by Matt Lincoln
Tessa zoomed in on the scene and took photos of Kelley and Charity. She swallowed her bile and got images of them standing over their victims. As they chatted, Tessa guessed that they were waiting for Wilson, the pilot.
“Did you see that photographer here?” Kelley asked Charity.
“I thought I did, but she disappeared. She probably went up the road with her boyyyyfriend.” Charity made a childish face.
“Do you know who her uncle is?” Kelley snapped.
Charity shook her head. “No, sugar. Is he important?”
“Hell yes. Admiral Farr is a true patriot. He’s infiltrated that shit rag EcoStar.” Kelley’s grin sent shivers down Tessa’s spine. “It’s simple. Gain influence over the enemy’s sons,” he looked down at Charity, “and their beautiful daughters, and turn them against the traitors that infest the halls of Congress.” He held up a finger. “Now, we can’t give him specific plans because if he knew and didn’t turn us in, he’d be buried. That’s okay. He’ll be proud when we deploy the weapons in places that’ll show those socialists we mean business.”
“Hey, isn’t that the guy that Frank says sold out?”
Kelley scoffed. “Frank doesn’t understand complex strategy like I do. Farr is on our side. When the time comes to oust the enemy, he’ll stand on the side of the mighty eagle.”
“That’ll be so cool.” Charity flung her arms out and spun.
The way the girl acted reminded Tessa of Harley Quinn, the Batman character who was the Joker’s sycophant. And sicko was right. She was childish and hopelessly devoted to an unabashed psychopath.
Kelley touched a finger to his ear and nodded. “Frank says the invaders are up by the cabin,” he told Charity. “They have some kind of fancy robot going in. You want to do the honors, my dear?” He handed her something small and black. It looked like a cell phone.
“This is gonna be so cool,” Charity gushed as she caressed the phone. “Is Frank safe?”
“He’s on the way.” Kelley handed the girl a slip of paper. “Dial this and hit send.”
Tessa realized what they were doing only when Charity punched in the numbers. There was no way to warn them up at the property. She clamped her hands over her ears and shrank behind the tree as a massive boom shook the ground and slammed through Tessa’s body. She curled into a crouch until the subsequent shockwaves passed.
When she was sure it was over, she took a shaky series of breaths and got her equilibrium back and the ringing in her ears receded. She picked up her camera, but the lens was cracked by the concussion. A series of hoots came from the road, and she went back to the fern. Wilson had joined them and removed a headset of some sort.
“That was epic,” Charity hollered.
She hugged Kelley, who sneered over her head until she let go and ran to hug Wilson. His face cleared when she no longer touched him. That confirmed one theory to Tessa. Kelley had no real attachment to the girl. Wilson, however, hugged her back and spun her.
Kelley kicked around at Wallace’s gutted remains until he found what he wanted. He stooped, retrieved something from Wallace’s pocket, and then held it high.
“That nice fella loaned me his keys,” Kelley told his crew. “It’s a shame that he won’t get his keys back, y’know?” He laughed at his own joke. “It’s a shame we didn’t have time to blow the shed. Oh well, another time.”
Charity got into the front passenger seat, and Wilson slipped into the seat behind her. Kelley jumped into the driver’s seat with something approaching giddiness. That was the most emotion Tessa had seen the man express.
Kelley put the Durango in gear and backed up over Wallace’s body. He then rolled out, once again going over what was left. Tessa thought she heard a crunch, but she did not want to think about it.
Chapter 35
“It was a trap,” I confirmed to Diane as I walked at the edge of the tree line on Kelley’s property. “They knew we were coming, and they got away with the weapons. We’re damned lucky nobody got killed.”
I felt like shit for letting Kelley slip past. We thought we had everything covered, down to setting up a solid perimeter. Whatever we missed, we’d figure it out after we caught Kelley, Wilson, and Charity Anderson.
“Someone has to talk to Marci Anderson.” Diane’s sigh came through loud and clear. “That someone is me.”
