“Alright. I love you, man. I’ll call you soon.” The phone went dead.
Nerd shifted forward in his chair. “Was that a friend of yours?”
“Yeah.”
“What’s his name?”
David squinted at him. “Alex Blackstone. Why?”
“Oh. Just wondering. You sounded pretty bugged.”
“He wants me to leave town but I can’t. Not yet anyway.”
“What are you gonna do?”
David turned back to the computer. “I know I have to go to the Industrial Park, but I don’t know where exactly. The only clue I have is the part of the message that said, ‘where the diesel flows.’”
“Diesel?” Nerd leaned forward. “That’s one of the components of the bombs. You have a lead on the diesel?”
David tapped the keys. “More than that, I have a lead on the bombs.”
“The bombs?”
“Yeah. The message also said, ‘Danger at the West Downs Industrial Park.’ I’m pretty sure that means the bombs are there. But first I have to find the place. That’s where the diesel clue comes in. Brad sent me an email a little while ago. He wanted me to find out which companies in the West Downs Industrial Park stored diesel. I looked it up and sent him a list. If I can find out which one has a connection to the Arabs, I might have the location.”
“The message didn’t tell you which place?”
“No. Only the clue.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. Maybe the right words weren’t on the bulletin board.” He paused. “Wait. I think this is it.”
The email came up on the screen. Four companies were listed.
Nerd pushed on David shoulder. “Move over. I can do this faster than you.”
David got up, and Nerd plopped down and began copying and pasting and transferring over to his own login. Within minutes he had the public business records for each company.
David scanned them. “Here, Ace Wrecking and Repair. The owner is Robert Finney, but there’s another name, a co-signer for the building lease, Afif Al-Qadir.”
Nerd gave David a wide eyed stare. “That’s the milkman.”
The connection was unmistakable. Brad had stumbled onto more than a money trail, and Al-Qadir was at the center of it all––he and the Arab down the street, Hamid Abdul-Jilal. One had the diesel and the fertilizer, the other had the nuclear material. And David had all the leads. But was he ready to share those leads with the FBI? He could, once he knew Sharon and the kids were safe. He would give them twenty minutes, then tell Agent Cooper everything. After that he could head over to the Industrial Park. The message said go, and he didn’t dare disobey.
Chapter 19
Sharon gripped Emily by the hand and tucked in tight behind Alex. He turned the cellar door handle, peeked out into the kitchen, then looked around the door into the living room. It was clear, so he stepped out and motioned it was safe. Sharon poked her head out. Alex moved across to the front window and carefully pulled the curtain aside.
“Do you see anything?” she whispered.
“There’s a car up around the bend with two people in it. Other than that, everything looks like it should,” he whispered back.
Jerry came up the stairs, did his own check of the kitchen, and looked at Alex. “Do you think the people in the car are the terrorists?”
Alex put his finger to his lips. “Could be,” he said in a low voice. “It’s difficult to tell at this distance.”
“What if they follow me?” Jerry said, quietly.
Alex gave him a firm look. “They won’t. You’re not the target.”
“But what if they do?” (Jerry questioned everything.)
“I don’t know! Drive to the police station, or the fire station. That’s just around the corner.”
Sharon didn’t know if Jerry scowled at the thought of being chased by terrorists, or because he hadn’t thought of going to the police station himself. She thought about her brother. He had never been a thrill seeker. Even as a boy, he was always the one who would plop down in the snow bank to watch everyone else slide down the big hill. He never liked sliding, it was too dangerous. He preferred to make patterns in the snow––or just eat it. There was no drive in him for danger, no need for adventure. Bravery simply wasn’t in Jerry’s character. Brandon had gotten all of that. Yet, in her time of need, Jerry had come to her rescue. A feeling of gratefulness washed over Sharon. She reached out and rubbed his arm. “You’re a good brother. Thank you for coming back for us.”
The nervousness melted from his face and was replaced by a hint of valor. “You’re the only family I’ve got,” he said, smiling slightly.
She gave him a sympathetic look. She hadn’t thought about it before, but without her, Jerry would have no one. At least she had David and the kids, and David’s family. If something happened to her, Jerry would be completely alone in the world.
Alex went to the staircase and peeked up. “Alright, Jerry. It’s clear.”
Jerry squeezed his sister’s elbow. “I’ll see you in a couple of minutes.”
“Be brave,” she said, patting his arm.
He smiled. For once in his life she saw him as the brave one, as the hero, and he seemed pleased with the thought. His face beamed, if ever so slightly. He brushed past Alex, quickly looked out the door, then exited with a soft thump.
Sharon ran to the window to see Jerry pause briefly on the stairs. He took his keys from his pocket, then made his way down to his car. She could only imagine what was going through his mind, and a disturbing thought occurred to her. The car could be rigged with a bomb. A bomb! Why hadn’t she thought of that before Jerry went out? She needed to tell him––but then the terrorists would know she knew. Oh, Jerry, please check under the car!
Jerry reached the curb, then slowly walked around to the driver’s side of the Prius and stopped. She wanted to run to the door and warn him, but remained fixated on her brother’s still contemplation. He looked up at her, then down at the door.
