by John Charles
Gabi was gently taken from the chair and placed on the floor. As she came back to life, her body started to shake violently. One of the EMTs covered her with a blanket even though the room was warm. The other took her vitals. Neither one talked to anyone in the room.
When Gabi's shaking slowed and she realized where she was, she reached out for Robert. He took a knee at her side and held her hand in his. "He'll be alright," he said looking into Gabi's tear filled eyes. "We'll get him back and he will be fine."
Hank looked from Gabi to Aaron. "Find the sender of that email, Aaron. I want to know where they are keeping Ethan." Aaron left the conference room in a run.
The EMTs and Robert helped Gabi sit up. When she said she was okay, they helped her back into the chair. Natalie placed a cup of warm tea in her hands and told her to sip it slowly. Gabi thanked her with a smile and nod of her head.
The EMTs left and the room was silent, but only for seconds before Robert yelled, "Hank, this is outrageous. That boy has done nothing to deserve this and for that matter neither have we," he said pointing to Gabi and himself. "You and your team were supposed to protect us … him; and you failed miserably. Now my son is at the hands of what - some terrorist?"
Hank looked to Akerheart and Natalie, signaling with his eyes to let Robert rant. He looked back to Robert and Gabi to find Gabi had placed her hand on Robert's shoulder as if attempting to sooth or calm him. Robert continued to yell at Hank and the team. He was obviously furious and felt lashing out at the people in front of him was the right thing to do. Hank had seen this dozens of times during his career with MI5. He let Robert yell until the man's temper slowly waned.
When Robert stopped talking, Hank said, "On the phone I asked you why someone would want to do this. Have you any ideas?"
Robert and Gabi both shook their heads. "We've tried to think about people we might have crossed. Of course, there are always people who think we are in this just for the money, but if my process was not working as well as it is, the oil companies would revert to Fracking. And we all know how that would end."
"Have you gotten any death threats or hate mail that looked serious?" asked Akerheart. "I understand a person in your position gets hate mail, but I mean anything so far out of the norm that it took you by surprise?"
Hank, Natalie, and Akerheart carefully watched both Gabi and Robert as the question was being posed. Body language can be more of an answer than words in cases like this. Robert slumped back in his chair and looked from Akerheart to his wife. "Not anything that would stand out, no," he answered. Then in an attempt to smooth over his rant of anger, Robert said, "I'm sorry for yelling before. This," he said pointing to the now dark monitor," is more than scary." He put both hands to his face in an attempt to control his emotions.
Hank allowed the Tamerons a minute of peace. Using the phone on the conference table, he dialed a number from memory. When the person answered, Hank cut through the normal catching up chatter and explained the situation he faced. The person on the phone listened as Hank continued to talk for several minutes. After bringing the person fully up to date, he said, "You have any ideas?"
It was Hank's turn to listen, which he did for several minutes, only interjecting a one or two word comment several times. Then he said, "I've heard his name mentioned. When can he be here?" Hank placed the phone on the cradle ending the call.
He let everyone look at him for a minute, as he carefully contemplated his next words. "That was my former boss at MI5. He agrees that there is more to this than meets the eye and has offered to help find your son."
Both Gabi and Robert quietly listened as Hank continued with his explanation.
"He is sending one of his field operatives to assist my team. The man is Declan Kinersley. He is twenty-six years old and has spent the past 5 years climbing the ranks in the agency. He has made a name for himself due to his out of the box thinking and tactics. Before you say anything about his age, understand he has put his life on the line on several occasions to help people like Ethan."
Akerheart and Natalie looked at each other as if they knew who this Declan might be. Hank spotted the look and smiled to himself. He knew this was going to get interesting very soon. Turning back to Robert and Gabi, Hank explained the background of MI5 and how he got involved in the agency.
"I had a great career in the firm, worked my way up from desk jockey, to agent, to field operative and then finally to managing supervisor of operations for a region, which I am not at liberty to discuss. Declan is known for his out of the box' thinking. That is how he has managed to be so successful in his short career."
"I don't care how he gets our Ethan back as long as he does," said Gabi as she squeezed Robert's hand. "Just get him back alive, please, Hank," she said. Then looking to her husband for support she said, "I want to go home now."
Hank stood to signal the end of the meeting, while Natalie escorted the Tameron's to the guard who drove them in earlier. "Take Gabi and Robert home, please. And Hank wants two more cars to flank you as you do." The guard understood, and walked the Tamerons to the rear exit.