“You could have someone from the Tampa field office tell her in person.” I shook my head. “I don’t envy whoever ends up telling Marci that her daughter didn’t just run away with a psychopath, but that she killed a MBLIS agent.”
“There’s something else,” she told me. I heard a door shut in the background. “Warner found evidence of a mole in Cyber. They’ve fed intel to Kelley.”
“That’s how he’s kept ahead of us.” Even though I’d suspected it, the confirmation ate at my gut. “I think this militia group he’s mixed up with has people everywhere. This isn’t good, Diane.”
A truck trundled up from the access drive. It rocked from side to side as it maneuvered the uneven ground and then stopped outside the taped-off area around the outbuilding. Muñoz and Birn met it while Holm and Tessa waited for me so we could go through Tessa’s account from the roadside.
“One thing at a time,” Diane told me. “Warner will figure it out. Bonnie’s working with him on it. It shouldn’t be long.”
“You sure it’s not Warner himself?”
“Bonnie’s working with him,” Diane repeated. “That said, I don’t think it’s TJ. He’s worked with Bonnie before, and she trusts him. He’s shown no inclination toward extremism.”
“Gotta go,” I interjected. “They’re ready to inspect the outbuilding, but I don’t think there’s much left in there.”
I ended the call and headed over to the team. As I passed Tessa, she grabbed my hand for a second, squeezed, and let it go. People saw, but there was no point in hiding my connection with her. She had her camera bag, but she’d told me the camera’s main lens was cracked by the force of the explosion. I resolved to do something about that as soon as I could. The least the office could do would be to replace it.
The San Juan MBLIS radiation techs were busy putting together a decontamination unit for people to pass through while cleaning up the scene. Their lead tech came over and updated us.
“We’re going to process and decon the scene, but our initial look shows you’re right.” He pointed to a monitor with a grainy image. “We hacked the CCTV already in place. The reception isn’t great because of the radiation, but an empty table is an empty table.”
“Mostly empty,” I muttered. “Looks like the drums that cut loose knocked crushed some of the equipment and knocked the rest on the floor.”
“Why bother?” Holm asked with a frown. “They were already running, and they blew the house. What was the point?”
I scanned the scene and swatted at a mosquito that kept flying at my face. Unless Kelley had another safe house, this was all he had for a base of operations. He gave up his access to hot medical waste when he murdered Nick Ames and walked out. The man had brass balls.
“Kelley was done with this place,” I said with something approaching certainty. “Whatever he’s been working on, it’s ready, and he’s shipping it to the mainland.”
Muñoz had been having a quiet discussion with Birn. She turned when she heard what I said.
“We know he’s not working solo, now,” she pointed out. “Think about it. Charity helped him make money by skimming off the disposal fees that didn’t go to Sedin, but there were bigger pockets to help him get to this point. Charity and Wilson aren’t the only people helping.”
I didn’t like where she was going, but we had to go there.
“Taking Kelley out is only going to be one spoke in the wheel.” I looked into the treetops, wished I could find some peace there, but a hot wind blew through. I looked at my team. “Keep focused on Kelley, Wilson, and Anderson. They’re the direct threats. With luck, we’ll sweep up some key players.”
I clapped once. “Someone find Stark. We’re leaving.”
I chose a Suburban that had brought CGIS agents. Their special agent on-scene wasn’t happy, but when I quietly told him the situation we had in Cyber, he relented and handed me the keys. Before my team piled in, I took them aside, away from others.
“Keep it to small talk until I say otherwise,” I ordered.
The weather was a popular topic as we drove away from the scene. A few miles down the road, I pulled off next to a field and had everyone get out and meet a good twenty yards away.
“What’s with all the cloak and dagger?” Holm asked.
“MBLIS has a mole,” I announced. “Warner and Bonnie are closing in on them, but right now, I don’t trust anything that could be bugged. Like MBLIS vehicles. We took the Suburban because CGIS vehicles are less likely to be bugged, but until we get the all-clear, I’m not taking chances.”
