by Geri Foster
The President came closer. “What do you think this is all about, Garrett?”
“I wouldn’t even venture a guess. We all know the airport wasn’t the main target and I’ve yet to understand why they decided to call attention to themselves before doing something bigger. It just doesn’t make sense.”
“They’re within spitting distance of D.C.,” Frank ran his hand through his hair. “I’m almost positive their target is the president or perhaps Capitol Hill itself.”
Garrett shrugged. “Or the Pentagon.”
Steward stood. “All those places have been layered with extra security and are prepared as they can be. If anything goes down, we’ll know about it soon enough.”
Tony Archuleta strolled through the door wearing a smartly tailored suit. His wide grin put everyone at ease and gave Frank a sense that, with Tony on the job, it wouldn’t be long until they found out El Hashem’s true plans, or Nagi’s now that El Hashem was dead.
Stewart walked over and shook Tony’s hand. “Well, I’ve heard a lot about you, Archuleta. You’re kind of a legend at the Bureau.”
Tony just smiled. “Don’t believe everything you hear. You know how agents exaggerate.”
Tony was being overly modest and everyone in the room knew it. He was one of the best Falcon Security agents they’d ever had. He solved more cases than anyone, and he single handedly brought the Russians around to the idea that it wasn’t wise to mess with American intel.
“They may do a lot of talking, but you have a stellar reputation in the agency. One that’s hard earned, I might add.”
Tony stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels. “Now, don’t go making me blush.”
Frank enjoyed the banter, but it was time to get back to business. “Tony, have you been able to uncover anything? We have to find out what’s they’re planning long before it happens. This town is really vulnerable, and I don’t need to tell you many lives are at stake.”
“From what I could tell,” Garrett interjected, “Zareeb El Hashem didn’t tell anyone what his plan was. He kept that to himself, close to his chest. Can’t say I blame him. Best guess is he’s dead and the best possible outcome is his soldiers will disband and leave quietly.” Garrett let out a deep breath. “But I don’t think so, not if that really was Megaza Nagi Haley saw. Something evil is in the wind.”
The president ran his fingers through his hair. “So, even with all of our resources putting their respective ears to the ground, we have nothing. We have absolutely no idea when, where, or even if they are going to strike.” He turned to Frank. “It’s damn scary. I hate to think of the sheer number of lives that could be lost.”
Frank wanted to reassure the president. He wanted to assure the man they’d get to the bottom of this, no matter what had to be done or how long it might take. They were there to protect the president and the country. He glanced at his agents. “Looks like we have a lot of work to do. If we don’t have a single lead, we need to get our asses in gear.”
Tony put his arm on Garret’s shoulder. “Do you think I should call in Brody? He’s here in town getting his team together. I know he’s meeting with some congressmen this morning, but he should be available in an hour or so. What do you think?”
Garrett looked at Haley. “She needs to go someplace safe for the duration. Do you think Kate could help me out?”
Haley stepped forward, placing her hands on her hips. “I’m not going anywhere. I’m staying with you.”
“I can guarantee you that’s not the safest place to be,” Frank shook his head. “The farther you are away from us, the safer you’ll be and the more focused Ga—all of us can be on the situation at hand.”
Frank hated to see it, but clearly Haley wasn’t happy. She wanted to be with Garrett and he didn’t blame her. Their relationship had been tumultuous and she had been unable to hold up under the strain. She was a good person and he wished they could work out their differences, but in this line of business he knew better than to hold his breath.
Haley glared at Frank. “I’m not going anywhere, and nobody can make me.”
Chapter Fourteen
As far as Garrett was concerned, Haley could complain all she wanted. He was getting her away from here, whether she liked it or not. He couldn’t take a chance on something happening to her. Not again.
“You can stay with Kate Stone, Brodie’s wife. She’s CIA. You’ll be safe and I won’t have to worry about you,” Garrett put his hands on her shoulders. “Honey, you’re a distraction and it’s too hard for me to do my job knowing you insist on putting yourself in harm’s way.” He stepped closer and lowered his voice. “I want you to understand that this is not up for debate. I refuse to let you get dragged into this mess. You been through enough.”
“Let me decide that,” Haley insisted. “I’ve been okay up to now. The only time I was in danger was when you weren’t around. That’s when they kidnapped me. Perhaps, if you’d been there, they wouldn’t have been able to do that.”
“I’m not going to argue with you.” Garrett turned as Brody walked into the room. He glanced over his shoulder at Haley. “This is settled.”
Frank stepped forward and grabbed Brody by the hand. “Good to see you again. I miss having your ugly mug around the office.”
Brody grinned. “I bet you do.” He looked around. “I wonder who’s solving all your cases now that your best agent is gone.”
“Hey now,” Tony gibed. “Since when did you become the best agent? I’m sure plenty of people disagree with that. I can think of a few right offhand.”
Frank pulled Brody closer and clapped him on the back. “Zoe misses you the most. It took her days to stop crying. She hated seeing you and Kate move away. You know you guys are like family to her.”
Brody shook his head. “Man, do I know that. I’m in the process of hiring my own assistant and am finding it nearly impossible. Takes a special kind of woman to do what Zoe does.”
