by John Charles
On their way back to Andrews, Kristoff asked if Aaron wanted to join him and a few friends at the pub for a late supper. When Aaron politely declined, Kristoff said, "You have to eat and that bedsit you have only has a microwave and small fridge. Come join us and have a good meal. My friends don't bite ya know."
Aaron put up a good fight, but finally caved in, as Kristoff wouldn't let him off. Parking in front of Aaron's building Kristoff said, "Isn't it time you graduated from that bedsit to a real apartment? My dorm room, at uni, was bigger."
Standing next to the car, Aaron replied, "I just don't know where to live. I need a place near the subway; I mean tube, since I don't have a car here."
"When I get back from this little trip you and I are going apartment hunting. Now go in and get changed. I'll pick you up in half an hour. Aaron, we are just going to a pub, so dress casual, okay?"
Kristoff drove away with music blaring. Aaron walked into his building and up to the fourth floor where his bedsit was located. As he put the key into the door, he could hear music and voices from all around him. Yeah, maybe I should get a better place.
The following morning, Hank, Kristoff, Aaron and Natalie, Andrews' field manager, sat in the conference room with Robert and Ethan. Robert was all smiles and alert. Ethan was not. Though he looked as if he was still asleep, he was impeccably dressed and his hair looked as if he had come from the stylist.
Robert had only one concern. "My son has been playing American soccer since he was very young, but you Brits play it at a different level being it is your national sport. Kristoff, I want you to make sure Ethan is not the subject of ridicule from the other boys at the camp. Don't get in the middle, but please keep an eye out for any teasing or hazing. I will not tolerate that, especially when it comes to my Ethan."
The schedule, check in times, and Kristoff's driving route to the camp were reviewed. When Hank and Robert were satisfied that all the bases were covered, Kristoff and Ethan left the conference room. Hank and Aaron noticed the pained look on Robert's face as he watched his son leave with Kristoff. "I missed him for a full year while he lived with my sister back in Colorado. Now he's only been here a month and he is leaving again. I guess I'll have to get used to it, but I don't like it. Gabi missed him even more than I did."
Everyone got up, said their goodbyes to Robert as he thanked Hank and turned to leave.
Aaron went to the company gym. He usually arrived at 6:30 each morning, but the meeting altered his normal routine. When he finished an abbreviated workout, he made his way to the I.T. lab for another day of fun. He would be configuring a high tech security system for a new client with the intention of supervising the installation tomorrow. He loved this part of his job.
Four hours later, lunch missed and the security system packed in boxes, Aaron took a break. He was hungry and decided to go to the café down the street for a late lunch. Before he got there, his mobile rang. He anticipated a call from Kristoff saying he was bored already, but the caller ID showed Hank's name. "Hi Hank." He listened without interruption then turned and started to run back to his office.
When he arrived, he found the conference room was packed. He entered as Hank began to speak. "As some of you know, Kristoff was escorting Ethan Tameron to soccer camp today. Robert received a call from the camp director asking why Ethan had not checked in."
Murmurs could be heard from several people in the room. "The trip should have taken about an hour. Neither Kristoff, nor Ethan have checked in at their scheduled call-in times. Natalie contacted Robert who said he too, had not received any calls. I need all of you to help find Kristoff and Ethan."
Chapter 3
"Where are Kristoff and Ethan? I want details. Natalie, contact hospitals and check police reports for any accidents. Aaron, you get on those GPS chips and find their signals. Everyone else, assist wherever your time and expertise allows. I want them found, people!" said Hank as he addressed the staff in the conference room.
Aaron and Natalie ran to their respective work locations. Others talked with Hank about what they could offer in the search for the two missing people. Once in his lab, Aaron brought up the GPS tracking system. He keyed in the code for Kristoff expecting to see the four chips blinking on the superimposed map of London. What he saw surprised him so much that he started the procedure over again. He received the same results, so he keyed in the code assigned to Ethan's chips. To his surprise, the results he received were not any better.