“So what’s the plan?” Birn wanted to know. “With Kelley knowing what we’re going to do, we’re screwed until that mole is taken out.”
“We’re flying back as soon as we rustle up a fresh pilot and copilot.” At Muñoz’s scowl, I continued, “We can’t wait until morning. The minute we get intel, we gotta be on it. Sorry, Sylvia, but you gotta let someone else fly her.”
Tessa shoved her hands in her pockets. I had to admit, I liked the tank-top and cargo pants look on her. It’d be fun to see her dress like that under better circumstances. At the time, however, I saw she was working something over in her mind.
“We know Kelley’s working with at least one militia.” She kicked at a dirt clod. “He spoke about a coming war, and that he wanted to show my uncle and other people that these patriots are ready to act. Charity said some people think Donald has sold out, but Kelley firmly believes that’s not so. He said that Donald is infiltrating ‘socialist’ spaces.”
Stark raised her brows. “Did he say which patriots?”
Tessa shook her head. “Just that they’re ready. It’s a bunch of extremists, not real patriots.”
“Kelley’s people are close to doing something,” I told them. “That’s why the weapons were gone. They’re already on the way. The question is whether they’re on a plane or boat.”
“Or more,” Birn said. “This son of a bitch put a lot of work into this. I’m thinking he’s shipped out most of his stuff and is taking the last of it now.”
“Let’s get back to Miami.” I looked at each person in turn. “Don’t talk about the case on the plane or until the mole is outed.”
On the way back to the Suburban, Tessa caught me by the arm.
“Kelley is crazy, Ethan. Completely delusional.” She squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. “I mean, you know that already, but you don’t know it until you’ve seen him.” Her eyes opened, and they brimmed with tears. “I’m scared. If he’s not stopped—”
“We’ll stop him,” I promised. “One way or another, that bastard is going to pay for his sins.”
35
The sun was setting as Bette Davis landed in Miami. Tessa slept through it, but the others were either awake or woke up with the noise. Holm had stared out the window for the entire flight, and I wondered if he was thinking about his sister again.
A text hit my phone as we taxied to the private terminal. It was from Diane, and another came in from Warner.
Warner wrote, Mole located and arrested. We’re secure now.
Diane messaged, Got tip about Kelley. You and Tessa meet me at the office ASAP. Send others home for rest. Need M&B to fly in the morning. Tell Stark she’s going. Will email them details now.
I passed Diane’s orders on to the team. Tessa and I drove over to the office. It was just after dusk when we arrived. The garage’s sodium-vapor lights lent an orange cast to the area, and the navy blue Charger looked… unwell in that light. Before we went up to the offices, I went over to where Rudy, the chief mechanic, was closing up for the night. I held the keys over the counter where he was marking a few final notes.
“What now, Marston?” he complained. “I went over it front to back, back to front, and every other way imaginable. The car is fine.”
I jingled the keys. “I don’t like the color.”
Rudy stared at the keys. “Are you shitting me? You want a new car because you don’t like this one’s color?”
I felt Tessa’s eyes on me and could only imagine what she thought of me at the moment. I tried not to care too much as I dropped the keys on the counter.
“It messes with my workflow,” I told Rudy. “Seriously, I just don’t like that car. Silver’s my favorite, but I’ll take any other color than that one.”
Rudy sighed. “Did you get all your crap outta this one?”
“Didn’t put any in there.”
He mumbled under his breath, snatched the keys, and went back into his office. I heard the metal key cabinet open and then slam. He came back out and slapped a new key set on the counter.
“I had this one ready to go for someone else. I’ll change the name on the paperwork so that it’s yours. Sign it in the morning, but you can take the car tonight.”
“Knew you loved me,” I told him. I picked up the keys. “Thanks, Rudy.”
“You tell anyone, and you’ll end up with the oldest POS I got.”
“My lips are sealed,” I promised. “Tessa?” She rolled her eyes and went on toward the elevator. “She won’t tell, either.”