Please, Jerry. Check! Please, God, don’t take Jerry!
He gripped the handle. Her heart constricted. The thought of losing two brothers in one week produced an aching stab in her chest. She couldn’t bear it, her desperate fingers dug into the curtain.
The car door popped open and Jerry climbed in.
All was quiet.
Sharon let out a controlled breath, then looked back up the street at the parked car. It remained still. Jerry pulled away from the curb and slowly moved off down the street. She backed away from the curtain and looked over at Alex. “I don’t hope to do that again anytime soon.”
Alex squinted. “Do what?”
“Nothing.” She put her hand to her forehead. “My imagination just got the better of me.”
Ben spoke from the top of the cellar stairs. “Mom? Emily’s crying.”
As he said it, Sharon realized that her daughter had been crying for awhile. The faint sobs had not registered because her attention was locked onto the events outside. She descended the cellar stairs and found Emily squeezed between the washer and the wall. Her face was wet, and her hair tangled in moist clumps. Sharon gently pulled her out by the wrist.
Emily clutched her mother’s waist and buried her face in her belly. “I don’t want to go outside, Mama. Please don’t make me go outside.”
Sharon hugged her tight. “I know you’re scared, honey, but we have to leave right now. It’s not safe here.”
“I don’t want to!”
Sharon crouched down and held her daughter by the shoulders. “Do you remember when we jogged with all those people and earned money to help babies?”
Emily nodded, but didn’t look up.
“We are going to go for another jog, but this time, just over to the street out back. Okay?
Emily continued to clutch her mother.
“You alright down there?” Alex called.
“Yes. We’re coming.” Sharon ran a hand across Emily’s cheek. “Come on now
. Mama’s right here. Everything’s going to be fine.”
“Will you carry me?” Emily looked up.
Sharon raised her eyebrows. “I’ll try but it might be faster if we both run. Okay?”
Emily pouted and looked at the floor. “Okay.”
Sharon stood up and took Emily by the hand. They headed up the stairs. Alex was at the back door, scanning the back yard. “You see anything?” Sharon said, peering past him.
“No. It’s quiet.”
“Mama, I don’t want to...”
“Shhh. Everything is fine.” She crouched down and put her arms around Emily, then looked up at Alex. “Do you think Jerry made it to the other street?”
“He wasn’t followed. Everything should be okay.”
Alex slid behind the three of them and back into the kitchen. “I’ll check the car one more time.”
“Okay.”
Sharon looked out the back window again. For once she was thankful they couldn’t afford more lawn furniture. She dreaded the thought of running through the yard enough without dozens of potential hiding spots for the terrorists to jump out from. She looked down at Ben. His eyes were like saucers, but he was holding together pretty well, all things considered.
Quick footfalls sounded through the kitchen, and Alex appeared in the doorway. The look on his face said everything. Something was very wrong. “We have to go. Now!”
“What’s...”
“They’re coming up the front steps!”
Panic filled her mind as she grabbed the kids and pushed them through the door and across the yard. Alex raced around them, skidded to a stop, and fumbled with the gate and his pistol. He looked intensely over his shoulder.
“Here!” Sharon pushed forward. “I’ll get it!”
Alex trained his eyes on the back door and window as Sharon expertly flipped the latch. It pivoted up with a squeak, and she swept Emily up in her arms. “Go Ben! Go!” she yelled. They skirted down the path, around the neighbor’s lilac bushes, and out to the street.
Jerry’s car was there.
Sharon opened the back door and the kids jumped in. She looked back at Alex. “What are you going to do? You can’t go back there!”
Alex paced, stopped, and slid his hand down his face. “I guess I have to go with you.”
There were so many things she wanted to say, but one look at his face told her she’d better save it. She turned and hopped into the back with the kids. Alex climbed in the front.
Jerry had a confused look. “I thought you were...”
“No time for questions!” Alex waved his gun at the windshield. “DRIVE!”
Chapter 20
The conference room on the second floor had been converted into a mobile SIOC, or Strategic Information and Operations Center as the Feds called it. It consisted of four laptops tied into stacks of mysterious electronic equipment, and a dozen agents with headsets tied into cellphones.
David was stopped by a rather intimidating agent at the entrance of the room. He feigned confidence. “I need to speak with Agent Cooper.”
“What do you need.” The agent’s tone was calculated.
“I have vital information concerning the investigation.”
“All information needs to be passed through your chain of command.”
Agent Cooper’s head came up. His eyes met David’s. “Agent Garis, let him in.”
The agent moved to the side, his features still cold, his body language still unwelcoming.
Agent Cooper waved David in then started talking into his headset again. “All teams in standard chem gear. Download the SOP to your location.” He held a finger up to David. “Yes. And put Charlie Team on the ridge to the left of the silo. Build the team as you see fit. Okay. Out.” He pulled his headset off and placed it on the table.
“Hope I’m not interrupting.”
“You’re the one who came to talk with me earlier.”
“Yes.”
“Name’s Cooper.” He offered his hand.
