Sobbing, Lisa began writing. When she finished, Nick read it over. He nodded at Lisa. Nick stood and walked over to the interrogation room door, opening it for Floyd Samson. The detective walked over to Lisa in frowning officious form. “Lisa Monroe. You are under arrest for felony robbery, three deaths in commission of the robbery attempt, and threatening a federal US Marshal’s life in performance of his duty. Those are only the start, because we now know your little gang of thieves was also responsible for three other ‘smash and grabs’ in the surrounding area. You may very well spend the rest of your life in prison.”
“What about my deal?!” Lisa began crying in halting whoops of sadness.
Boo hoo, Nick thought.
“Marshal McCarty simply offered you the opportunity to confess to your crimes and receive consideration from the court for your candor in admitting to your crimes. We’ll let you think about something much more major you’d like to tell us in order to receive a possible reduction of sentence to a couple of years at Chowchilla. I’ll give you a little time to think it over and remember something very meaty to offer us while we speak with a couple of other interested parties.”
Nick and Floyd exited the room with Lisa still crying but in much more restrained form. “That went as well as I’d hoped. May I accompany you to tell her parents?”
“Yep. You earned that. Damn! We’re going to shut their water off,” Floyd answered with enthusiasm.
Chapter Four
The Albanian Sanction
Liz and Allen Monroe sat together in the conference room, obviously annoyed at their treatment so far. They had been unable legally to demand anything. Nick, Floyd and the more circumspect Tony entered the room. By prior agreement, Tony took lead in perfect David Caruso/Miami CSI stance, complete with sunglasses.
“Mr. and Mrs. Monroe, I’m very sorry to keep you waiting, but there were many details to be ironed out before speaking with you. I’m Detective Tony Donatello, this is my partner Detective Floyd Samson, and on the end is consulting US Marshal Nick McCarty. We are here to explain the details of your-”
“We know what you’re doing, Detective!” Liz Monroe paused as Tony shifted in stance slightly, but with award winning body language at being interrupted. “You… and these others are railroading Lisa! You have no right to incarcerate her without due process. That ends now!”
Nick stifled the amusement factor flowing through him with grim determination. The angular blonde haired Liz, dressed in a navy blue dress suit held her fists tightly clenched in front of her on the table. She looked ready to pummel the table into firewood. Tony waited patiently for Liz to finish the tirade. Nick could tell Allen smelled something cooking besides outrage. Yep. Allen knows when the family is about to become barbeque. He reached over to cover Liz’s hand with his own. Dark brown hair with only the casual streak of gray at the temples, and only slightly soft featured because of an unflattering rounded chin, Allen shook his head imperceptibly at Liz who quieted.
“Go on Detective Donatello,” Allen said.
Tony allowed a slight Caruso knowing smile. “Very well. I will be short. Here is a copy of Lisa Monroe’s confession to being the ringleader in numerous jewelry store robberies using automatic weapons. As you can see, she has agreed to cooperate fully with us, and has waved her right to an attorney. Extending a courtesy to you, we will allow your presence in the next phase of questioning. We know this string of robberies to be a method of obtaining money for a larger score, probably a drug shipment. Lisa needed time to think things through which we are giving her. If she doesn’t produce actionable intel we will be unable to intercede on her behalf at court. The two of you will not be able to speak with her in private, but we will allow you to urge her to help us fully. That will be the only way we can help her. Do you understand and agree to our terms?”
“Yes. We would like to be with her during this phase,” Allen replied. “Can she expect a significantly reduced sentence for her cooperation?”
Tony shifted, looking at the ceiling for a moment with a deep breath before turning his attention again on the Monroes. “We will do what we can, but you must understand she is guilty of numerous armed robberies, three deaths, and threatening the life of a federal officer. Hopefully, she still has the goods from the other robberies, and you may provide recompense to the victims. The leniency will depend then on the disposition of the court. These were not victimless crimes. If you’re ready, we’d like to begin.”
The Monroes glanced at each other and stood. “We’re ready,” Liz said.
