chase turned to Tessa. “Any ideas?”

  Tessa started to speak when Sam pushed up beside her and shifted her weight to one hip, causing every single man in the room to take notice, even the mighty Chase Hunter. “Does he have family there? Maybe the Russians killed them, or worse.”

  Tessa wondered what would be worse than killing your family, but before she gave it another thought she spoke. “A woman. I bet it’s a woman.”

  Sam sniggered disrespectfully. “A man like Essid doesn’t love a woman, he possesses them like property.”

  Tessa nodded in defeat. “Of course you’re right. But what if it was and no one looked at the possibility because it’s so out of character for him.”

  Chase realized Tessa had made eye contact with him. That sudden jolt of pain hit his chest again as he raised his hand to rub the spot over his heart. “Vernon?”

  “On it, boss!” he said tapping away at his key board.

  Chase tore his eyes away from the Grass Valley housewife to look at his watch. “Let’s take a break and do dinner. We’ll meet back here tomorrow. It’s been a long couple of days.”

  Ben agreed. “I’ll call Claudia and see how she’s doing.”

  Tessa couldn’t help but notice that Ben seemed to be giving some visual message to the captain. She sucked up her courage and ask: “When can I go home?”

  “Soon,” Ben replied as he turned his back on her. “You’ll need a place to stay tonight. We’ll find you something near here provided any of us get a chance to sleep.” Ben casually waved a back hand at the Enigma team as he disappeared into his office. “Chase?”

  “I’ll take care of her.”

  Within minutes, Chase and Tessa were in his Hummer steering into the darkness, carefully obeying stoplights and pedestrian crosswalks. Tessa realized how close they’d been to Old Town, Sacramento at that point. She noticed a sign coming out of the underground parking lot that said, Sacramento University of Science and Technological Research. How many times had she’d seen that sign on the highway, watched promo commercials on television and even walked near there on her way to Old Town? People of Sacramento had no idea what lay just beyond the entrance to these halls of learning.

  Casually, Tessa tried to steal a look at the stoic Captain Chase Hunter. Even in this semi darkness, his rugged good looks made her swallow a little harder than she wanted. His dark eyes indicated some ethnic heritage from a generation or so back. A scar just over his eye appeared more pronounced under the pale green lights of the dashboard. Several times in the last two days she’d experienced the strength in those strong arms that she now admired. Even though Chase smiled little, the few times he’d looked at her with that amused grin had given Tessa a kind of calm and warmth that she’d never experienced. Who was this man? What exactly was Enigma?

  “You’re staring at me,” he said so suddenly that Tessa jumped.

  “Sorry. I’m just a little tired. Where are we going?”

  Captain Chase Hunter turned his dark eyes on her and smiled, revealing straight white teeth. Something about that smile reminded her of the wolf in Little Red Riding Hood. With indifference Chase said: “My apartment. You can stay with me tonight.”

  Chapter 16

  With a devilish smile, Essid moved toward the cot where Jericho Crawley now sat, drinking a cup of McDonalds coffee. The old man’s left eye was swollen nearly shut and a large bruise, the size of a man’s fist, covered the other cheek. A hint of dried blood around his nostrils gave Essid some satisfaction, knowing that his means of persuasion had been justified. After all, now the old man would help him with the Molybdenum 99 after it had been safely removed from Global Navigation. The containers would be rigged with explosives, rendering Global Navigation the biggest waste of American tax dollars the world had ever seen. Leading scientists of isotope recovery would cease to exist. And with any luck he’d be able to kill a few Russians for dessert.

  Global Navigation planned a congratulatory dinner in two days after the delivery process had been completed. Production would begin the following day. The dinner would be held on location in the conference center followed by dancing and entertainment. It was a black tie affair and many in the medical research industry had been invited. Due to the possibility of increased security on such an occasion, procedures were now executed to cancel the event. Essid and his people planned to destroy the life-saving isotope material before it had a chance to be put to good use.

  Essid closed his eyes with thoughts of the heavy water leak at Los Alamos where he’d sent his cousins. They weren’t the brightest, but oh so gullible and loyal. The isotope reactor would be shut down for months because of their acts. That would slow down the isotope production even further. After hearing from the oldest cousin, Essid felt reassured of their success in transferring the research data he required. His call came just before the lab had been stormed by some security organization. The sound of gunshots and screams preceded the line going dead. Nothing to do about it now; their father would be told they died for the cause. Surely they would grasp some comfort from that ridiculous idea. The only cause he cared about for now was undoing the tedious negotiations between the Russian and American medical community. What did he care if thousands of cancers would go undiagnosed until it was too late, or that crop disease might leave millions of people starving in third world countries? Revenge was sweet medicine for the disease that had eaten his life away for so long.

  The wagon bumped along on a narrow dirt road among the pines surrounding Lake Tahoe. The cowboy rode a dark Appaloosa alongside the wagon as he led the group of tourists in a song of “Ole Suzanna”. The air, crisp and clean, made the beauty of the mountains and meadows opening up before them appear surreal and tranquil. The smell of coffee and biscuits swirled upon the morning breeze that greeted the cowboy wannabes as they arrived for their breakfast at the Ponderosa Ranch. The ranch had been used for the wildly popular television series in the 1960s called Bonanza. Reruns on the Western Channel and other cable networks had continued its popularity. Everyone attending had tried to dress the part by wearing cowboy hats, vests, and boots. Some of the ladies wore fancy western style shirts with their overalls or jeans.

  Besides the Scott family, there were only two other kids with their parents. Visiting from a small mining town in Missouri, the father sang robustly with the cowboy. Robert smiled to himself when he overheard the t
eenage girl say that no way was she going to eat a Hoss burger later in the day if they went back to the old west town of Virginia City. The boy laughed and teased his sister that she was in for a tough day with that kind of attitude. Robert wondered if his children would enjoy each other when they became teens. He really hoped so. Watching his children climb down from the wagon and surround him with excited chatter swelled his heart with love and pride. All this time, he’d been missing out on the symphony of laughter and love. He realized what a gift he’d been given, a wife who adored him and took care of them, children that were so amazingly smart and funny, that he shuttered to think he’d almost missed it. All this time, Tessa had not been complaining he never spent enough time with the family, but had been begging him to experience this miracle before it passed him by.

  One thing for sure, Robert vowed when they returned home he would put his wife on a pedestal and make her life a lot easier. Although this trip had not been the relaxing vacation he’d desired, Robert acknowledged it certainly had been entertaining. For a brief moment Robert felt regret that he’d made such a mess of things at home. But then again, if he hadn’t, he would never have gotten to know his rascals.

  The kids helped themselves to seconds on the pancakes. They proclaimed them to be the best in the world and wanted a copy of the recipe to give their mom. Biscuits, gravy, bacon and scrambled eggs went along with the pancakes and warm maple syrup. A long table covered with a red checkered tablecloth seated twenty visitors. Everyone chatted between bites of food, sharing where they were from and why they chose the Ponderosa to visit.