David shook it. “David Chance, sir.”
“You looked pretty shaken up in the conference room, like you’re sitting on something big. Am I right?”
“How did you...”
“Training, son. I’ve been in this business a long time. I know a man running scared when I see one.”
David squirmed slightly.
“Tell me what you’re dealing with, and I’ll walk you through it, whatever it is.”
“Yes, sir. Well––this morning my son saw two boxes with ‘Hazardous Materials’ written on them. They were in a van at a house belonging to a man who lives down the block from us. I believe his name is Hamid Abdul-Jilal.”
Agent Cooper’s eyebrows rose. He reached over and tapped the woman sitting at the table next to him. “Amy, take this down please.” He looked back at David and paraphrased. “You have come in contact with Hamid Abdul-Jilal, and your son saw hazardous materials in the back of his van?”
“Yes. There were two men there this morning, one of them had a gun tucked in his pants.”
“Do you have a license plate number for the vehicle?”
“No.”
“Give Amy the address, and she’ll look into it further.”
David leaned in and told her the address. Her fingers flew over the laptop keyboard.
“Did your son see anything else suspicious?”
“No. But when I came in today, I tracked down some leads and learned a few other things.” David handed him a printout. “Brad Knight was working on a story about mosques and terrorism. I think his goal was to find a correlation between the recent increase in the national threat level and terrorist activity in Boston––specifically finances coming in from the Middle East through local mosques.”
“Yes. We know. Brad has been sharing information with us for months.”
“Oh. Well did he tell you about Afif Al-Qadir.”
“We are in the process of following up on that lead.”
“Do you know about the diesel?”
The agent’s eyes widened slightly. “No.”
“Brad was onto more than the milk farm. He had me on task to check out the West Downs Industrial Park. He wanted to know how many businesses in the park had the capacity to store diesel. Of course, I didn’t think anything of it at the time, but- ah, something clicked for me today, and I started digging. It turns out, Afif Al-Qadir has his hands in a company called Ace Wrecking and Repair, located in the industrial park.
Agent Cooper read from the paper David had given him. “So Afif Al-Qadir co-signed for the lease on a garage and warehouse in the Industrial Park, a garage with a history of diesel shipping and storage.” He handed the paper off to Amy. “Add this to working leads.”
“Yes, sir.” She snatched the page, swiveled in her chair, and started entering the data.
Cooper turned back to David. “You’ve had a busy day, Mr. Chance.”
David gave a half smile. “Oh you have no idea.”
“Anything else we should know about?”
He shook his head. “No. That’s about it.”
Cooper reached into his pocket and pulled out a business card. “Here, take my card. If you hear or see anything else, give me a call.”
David took it. “Thank you.”
“No, David. Thank you. This information will help a great deal.”
Nerd was standing outside with a look of expectancy on his face. “So what are you going to do now?”
David looked back at the guard and starting walking down the hall. “I’m going to the garage,” he whispered.
“Are you out of your mind? That’s where the terrorists are.”
“We don’t know that.”
Nerd leveled his eyes on David.
“All I know is the messages are leading me to the garage. There must be something there I’m supposed to find.”
“Yeah! Terrorists!”
David stopped. “I wish everyone would stop telling me what I already know!” He tried to
keep his voice level. “I know it’s dangerous. I know I’m in way over my head. I understand terrorists kill people. I’m not stupid. Man!”
“The FBI is going, why do you need to go?”
“Because they don’t have God talking to them!” As soon as the words slipped through his lips, he wished he could suck them back in.
Nerd looked at him sideways.“–God?”
“The words. I- I don’t know what it is!”
“You just said God.”
“Drop it, Nerd!”
“It’s just like the Vorlon on Babylon 5...”
David turned on him. “I swear, if one more word comes out of your mouth, one more word! You’ll be sorry! Got it?”
Nerd cowered against the wall.
“I don’t want to talk about it anymore!” David pressed the button for the elevator. The door opened. He stepped in and turned around. “I’m going to the Industrial Park because lives are in danger, and I may be the only one who can do anything about it!”
The elevator doors were almost closed when Nerd nuzzled up to the slit. “You’re a prophet, David.”
David punched the crack where Nerd’s mouth had just been.
A prophet?
David didn’t know what he was, but he certainly didn’t need Nerd’s whacked out sci-fi theories messing up his already confused mind. Sure, he wanted to believe it was God, that’s why he had made the statement. He needed to believe the source of the messages was something bigger than himself, a force capable of leading and protecting him. But the possibility of believing it was God was challenged by his past experiences with religion, and religious people. He had seen too many contradictions to allow himself to be sucked into some kind of euphoric safety bubble. If only God would just tell him straight out. But no! Everything had to be a riddle. A stupid stinkin’ RIDDLE! David looked toward the elevator ceiling. “YOU are SO frustrating!” His phone went off and he ripped it out of his pocket. “Hello!”
“You okay?” It was Alex.
“Sorry. Today’s been a bit, trying, to say the least.”
“Well, I just wanted to bring you up to speed.”
David forced himself to lighten his tone. “Yes. How is everything?”
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