Natalie contacted hospitals and police stations within a 100-mile radius of the Andrews offices. No accidents involving two young men were reported. The hospitals confirmed several accident emergency cases, but none matched the descriptions of Ethan or Kristoff.
Knowing time was of the essence, she contacted airports and public transportation offices to see if they had any unusual situations that might involve two young men. None was reported. Natalie was frustrated, but her professional background told her to keep trying.
Aaron called Hank's office phone and was automatically forwarded to his mobile. "Hank, I need you in my lab as soon as you can." Before he finished talking, Hank was running down the hall. He stuck his head into Natalie's office telling her to join him, and continued to Aaron's lab.
"What do you have Aaron. Did you find the chips?" said Hank as he entered the lab.
Aaron signaled Hank and Natalie to look at the large monitor on the wall. He repeated the procedure to locate the GPS chips at his desk and watched with anticipation as the results were shown on the wall monitor. Hank looked from the monitor to Aaron several times. He too, was baffled. "I've repeated the search several times, sir. Each time the same results showed."
Natalie, not sure of what she was seeing, asked, "What am I looking at. You said you chipped Kristoff's trainers, gym bag and his car. Why do I see blinking lights at so many different locations?"
A map of London and the surrounding areas clearly showed that the GPS chips with Kristoff's code were blinking at four different locations on the map. The locations were spread over an area several miles from each other. Aaron ran the check for Ethan's chip codes and superimposed the results on the same map. Kristoff's chips blinked in blue. Ethan's blinked in red. All eight icons were spread out over the same range. No two were in close proximity to another.
"It's almost as if someone threw their clothes out of a plane and the wind scattered them around London," said Natalie. Then she brought her hand to her mouth and whispered, "Oh my God."
Hank looked to Aaron for an explanation but found him typing commands on his keyboard again.
"I'm about to run the phone search right now. I'll put that on the same screen," said Aaron as his fingers ran over the keyboard with lightening speed. To his surprise, Ethan's phone icon was blinking on top of one of Kristoff's. But he found no indication of a phone GPS for Kristoff at all. "Even if his phone is turned off, the location app still works. The only way to disable it is to smash the phone."
"Look at that," said Hank and Natalie almost simultaneously. "Does that mean we have them or just something with a locator chip in it," asked Natalie.
Aaron was busily entering commands into his computer. Suddenly the screen changed to one of the thousands of traffic cameras scattered in and around London. They saw cars and trucks speeding by the intersections in real time. Then the monitor changed again. This time they saw a stretch of road about thirty miles outside of London.
"The cameras are spread out this far from the city, but I think I can get an image close to the icons," said Aaron as he beat the keyboard into submission. The monitor changed again showing the same road from a different angle. He superimposed the blinking icons on the visual for reference. There, in front of them was indication of a major road accident. New skid marks could be seen, debris from a car or cars was scattered on the road, but no cars. "Sir, I think they were in an accident on this road. The blinking icons suggest the chips are twenty to thirty feet off the road."
"Could it be them or just their tracking chips?" asked
Natalie.
"Not sure what it means," said Aaron.
But Hank was sure he wanted to find out. "Aaron can you do this," he asked pointing to the wall monitor and Aaron's computer, "from your laptop?"
"Yes sir, I can do this anywhere I can gain access to the internet. My computer has the latest cellular data capabilities, and I think that area of London does have public Wi-Fi," said Aaron as he stood, and started to collect what he needed.
"Good, I want the two of you to assist in this search. We'll use Robins and Akerheart. They are our best security resources too. Let's get going," said Hank as he walked to the door. Turning, at the door, he looked at Aaron and said, "That was good work Aaron." As he exited the I.T. lab, he shouted for Robins and Akerheart to join them.