Nick believed the Monroes were thinking a six month suspended sentence while Nick was thinking of fifteen to twenty, out in ten on good behavior. He was sure though if everything panned out with the drug connection, Lisa would unfortunately only get a couple years - which would be no punishment at all for what could very well have happened in the commission of those robberies.
Later, in the interrogation room with Lisa, her parents urged her to tell all. They explained to do otherwise at this point would be foolhardy given the fact she had already confessed to all of the suspected crimes. Lisa then outlined a plan to buy into one of the largest scores of Oxycontin ever in the area. A shipment coming into port from Pakistan would disappear when in route through Seattle. The buy in was a hundred thousand apiece with twenty separate buyers. Street value for the shipment of a hundred and forty thousand units would be in the twenty million dollar range.
To Nick, this began to shape into something far beyond, especially with Pakistan as the originator. “Did you hear any names mentioned, Lisa?”
“Only one. The guy at the top has some weirdo name he uses… ah… Jahan… Jahannam I think. The low level guys we met with were white, but had heavy accents.”
“When they spoke to each other, did their language sound like this?” Nick spoke an Albanian Northern dialect called Gheg.
Lisa’s eyes widened. “Yes… that sounds just like it.”
Uh oh. “We have a problem,” Nick said. “That’s an Albanian dialect spoken in Kosovo and Northern Albania called Gheg. It doesn’t much matter; but an Albanian drug gang led by a guy calling himself Jahannam, which means ‘Hell’ in Arabic, makes me wonder where the money received from selling the Pakistani shipment is going. I will have to make a few calls. This could have more far reaching effects than a drug bust gone bad. I’ll be right back. Keep going, Lisa. Try to tell the detectives as much about these white guys with bad accents as you can remember. Anything you noticed may be a key.”
Nick stepped out of the room. He called Paul Gilbrech.
“Go ahead, Nick. I heard you killed three guys this morning through the grapevine. Do you ever take a day off, partner?”
“It’s worse than missed vacation days, my friend.” Nick explained circumstances and conclusions in short scripted sentences. He included the kingpin’s name of Jahannam and the confirmation of Albanian being spoken by the plotting drug hijackers. “I don’t know Pakistan’s real position with us, but this could also be a simple delivery by a hostile government we suspect of much worse things to say the least. They can always claim they know nothing like when they harbored Osama bin Laden. After you look in to it, give me a call back. I’m free to do whatever it takes on the ground. I don’t know how much leeway the local police will give me to do what should be done if this is a new cell forming already with drug seed money. I’m wondering if this cell was activated the moment we shut down the Isis compound near here.”
Paul had allowed Nick to speak unimpeded to the end, trusting any question Nick knew the answer to would be answered in his delivery. “I will get with you on basic actions within the hour, Nick. I will contact Homeland Security, and bring in the larger FBI forces to work on this. If anyone gives you the slightest problem, call me directly, and tell whoever does it to bend over and kiss their ass goodbye.”
“Thanks, Paul. Will do.”
Nick re-entered the interrogation room. Everyone there gave him their complete attention. “I
have been in contact with CIA Director, Paul Gilbrech. He will coordinate forces in the FBI and Homeland Security. We believe this to be another Isis cell activation triggered by the ending of the one in Onalaska. I want to formulate something actionable. When the Director calls me back, I’d like to have a plan if he wants me in on this. First, do the Albanians know your crew by sight, Lisa?”
“No.” Lisa hesitated to say more which Nick recognized as her wondering if she would be labeled a terrorist.
“I have a plan involving you that may get you the suspended sentence you’re praying for. You’ll never get it without helping me, though. You hesitated. Have you met with the Albanians and do you know when this huge shipment they’re talking about comes into port to be trucked through Seattle?”
“I…I was to meet with the Albanians this afternoon with the scores from today and our previous robberies for them to determine if we have enough for the buy-in. What does this plan have to do with me?”