Garrett, Tony, and Frank said in unison, “Here, here.”
Archuleta laughed. “Good luck.”
Brody sat on the edge of the couch and looked up at Frank. “So, what do we have so far?”
“Not much. We have no clue what El Hashem was planning,” Garrett said.
“I heard about the bombing at the airport in Baltimore. That was kind of a botched job.”
Garrett nodded, “Which is exactly why we think it was a distraction.”
Brody’s eyebrows shot up. “That makes sense. So what do we suspect the real target is?”
Tony stood in front of him and crossed his arms. “Maybe the president...it could even be Capitol Hill or the Pentagon.”
Brody stood. “But you’re pretty sure when it happens, it’ll be in this area?”
“And don’t forget,” Garrett added. “Nagi is a part of all of this. He’s back on American soil. We all know how dangerous he is.”
Frank rubbed the bridge of his nose. “I have a feeling this is going to get really ugly.”
Jim was thrilled beyond words when he saw the fancy car pull into his parking lot followed by a two-ton truck. They were finally here to get the guns and pay him one million dollars. What was better than that?
After he got the phone call, Jim had been working hard. So hard he was now dripping with sweat. After all, he’d had four bodies to hide, five if you counted the kid. He stashed them all in the back shed where he kept old parts from guns he could not repair. Then he had to clean up all the blood. Who knew murder could be so messy?
He still felt really bad about having to kill Clyde. They’d been friends for a long time, but he couldn’t chance the man screwing up this deal. At one time, he’d hoped his friend might go with him to Florida where they could deep-sea fish and look at pretty women to their hearts’ content.
Since getting rid of the Albanian, this deal meant one cool million dollars’ profit. Maybe he could ask Mindy, the girl at the bar. She could help him spend his million dollars. Lord, they co
uld have a lot of fun. He was a practical man and knew he’d wind up in Florida all by himself. Once his money was gone, she’d take off to find her next sugar daddy.
He waved as the vehicle drew closer. He couldn’t wait to get all the illegal weapons off his property. If ATF had raided his business, he’d be spending most of the rest of his life behind bars. No one was legally allowed to have that much firepower, but a man had to do whatever it took to make a living, and that’s exactly what he was going to do.
The frickin’ raghead got out of the vehicle first. The one that had shown up at his apartment. That didn’t make him happy. He preferred to do business with Americans, but he’d take anybody’s money. A tall, well-dressed man stepped out of the other side of the vehicle. While Jim had talked to him on the phone several times he had never met the buyer.
Today was his lucky day.
Just to make sure, Jim patted his hip where he had his Colt forty-five. Any funny business and he’d add another two bodies to the heap, didn’t make no nevermind to him. This was live or die, and Jim planned on living the good life in Florida.
“Morning gents,” Jim said. “Glad to see you all out and about this morning.”
The American step forward. “Do you have everything we asked for?”
“Course I do. Everything you requested, from the AK-47s and ammo to the grenades and the launcher.” Jim rubbed the back of his neck. “Sure as hell wasn’t easy, but I have my ways.”
“I’d like to inspect the merchandise.”
Jim didn’t have a problem with that, he just didn’t want the guy to think that he could get away without paying him. “Sure, sure,” Jim motioned with his hand. “Right this way, gentlemen. The vault’s in my office.”
“You have an vault in your office big enough to hold everything I requested?” The American asked with a surprised expression.
“Sure do. Built it myself. Didn’t want anyone to go snooping around.”
They stepped into Jim’s office, and for the first time a weird feeling came over him. He was kind of embarrassed at the mess. No doubt, the clutter had to be a far cry from the American’s fancy office. Jim had stuff scattered all over. Guns, bullets, grease rags, cans of cleaning oil. It all lay around like discarded toys.
Jim turned around to face the two men. Up to this point, the Middle Eastern man had been quiet, too quiet to suit him. Jim pointed to his safe. It was huge. Several years ago, he’d done a complete remodel of his store, office, and storage. From the range, no one could tell exactly how big his office was. No one but him knew how big that vault really was, damned thing looked like a standard walk-in gun safe. Now, when the ATF came snooping around, they didn’t see anything out of the ordinary.
“You got the money? The whole million dollars?”
The well-dressed American nodded his head. “We made a deal, you can count on me.”
Jim was no fool, he been at this game too long, knew too many tricks, and didn’t believe a single living soul. “I’m going to need to see that cash.”
“And I want to see what I’m paying for.”
Jim stood his ground. “I ain’t opening that safe until I see the money.” Jim shook his head and wagged a finger at the men. “And before you go getting any ideas, I’m the only one who knows the combination.”
The Americans smiled slyly. “I can assure you, Mr. Douglas, we don’t plan to double cross you. I’m a businessman, I don’t welch on my deals.”
“I’m still going to need to see the money. And I’m going to count every last dime, because I’m no sucker. Old Jim Douglas been around a long time, and knows what we’re doing here is dangerous stuff. I ain’t about to be cheated. Now, you got the money?”