Aaron gave Akerheart the coordinates of the GPS chips and the road number he had on his laptop. Akerheart handled the large black SUV with the skill of a professionally trained driver. He sped through London streets not anticipating lights to turn green as he approached. They did. Looking to Aaron, he asked, "You doing that?"
Aaron shook his head saying, "I've learned quite a few tricks since I arrived last year. The Traffic Control System is easily hacked, but please don't tell them." Akerheart smiled, looked toward Hank and shook his head as if to say yeah, this kid is okay.
Natalie Hurleigh had spent several years in high security before she joined Andrews. Her previous position as a field agent supervisor gave her a different prospective from many of the Andrews' team. She was skilled at her job and knew how to spot signs. As they approached the scene of the suspected accident, Natalie said, "Please stop here. I'd like to go the rest of the way on foot."
Akerheart stopped on the side of the road allowing everyone to exit the SUV. Natalie led the team to the accident site as if she was in charge. Hank knew her capabilities and simply followed her signals. As they approached the site, she saw indications that several cars had traveled over the road since earlier that morning. But one track stood out.
They approached on the grassy shoulder. Natalie pointed to skid marks and said, "If this was Kristoff's car, he was surprised and stopped suddenly. Look at the skid marks." She pointed to marks on the road that veered in several directions indicating the driver had tried to avoid hitting another car or object in the road.
Aaron held his laptop in front of Natalie and said, "The signals are coming from the other side of the road, maybe 20 yards into the overgrowth."
When he showed his finding to Natalie and Hank, they collectively saw the indication that a car had indeed driven off the road. Natalie, however, had a different thought. "Look at the tire marks. The car stopped here very abruptly. It was driven off the road later, not at the same time as the accident."
The five teammates walked to the other shoulder and spotted the car in the woods. The convertible top was down, windscreen was smashed, and no signs of Ethan nor Kristoff. As they approached the car, Natalie said, "Look at the windscreen. Something hit it with considerable force to do that."
Akerheart searched the surrounding area hoping to find the young men. He found Ethan's phone about ten feet from the car. Until that point, no one touched the car hoping to find prints of whoever did this. Hank handed Akerheart an evidence bag and gloves. "Is it still on?" he asked.
Akerheart donned the gloves, picked up the phone with two fingers on the outside rim, and looked at the screen. "It may be in sleep mode. Do you want me to check?"
Aaron was busily fingering his keyboard. "Wait, don’t touch it. I think someone has attempted to access Ethan's lock code several times. If you try again, the phone could shut down and we may need the information it has."
Once again, Akerheart looked toward Hank and shook his head in acknowledgement. He gingerly placed the phone in the evidence bag, sealed it and put it into the bag Hank was holding. He then joined Natalie as she scanned the car for anything obvious. "See anything?" he asked.
"Yeah, I do. Look at the seats. Everyone looked and saw blood on the driver's seat. They also saw indications of bloody fingers on the doorframe. Hank do you have Kristoff's blood type on file?"
"We have everyone's, including Ethan's just in case we needed to get blood to them in an emergency. It's standard procedure."
"Do you have any swabs in your kit?" she asked Robins.
"No, but I can get a team out here in short order. Let me phone in the request." He moved away from the car, called the office, and arranged for a full forensic team to assess the car.
Everyone went back to the SUV and waited. Hank asked Aaron to keep an eye on the other chips. He was already on it, "I've had the tracking system checking for any movement since we left the office. The only chip that has moved is the one in Ethan's phone."
The forensic team spent hours scanning the wreckage for fingerprints and any other evidence that might lead them to a solution for this mystery. Hank and Aaron went back to Andrews leaving Natalie, Akerheart and Robins with the forensic team. A secure flatbed was ordered to remove the car and bring it to the Andrews' garages. There the team would do a more detailed search for evidence.
Hank was at a loss. He knew he had to contact Robert, but didn't know what he could say to the man. Robert was distraught when he heard the findings. "What do you think happened to them Hank? Could they be in hospital in a nearby town?"
