by Trevor Shand
Half way down the block, Charles watched Alex as he watched Russ and Steve. He laughed at the irony that the officer was going to give the hitter he was following a ticket for running a red light when, if he knew what all he had done, he should be booking him on multiple felonies. He supposed this re-affirmed the saying about knowledge being power. Charles retrieved his phone from his pocket and dialed Carl’s number to update him.
At FBI headquarters, Steve and Russ came upon Adrian and two other baby-faced people in suits hunched over his desk, hammering away at their keyboard. Steve cleared his throat, Adrian looked up, the other two did not. “Geek-fest?” Steve asked?
“Sort of, yeah, but in the best possible way. These two junior agents, Mark and Mike…”as he said this, the young agents staring at their screens raised their respective hands without looking up and without seeming to slow down in their typing. Adrian continued “…We have your name: Christopher Ziener, you went into the Army straight out of high school, got out a year and a half ago. You’ve been kicking around doing construction since. You are avidly into CrossFit and Ford trucks,” Adrian beamed, “We’ve placed these electronic clues throughout the internet and back dated them over the last five years.”
Steve smiled back, “You really are a geek. You’re dying to tell me how you did all of that aren’t you?”
“Yes, yes I am,” Adrian said.
“Well, it will have to wait. Adrian, this is Russ. Russ, this is Adrian. He’s an FBI agent.”
Russ cocked his head, “Aren’t you an FBI agent?” He brought his arms into his body and folded them.
“Actually no. I work with the FBI, for the FBI, but I’m not an agent.”
“So what are you?” Russ’ lips set in a thin line.
“I used to work for the Agency but let’s not make that common knowledge,” Steve said.
Russ still did not look like he understood. Adrian jumped in, “Yeah, we have a mercenary posing as a mercenary.”
“I’m not a mercenary,” Steve protested.
“I’ve seen your skill set. You take people out for money right? Mercenary.”
“I only work for the FBI,” Steve continued his protest, raising his voice.
“You’re not an FBI employee,” Adrian said flatly.
“They won’t let me be,” Steve said, getting animated, waving his arms.
Finally a big smile broke across Adrian’s face and he laughed. Steve laughed as well. “What? What?” Russ asked.
“Damn it Adrian,” Steve said to Adrian then looked over at Russ and pointing at Adrian said, “This yahoo was just winding me up.”
Russ visibly relaxed. He unfolded his arms and a small smile crept across his lips. Jumping in Adrian said, “I almost had him.” He raised his eyebrows and pointed back at Steve.
Russ laughed. “Damn, that was a good one. We used to play jokes like that on our guys back in the service. One time I got my boy Mario so good, we were in front of the CO and he said…” Russ stopped. His smile melted and his shoulders slumped. “Yeah but that was a long time ago.”
Adrian tried to keep up pretences, “It wasn’t that long ago, how long ago did you get out?”
“Nah, nah, I know what you’re trying to do,” Russ said, “Thank you. I feel bad but I should do.”
Steve interjected, “Well you shouldn’t actually. You didn’t do any of this.”
“Yeah, but I let it happen. I enabled it,” Russ said, “I’m out but they are still there.”
“But you couldn’t have known what was going to happen?”
Russ relaxed more than when he was laughing but seemed to be more serious than ever, “Because that is my job. I survived, I kept my squad alive, I kept my friends alive, by being three steps ahead. It is not for me to simply say I didn’t pull the trigger, so the deaths aren’t on me. I should have been able to see ahead.”
Steve knew what Russ was saying. Staying alive in the field was as much about planning, strategy, and knowing what was going to happen and preparing for it, as it was fighting. You can’t lose a fight they are not in so if you can avoid one and reach the same objective then you should. Still, he knew beating himself up was not going to help. He offered, “We all miss things man.” It was not much but it was what he had without sounding cheesy.
“Thanks,” Russ murmured.
“Well, then, let’s get back on point. Russ, what are these guys looking for? What do we need to make sure they see if they are going to bring Steve onboard?”