The businessman nodded to Nagi, who turned and walked toward the parked vehicle. Once Jim and the businessman were alone he looked over at him. “I like you, but I don’t trust them damn sand monkeys. And I sure as shit hope you’re not planning to blow anything up. I know a million dollars is a lot of money, but I don’t like to see people hurt.”
“Then why are you an arms dealer? People buying weapons on the black market use them to kill people. You can’t be holier-than-thou and run guns. It doesn’t work that way.”
Jim waved his hand. “Did I ask your opinion? Don’t tell me my business. All I want is my money so I can retire to Florida and put all this shit behind me.”
“You will get your money.”
Jim shook his head. “I have to be honest with you. If I’d known you had a bunch of ragheads involved in all this, I wouldn’t have gone for it. The simple truth is I don’t like ‘em and I don’t trust ‘em.”
Jim noticed the red creep up Mr. Fancypants’ neck to his face.
“Most people don’t. Others like you look at them with suspicion and doubts. You’re afraid of them, but they are flesh and blood. Nothing more.”
The other man returned, carrying a brown leather briefcase. He handed it to the American who, after wiping everything off the corner of Jim’s desk, placed it down and rolled the gold-tone combination lock. The hooks flipped up and the American opened the lid allowing Jim to see inside.
He’d never seen that much money in his whole life. And probably wouldn’t ever again. “I thought a million dollars would look bigger.” Jim glanced from the money to the businessman. “You sure it’s all there?”
The American nodded and stepped aside so that Jim could inspect the money more closely. Jim’s mouth watered as he ran his fingers lightly over the neatly stacked bills and inhaled the familiar scent of money.
He laughed, turned, and spun the dial on the vault. “There you are. Don’t ever say Jim Douglas doesn’t deliver.”
Then everything went black.
Janice called her boss, when he answered she said, “I think something big is going down tonight.”
“Yeah?” He asked. “Like what?”
“I don’t know. Preston didn’t talk to me today and he’s been gone since coming in and getting his briefcase. We both know it’s full of money. The question is where did he take it.”
“Illegal cash. Have you come any closer to finding out where it all came from?”
“Not even a hint. I’ve scoured everything. After he left this morning, I went into his office again and turned over every piece of paper. Whatever the man is hiding, it’s in his head. He doesn’t write anything down.”
“Okay, keep digging. Hopefully, we’ll come up with something soon. He still coming on to you like a horny dog?”
“Not this morning,” she muttered, confused and uncertain. “He was too preoccupied and that makes me worry. In the months I’ve been here, he’s never come through the door and not walked directly to my desk.”
“Could he be on to us?”
She shivered. God, she hoped not. She didn’t want to think what a man like Preston would do to her if he found out she was spying on him. “I can’t say for sure. He’s not himself this morning. I’ll know more when he returns.”
“Keep me posted.”
Janice looked across the room at Derek Stiles and decided to try a new tactic. She stood and moved slowly to his desk. He was Preston’s right-hand man. If anybody knew anything it was Derek. Now, the challenge would be to get him to open his mouth and tell her all his secrets.
As she approached, she studied the medium built man with his large square glasses and an obscene amount of freckles. The man would fade into the woodwork were it not for his bright red hair. He rarely spoke and never socialized. While some of the staff had gone for drinks after work, Derek never once joined them. He went home. At least that’s what he claimed. She tapped her finger to her bottom lip and wondered if he was gay.
Time to find out.
At the White House, the men had been going over strategy, tossing ideas around and hoping to shake something loose, when suddenly Garrett’s phone rang. He answered and heard Harrington’s voice on the other end. “What’s going on?” Garrett asked.
“All kinds a shit.”
Garrett waved his hand getting everyone’s attention. “I’m at the White House right now with the president, Frank, Tony, Brody and the head of the FBI. I’m putting you on speaker. Go.”
“The local police called and a couple of kids playing around a gun range came across something you’ll find pretty interesting.”
Frank stepped closer and leaned toward the phone. “Like what?”
“Hey, Frank,” Harrington greeted. “By the time we got here the place was crawling with everyone from the DEA to ATF. They got an anonymous call that the owner of the gun range, a Jim Douglas, had bought a large cache of weapons.”
“We’re listening.” Garrett held out the phone. “Go on.”
“It appears this Jim guy has a vault in his office that you could back a truck up into, and it appears that’s exactly what happened.”
Brody looked at Tony. “So far I’m not liking the sound of this. Harrington, does the ATF have any idea how many weapons we’re talking about?”
“They don’t have an exact number, but it’s considerable. I heard one agent say you could start a small war with what was in that safe.”
“Where is this Jim guy at,” Frank asked. “He able to be questioned?”
“That’s the other problem,” Harrington answered. “We found a pile of dead bodies.”
Garrett watched Haley’s eyes grow in size. “How many bodies are we talking about? Anyone we know?”
“We’re still trying to ID everyone. Jesus, there’s even a young kid with no ID. I’m guessing he may have been a clerk or someone who helped Jim out around the shop. Then there were about three Albanians. ATF says that’s who Douglas got the guns from. Do you remember an all-around bad guy named Clyde Stupas?”
“Yeah,” Garrett nodded. “I thought he was operating out of Pennsylvania. I know he’s wanted for murder in Buffalo.”