“I’d like you to contact the Albanians. See if they’ll take a meeting with you to look over the loot your crew stole. I and my two associates will accompany you as your crew. I doubt they watch the news so you can refrain from talking about the botched heist with them. I’m certain you weren’t mentioned in anything leaked to the news.”
“Wait one damn minute!” Allen was suddenly upset. “You want Lisa to volunteer as bait to catch terrorists? Are you out of your mind?”
“She doesn’t have to do anything,” Nick replied calmly. “You and your wife seem to think she’ll be able to dance around with popping out a couple names, and get her walking papers with a slap on the wrist. Tell them what’s really behind that door, Detective Donatello.”
“Two to five years, if the judge is lenient,” Tony stated. “No way in hell does Lisa get off with less than that. Armed robberies, dead killers, and a confession as the ringleader means a judge with very little reason for gift giving.”
Liz turned on Lisa immediately. “Don’t do this! We’ll find a way to get through this without you risking death.”
“What way, Mom?” Lisa’s lip trembled, but her eyes were clear. “I’ll have to do prison time… maybe as much as five years. I’ll do anything to stay out of prison. I thought I could handle anything. I was a master criminal on my way to a big score with no one the wiser. Now, Lou and my other friends are dead because of me. My score was with terrorists, and I’m going to prison. Count me in. I’ll do anything you want, Marshal.”
Nick waved off Allen as he began another vocal objection. “Lisa’s made her choice. I’ll keep her safe. I believe we can get her the slap on the wrist instead of prison. One item is very important from this moment on – not one word about anything said in this room. If I get permission to intervene in this, Lisa leaves with me. You and Liz will go home and wait without saying another word to anyone. You will endanger your daughter if you do not do exactly what I say.”
While his audience mulled over what he said, Nick’s phone buzzed. He walked out of the room to take the call. “Hi, Paul.”
“You’re in a shit storm again, Nick. It turns out there’s been chatter picked up on by CIA, HS, and the FBI. Although vague, the chatter would have led to where you are now if we had all shared. We didn’t. You wouldn’t have a suggestion for your old buddy, would you? I don’t care if you want to outfit the Seattle police department in Batman costumes.”
Nick chuckled. “Not necessary, but thanks. The Unholy Trio already dealt with Gerald Kensky. I think we’ll play it straight, but I’m bringing in people I trust not to make waves while I deal with this. Tim and Grace are still in the area. I’ll use Gus and John as my partners to meet the Albanians. The girl I told you about has agreed to help lure the Albanians into a meeting. With federal help in the form of my US Marshal cohorts, I’ll take the Albanians for a talk. If I can get my hands on this Jahannam clown, I may be able to find out what they planned to do with all the heist money.”
“That’s a damn sight better plan of action than I have. What do you need?”
“Can you have a very nice word with the detectives I’m paling around with, letting them know how thankful you are for their help? Then you can tell them because of national security, I and my Marshal friends will be dealing with the Albanians’ taken into custody.”
“Done deal. I’ve already alerted the mayor we have a threat on a national basis centered in Seattle. I will call him again to fix everything locally. I’ll talk to the detectives personally to let them know the mayor is on board with our intervention. Thanks for taking this on so short a notice, Nick. I know piddling around in local affairs gives you a buzz sometimes. You’ll have full cover on this, including any adjustments made on any scale.”
“I know which country we psychos need to hang on to, brother. I’ll take care of things on this end. Wait one while I get my detective buddies out here for a quick chat with you.”
“Will do.”
Nick ducked his head in and waved for the detectives to join him. They did so without comment. Nick put his iPhone on speaker. “Go ahead Director. I have Detectives Samson and Donatello here with me.”
The CIA Director identified himself, outlined the talk he would have with the mayor to confirm what was happening, and promised to have the mayor call them personally. “Thank you both for this outstanding cooperation. CIA does not work on home soil, but I have consultants like Marshal McCarty to help coordinate a quick strike force in cases like this. I also appreciate you keeping a curtain of silence surrounding this until we can stop this threat.”