Russ thought this through for a moment then replied, “He needs to show a trait of him and his team against the establishment. Johnny’s crew could have split up and climbed much higher than they did but to them the team was more important than climbing the ranks. In fact, climbing the ranks was seen as kowtowing to The Man. They lived and worked in the Army, it was their life, yet they hated the system, if that makes sense. The brass was the bad guys, the real bad guys were, I don’t know, furniture? Widgets? If that makes sense?”
“Yeah,” Steve nodded, “The missions, including killing, were a job. It wasn’t personal because the person you shot wasn’t a person. I saw it in my former work as well.”
“I know it is a coping technique. I have trouble balancing the two. It is not good to dehumanize the enemy but you do what you need to do,” Russ stared off into the distance. Then snapped back and said, “Well, there you go, that’s what you need to make sure is in his profile. I’ll give this impression as well. Also, you need to let me know his story in the Army, and I can let you know where I was so you can build the story of where we met and how we know each other.”
“Then let’s get back to work,” Adrian said. Throughout the entire conversation neither Mike nor Mark looked up from their screens.
“Hey, Johnny, I think I have someone who can help you?” Russ said, sitting in his apartment. With him were Jeff, Steve and Mario. They each had a beer and a CD case covered with a small pile of coke lay on the table. Russ had introduced Steve, as Chris, to Mario and Jeff, when they had come over, as a friend of his from the Army who had been kicking around and decided to come visit Seattle. He had then decided to call Johnny and set up the meeting.
“Really,” Johnny said. Alex had reported that Russ had been seen in the police station, but they did not know if the police had picked him up for something or if he had gone in on his own. “Who is it?”
“A buddy of mine, Chris is interested. He is in town, just visiting and we got talking a bit.”
“I am guessing if you were talking with him about the situation, you know him and trust him.”
“Yup,” Russ said.
“Russ, is there anything you need to tell me?”
“About Chris?”
“About anything,” Johnny replied.
“Well, Chris is a good guy, we met in Basic then again on my first tour…”
Johnny let Russ talk for a couple of minutes, not really listening. Instead his mind was racing. If Russ had been pulled in, he would have mentioned it, so now Johnny was leaning toward the idea that Russ was turning on them. But he did not yet want to tip his hand that he knew, he wanted to know who it was that Alex had seen with him. He needed to find out more details. “Well, that all sounds good, why don’t we all meet?”
“Sure thing, we’re here at my apartment, why don’t you come on over?”
“That sounds like a plan, I’ll see you in a few.”
Russ hung up and said to Steve, “Johnny is coming over to meet you.”
Twenty minutes later Johnny pulled up in front of Russ’ house. As he entered, Russ introduced him to Steve. “Johnny, this is Chris. Chris, this is Johnny. Johnny runs the operations side of our little company.”
Steve stood and Johnny smiled and shook his hand in a death grip. Steve smiled back and returned the squeeze. After a brief moment, when he realized they were at a stalemate, Johnny released his grip, gave Steve a barely perceptible nod and said, “So, how do you know this guy?” indicating Russ.
> “We met years ago in basic training,” Steve walked through a general story about them meeting, what the base looked like, and a funny story about the bad service at the PX. He then followed a similar outline for meeting again in Afghanistan. Then Steve explained how he came to be in Seattle and hooked up with Russ. He was a laid off construction worker, heard Seattle’s housing market was growing, plus weed was legal, and looked up Russ for a free place to stay.
Johnny took it all in, nodding his head and interjecting the occasional “Uh, huh.”
“So, that’s about it,” Russ said when Steve was done. “He’s in town, looking for a job and we know he’s not anti-drug,” Russ indicated the small pile of cocaine on the table.
Johnny paused for a moment and pondered the situation. He wandered over to the couch and sat next to Jeff. “You got a beer?” he asked.
“Sure,” Russ said and headed in to get a beer.