On the way up, Tessa leaned against the elevator wall. “I just want to get back to your place and get a shower.”
“You don’t smell bad,” I told her. “I could get used to Rugged Tessa.”
“You’re nose-blind from your own sweat,” she informed me with a slight smile as the elevator doors opened. “Maybe we can shower—”
“Tessa!”
“Uncle Donald?” She stumbled out of the elevator and into a hug with the silver-haired former sailor. “When did you get here?”
“An hour ago.” He looked at me without any of the judgment I expect to see. “You’re not hurt, are you?”
“No, no. Just shaken.” She released him and held a hand out to me. “Please don’t blame Ethan for—”
“Not at all.”
He waved us into Diane’s office. She’d taken one of the guest chairs, and Farr helped himself to the director’s seat. It was simple decorum, yet it rubbed me the wrong way. I let it go, though, because this was the man who had led a fleet and sat among the Joint Chiefs. Decorum was all he knew anymore.
“Ethan, Tessa, I’m glad you’re back safe and sound,” Diane said. “Admiral Farr, if you don’t mind, I have updates for Special Agent Marston.”
“You can call me ‘Donald,’” he told us. “I’m retired, but with permanent clearance.”
“In other words, Uncle Donald wants to be a fly on the wall,” Tessa said in a droll tone.
“Alright.” Diane grabbed a tablet that she’d left on a table next to her. “We got a tip from a militia member. He went into the Charleston field office and asked for protection and immunity.” She projected an intake photo of a regular-looking, clean-cut man. “Chad Billings. He said he couldn’t get on board with using the dirty bombs, and he represented several people who felt the same as him. He volunteered to take one for the better good by outing his brothers.”
“So these are the people buying from Kelley.” I crossed my arms. “It’s good to know that not all of them want to hurt innocent people.”
Diane met my eye before continuing. “You were right that Kelley got his weapons out before you stormed his property. He had help from this group. They’re called the Legion of Patriots, and they’ve been largely off-radar until now. They’re planning to hit a big event with these weapons. Billings gave us the location and time for the delivery.”
“Haven’t heard of them,” I said with a shake of my head.
“I have.” Farr put his elbows on Diane’s desk and steepled his fingers the way he used to during the time I served under him. “T
hey’ve been kept mostly off the grid by big money. Donations to the right people, things like that.”
“Why do they want to do this, and why to the extreme of using Kelley’s weapons?” I stood rather than fidgeting in my seat like a five-year-old. “He’s all about chaos in search of restoring the nation to his idea of constitutional. This so-called legion can’t think that dirty bombs will win people to their side.”
“It will encourage extremists,” Farr answered. “It’s not the same as a nuclear warhead hitting a city. This is an inconvenience with a few casualties. People will see the legion as finally doing something more than talk, and they’ll rationalize the deaths and injuries as collateral damage.”
“Wait.” Tessa put up a hand and frowned. “Are you saying this whole thing has been a recruiting tool?”
Farr stood. He walked over to me and put a hand on my shoulder.
“Why did you join the Navy, Ethan?”
“To serve my country, sir.”
He nodded. “And?”
“Because I wanted to do something more than sit on my ass all day, bitching about the world going to hell.” Farr released my shoulder as the answer hit me square in the face. I turned to Tessa. “A recruiting tool. That’s exactly what this is. They can’t fight the war on their own, even with this group’s resources. People who want to act but feel they don’t have outlets will want to join this group.”
“It’s a better theory than most I’ve heard,” Diane told us. “You’re going to South Carolina in the morning, Ethan. Billings said Kelley is scheduled to deliver ordinance to Legion members south of Charleston tomorrow evening. He’ll be taking in one shipment by boat.”
“He flew, then,” Tessa pointed out. “There’s no way he’d get to South Carolina from Puerto Rico in less than a day.”
I nodded. “Agreed. My bet is they flew into a small airport and loaded their cargo into a truck. Get that truck to a marina and load the goods on a boat. Probably during the night so people don’t see the storage drums.”