“Count on it, Director,” Floyd said with Tony echoing his affirmation.
After Paul disconnected, Donatello held out his hand. “I don’t know what all you do, Nick, but one thing’s for sure, you’re on the right side of it all. Sorry about doubting you earlier.”
“No problem, Tony. Once the mayor calls to confirm, if you guys can get Lisa released into my custody, I’ll get my plan into action. The moment this threat is fixed, I will call and let you both know the outcome.”
Floyd also shook his hand. “If we can help, call.”
“I will do so. The Director would like this handled outside of local police jurisdiction, because he’s not sure of what response we’ll have to make to this threat. I appreciate the offer. If I need help, I’ll call for sure. Otherwise, I will call you with an update. I know you guys will be worried about the city. I will let you know by tomorrow if the threat is ongoing or not.”
“Good enough, Nick. Thanks.”
* * *
Nick escorted Lisa out of the building to meet Gus and John. They gave no indication of surprise when called out to another terrorist threat. He did hear Rachel though, and she was not happy. He smiled. Paul was right. Nick accepted the fact he loved these happenings while being caught in the middle of them. His mind mulled over scenarios at lightning speed. Every dangerous challenge could be solved. Whether it was solved inside or outside the law always intrigued Nick. He would bring Tim and Grace into the mix right now. They could very well be unwilling witnesses to some violent outside the law solutions.
“You’re a killer,” Lisa stated. “How did you ever get a Marshal’s badge?”
As they passed outside the precinct building Nick felt it was the right time to get some things straight with Lisa. He paused, turning to face her. “Listen to me closely, kid. This will be the only time you ever get a warning. You’re right. I am a killer. The important thing for you to remember is no matter what you see happen on this terrorist case, you keep your mouth shut. This isn’t a movie on the family channel. If you cross me in any way, I will come for you in the night, carve you up, and everything you ever loved. I killed your boyfriend and his buddies without a thought. People like me stop terrorists and other killers. I’ll deliver on my promise to you, but after we’re through with our business, I better never run across your name again. I’ll give you a story to tell everyone. Stick to it and we won’t have a problem. Is that clear enough for y
ou?”
Lisa stared into the killer’s eyes, licked her lips, and nodded.
“I want to hear it, Lisa!”
“It…it’s clear. I’ll keep my mouth shut.”
Nick saw terror scrolled across Lisa’s facial features. “Good girl. There’s our ride. We’ll go to my rental house where you can make a call. It would be to your advantage to be very convincing with the Albanians. Channel that little lawyer’s daughter minx who likes to mastermind armed robberies. This will be the last time you get to play that role, so do it well.”
“I will.”
* * *
“I wish to see this bitch’s stash!”
Edon Fier held a placating hand in front of the tall huskily built, nearly white haired man in a black suit. “We must speak only English. Please… listen Valon. You must protect Jahannam identity. Let us deal with her. We saw the stash from her first two jobs. I only let her walk out because I think she get more. It is true. They do three more jobs since then. Her buy-in will far exceed what we have asked.”
“The bitch talk like she some kind of crime Goddess! If she has the goods, shoot her in the face, and take everything.”
“She may be a help in future, Val,” Edon urged his boss. Nearly as tall as his boss, but with thin featured brown bearded face. “If we get hoped for value from shipment, the Cincinnati job will be a statement in the heartland.”
“Edon is right,” another Albanian named Luan Curri, a heavily built, squat man in chinos and black t-shirt added with hands clasped in front of him. We have only been activated because other cell wiped out by madmen. We must make perfect job, and forward the money on so military recruitment center is wiped out. It will be as if the homeland was assaulted. The cell sent to Cincinnati has two helicopters. We cannot fail at this end.”
Valon calmed considerably at Luan’s words. He met the unblinking eyes of his chief of staff: a crewcut, dark haired man of slender build, but the deadliest killer Valon Kuteli had ever met. “What do you think, Ardi? Can we not simply shoot this bitch?”
Nightmare in Red Page 8