Looking at Steve he said, “Chris, sit on down. If Russ says you have the ability, then you have the ability. But we also need the cultural fit. No way of knowing that without getting to know you. Sit, we’ll have some beer, do a few lines, and see where we get to.”
“Sounds like a plan,” Steve said enthusiastically. Steve sat down and Russ brought out a full round of beers. Mario started cutting out lines on the CD case.
“To new adventures,” Russ said and raised his beer. The men clinked their beers and they all took a sip. Mario started passing around the CD case. While the others focused on the case or waited their turn, Johnny subtly tapped out a text and hit send. Then he dropped his phone back into his pocket and rejoined the group.
Alex’s phone buzzed. He was sitting on the roof of one of the apartment buildings overlooking their corner. The Google glasses showing the camera feeds allowing him to look through the buildings. Everything was calm. The traffic had been steady, nothing much to worry about. He thought about Johnny’s plan to not simply secure the corner but to utterly destroy it and how it had paid off. He doubted that the competition or former owners could guess they were running only one or two man shifts due to lack of men and need for sleep, and no one was looking to come test them again because of the impact they had had when they first came into town.
Alex pulled his phone from his pocket and read the text from Johnny, “Made contact with Russ’ lead. Seems like a nice guy, nothing stands out, still don’t trust the situation. Can you get me background?” Alex sighed. Johnny was a good planner and thought ahead, but often did not know the day-to-day of who was doing what. He typed out a text to Kip, “Boss needs any internet background you can find on one Chris Ziener. Says he was with Indian Head.” Indian Head was the nickname of the 2nd Infantry Division.
A few minutes later Kip texted, “Dude, I was asleep but OK. I’ll let you know.” Alex went back to his surveillance. He did not like being distracted, it was in fact one of the keys between them and the people they replaced. The other crews needed more people to hopefully have someone watching. Alex knew he needed to not only police himself to stay vigilant but he also know what to do if things went south.
He scanned the street for another half an hour when his phone buzzed again. Again, he took a quick look at his phone. The text from Kip said, “I’ve got background here dated at the right times detailing a history with Indian Head.”
“Thanks,” Alex replied. He was going to text Johnny all was alright but things did not feel right to Alex. The timing was too coincidental. Russ is in the police station one day and the following he is calling with someone for their team. It could happen, but not likely. Instead of texting Johnny that all was alright, he texted, “Get me a picture of this guy if you could.”
Minutes later Johnny replied, “What’s up? Is he not who he says he is?”
“I didn’t say that. His internet presence checks out. I just want to see this guy.”
Johnny sighed. He looked around the room. They’d each had a couple of beers and two thick lines. Everyone was smiling and laughing. He noted that Chris did not drink nor do coke like a cop. He was leading the pack if anything. Mario and Jeff had started playing some first person shooter on the Xbox. Before the text had interrupted Johnny, Chris, he and Russ were talking about the Seahawks’ chances of going to a Super Bowl. Russ, born and raised in the Pacific Northwest was sure they were going all the way. Chris, who seemed to be a 49ers fan, was claiming they would stop the Seahawks run. Johnny was a Jets fan and was spouting that it did not matter who from the NFC went, the Jets were going to win it all anyway.
Russ and Chris had continued their conversation while Johnny had read his text. Johnny switched his phone to camera mode and said loudly, “You two, get together.”
Without thinking, Russ grabbed Steve and spun him around so they were side by side. He plastered a big grin on his face and flipped his middle finger at Johnny. Steve contorted his face into a mock scream, opening his mouth as large as it would go and scrunching his eye closed. It was not that he thought the face looked cool, but he did not want to be photographed and figured this face would make him the least identifiable.
The phone made a small lick sound and Johnny headed over to take a picture of Mario and Jeff. They looked up from their game briefly and made ridiculous poses as well. Johnny took the picture and headed back to his seat. He had not really wanted a picture of Mario and Jeff but thought it might look suspicious if he did not take everyone’s picture. “I always like to capture the moment, you know, so we can look back on these and remember the good times.” Subtly he flipped through the phones gallery until he got to the photo with Steve in it and sent it via text to Alex.