He told Robert of their exhaustive search of hospitals and the search that Aaron had done when they returned from the scene of the accident. "No hospital has any records of two young men involved in a car accident."
"I can't sit here doing nothing. I want to join you," said Robert.
"I think you should stay with Gabi. She needs you and frankly sir, you'd just be in the way here, no disrespect intended."
Robert conceded Hanks wishes, and reiterated that he wanted any information that Hank and his team found out. Both men closed the call.
Hank leaned back in his chair, placed the tips of the fingers of both hands together, closed his eyes, and let his mind go. What happened to them?
Chapter 4
Hank's meditation was broken by the ringing of his mobile, "Bellingham," he said into the phone as he turned his chair to look out the window. He listened for several minutes then said, "Okay. Let me know when you get into the garage." He closed the call, got up and walked out of his office.
"Sir?" said Aaron as Hank walked into the lab. "Anything from the forensic guys?"
"They are on their way in with the car. Natalie said they found some more evidence. She'll explain it further when they arrive." Hank leaned against the doorframe facing Aaron, looking at the wall above him. Aaron turned to see what Hank was looking at. There on the wall, was a print of the scene Aaron had saved from the traffic camera footage.
Hank walked to the picture, ran his finger along the road, turned to Aaron and said, "Can you get footage of this road from the time Kristoff left the office?"
Aaron began keying in commands on his computer. Several images appeared but not the one he wanted. "This road is not included in the real time surveillance system. The system only goes live out there when the Traffic Administration has a problem in the area."
"See what you can find Aaron. It may be the only clue we have right now," said Hank as he walked to the door. "Oh, would you also see if you can find footage of Kristoff's car as he left Andrews. I want to know if someone followed him."
Aaron scanned video footage from the local traffic cameras looking for Kristoff's Cooper as it left Andrews. While the system is designed for controlling traffic flow, it does not have consistency between cameras. Each camera has its own channel, so tracking a car is a tedious task. This could take hours or even days.
Hank returned to his office and made another call. Without giving all the details, he let his wife of 30 years know what was happening. They met at a mutual friend's barbeque and started dating shortly after. Hank, at the time, was not sure a steady girlfriend or a wife would be a good thing. He was a new agent at MI5 and wanted to give
it his all. He also didn't want a wife wondering if he was alive when he didn't come home on time. Carol felt differently. She said she understood Hank's desire to become an agent and supported him fully. The one thing she asked from Hank regarding his job was that he not give her the gory details. She wanted to know when he was not coming home for dinner, and when he might be away; that was all.
Today was a little different though. Carol sensed something in Hanks voice. She knew he wouldn't tell her, this was different. "I love you honey."
"I love you too, Carol. How about we plan a little get away when this blows over?" he said, closed the call and continued to look out the window.
Natalie knocked on the doorframe to Hank's office. When he turned his chair to face her, she said, "You may want to see what we found. The forensic guys are going over the car again in the garage."
Hank followed her as they walked the hall to the high security garage within the Andrews facility. Andrews was housed in a former industrial building. It needed extensive renovations. He worked with an architect to design a state of the art facility that rivaled the best of the police and MI5. Some thought his renovations were overdone, but he knew the facility would earn its keep and convinced the money people to allow him to continue.
He stuck his head into Aaron's lab and asked him to join them. The hallway led to a door with a security sensor. Natalie swiped her cardkey to gain access and the three entered the room. Protocol required them to don gloves, foot covers, and an overall type of body suit. The protection was geared more to keep evidence from contamination than to protect a team member.
When Hank took over the helm of the UK division of Andrews, he was determined to bring much of his MI5 training into the operation. One of the many things he had learned in his 30 plus, year career with the agency was that evidence was sacrosanct. This garage was a virtual clean room. It was sterile prior to the car arriving and would be cleaned when the case was over and the car removed. They would use the garage for all evidence in this case, until it was solved. Then the forensic team would scour the details again as a learning tool to perfect their methods.