Alex’s phone buzzed in his hand. He jabbed the screen and the text from Johnny showed up. He studied the picture. The man in the photo was tough to see. The shot was not the clearest and he was making a face. He zoomed in and looked again. Then he took a look around the area, saw everything was clear and closed his eyes, picturing the two men in his mind. Opening his eyes he zoomed back out and looked again. Yes, he was sure this was the same guy.
He hammered out a short text to Johnny, “That’s the guy I saw leaving the Police station with Russ.” Then he went back to scanning the area.
Johnny checked his phone and read Alex’s text. He felt like he had been punched in the gut. If this was the guy Alex had seen, then this was real trouble. It meant that either this guy was law enforcement or at the very least a degenerate who got popped on something, made a deal with the police to inform, then Russ sprang him. Not good at all. He put his phone in his pocket and looked around the room.
“You OK,” Russ asked.
“Yeah, man, I’m fine, just feeling a bit, I don’t know, off,” Johnny said.
“Too much drinking light weight?” Steve smiled and laughed, taking a long pull from the beer that was in his hand.
“Yeah, I guess so, maybe,” Johnny went along, “Listen, I’m going to go.” Johnny stood and plastered a smile on his face, “Russ, thank you for the invite and the intro.” They clasped their right hands and swung their left arms around each other’s shoulders in a half hug, half shake. Then he looked at Steve and said, “Listen, give me your number, I want you to come by and meet some more of the crew tomorrow.”
“Yeah, that sounds great,” Steve said. He gave Johnny his number who typed it into his phone.
“Thanks, talk to you soon,” Johnny said. He shook Steve’s hand and headed for the door. As he did he waved a hand over his head and said, “Mario, Jeff, peace love and chicken grease.” Johnny headed out the door and got in his truck. He immediately texted Alex back, “I’ll arrange another hotel room, near ours, to meet Steve in tomorrow. Who off who can meet him. I’m thinking one of our guys can take down a local Seattle Police Officer.”
“I’d guess so, but maybe there should be two of us, just in case. I’m guessing you want him alive which is harder than dead.”
“Okay, see what you can arrange, we need to make sure we keep the corner so we need to make sure som
eone is always down there. Got it?”
“Yeah, yeah, of course.”
Johnny disconnected the phone and turned over the engine in his car. They had a new shipment coming in to Russ tomorrow, he would need to get to the shipment before Russ to try and find information on the source. Russ needed to be cut out of the loop and maybe cut out of life.
The next morning Steve sat with Adrian at Leena’s Café in Shoreline. Steve had a large plate heaped with eggs over very easy, corned beef, hash browns and beans. Adrian had a bowl of fruit and a bowl of cottage cheese. They were talking through the logistics of Steve being undercover, how often he would check in, what to do in an emergency, how they would know when to end the cover and the associated paperwork.
“You know I’m not doing the paperwork,” Steve said. His eyes were ever so slightly bloodshot and he wore a light smile on his face.
“You’re the one undercover, you’re the one who will have the details, you’re the only one who can do the paperwork,” Adrian said, exasperated.
“I guess it’s not getting done then,” Steve stated matter-of-factly, leaning back and folding his arms across his chest. Adrian began to protest again but Steve’s phone rang. Steve looked at the caller ID then held up one finger to Adrian. “Hello, this is Chris… yes… yeah, I know where that’s at… sure… what time… sounds good, see you then.” Steve hung up the phone.
Steve took a bite of his corned beef hash. Adrian waited for Steve to chew and swallow. When Steve took another bite, Adrian bust out, “So? Was that them? What’s next?”
“Oh that, that was them, I’m in,” Steve smiled, “They want to meet this afternoon and discuss logistics. I’m going to be meeting with their tech guy Will. Apparently they are all staying down at a hotel near their corner and I am to meet him there.”