When she returned to the conference room, Natalie saw that Aaron had the monitor on and was explaining something. She quietly sat and looked to Aaron as he spoke.
"Whoever this guy is, he is good. That email was relayed through five different servers."
"What do you mean?" asked Akerheart. "I'm fairly computer literate but I don’t understand how he could do that."
Actually, there are companies out there for that exact purpose. They hide your identity and let you surf the web anonymously. In this case, however, our man had access to five internet server addresses that he used to send this email. He hid the path quite well."
"Go on," said Hank. "I want this to be your main priority, Aaron."
Aaron shook his head, looked to Natalie and Akerheart, then continued. "I contacted Google since it was a gmail address. They said they have no information on his identity, since they don't require any for a person to get an email account with them."
"What about his location? Wouldn't Google know his location?" asked Natalie.
"Yes, in theory, they would. But like I said, this guy is good. Google shows his location as Quebec Canada, which we know is impossible. I doubt they could have kidnapped Ethan and gotten him out of the country by plane without alerting security. I'd say he is within driving distance."
"Good work," said Hank. "Now that you have Robert's account information, I want you to scour his emails and see if there is anything that might raise suspicion. And stay on this email, too. Find a location, Aaron." Hank explained that Declan Kinersley, from MI5 would be joining the team. "Let's meet again when Declan arrives." Hank stood, once again signaling the end of the meeting.
The team had gathered in the conference room after lunch to review everything they had on the case. Declan knocked on the doorframe waiting to be invited in. Hank stood and walked around the table to introduce himself. When Aaron looked up, he saw a young man about five feet seven inches tall. Compared to Akerheart, Robins, or himself, this guy was short.
His body though petite appeared to be solidly built. He filled the clothes he wore allowing Aaron to see that he was all muscle. His waist was so small; Aaron guessed he could touch his fingers if he put both hands around him. His black eyes sparkled, almost as if they had mirrors in them. Aaron's lust for the man in the doorway was taking over his body and mind. He knew of the 'No play with those you work with rule' and wondered if that was a rule meant to be broken.
Startled from his lust-filled thoughts, Aaron looked to see Natalie's hand on his arm. When he looked up, he could see the smile on her face that said 'I know what you're thinking.' He blushed, and looked in the other direction. He hoped his other head would soon return to normal as well.
After introductions and discussions to bring Declan up to speed, Hank asked, "What would you like to do until we go to the Tameron's house?"
"I'd like all of us to watch the video. T
his time let's do so from a different point of view. All of you have watched it from Robert and Gabi's point of view. Let's watch it from an investigator's prospective."
As Aaron ran the video again, they looked for clues that might give them any indication of what this man really wanted. They listened to his voice repeatedly, listening for indications of stress, revenge, anger or signs of instability.
One time Declan wanted them to watch the video without sound. "Look for eye movement. Where is Ethan looking? Does he always look into the camera or is he looking at someone or something else."
They created a list of points he focused on. Ethan did look into the camera, but he also looked at the off camera voice. In addition, he seemed to look to his right several times as if there was someone else watching.
"Aaron can you freeze the video as the voice brings his hand close to Ethan, please," requested Declan. "There, you see that? Look at his hand." Then he reached across the table for Hank and Aaron's hands. "What do you see when you look at these hands?" he asked.
Aaron shivered as Declan grabbed his hand. He shivered even more when Declan looked into his eyes and smiled. The interaction was split second fast but it did occur and drove Aaron crazy.
"I see the hand of an older man. Sorry Hank. And that of a teen. Sorry Aaron, but that is what I see," said Natalie. Both Akerheart and Hank agreed. Aaron said nothing. He just tried to control his breathing.
"Okay, now look at the screen. What do you see?"
Aaron was first to speak. "He is young, isn't he?"
"What else?" asked Declan.
Blushing a bit, Aaron answered, "He is smooth. No body hair and it looks like his nails have been recently manicured. His hands look soft, too, not like he uses his hands for labor."
"Exactly. Our kidnapper or at least Ethan's keeper, is young, probably my height, certainly not frail, but I'd say petite, and well maintained."
"Shit, now I know why they say you think out of the box," said Akerheart. Hank smiled, knowing that his team would have ascertained many of the same details, but here was a guy who brought it out in an interesting way. He liked Declan.
When they finished watching the video four more times, Aaron said, "I'm not seeing any additional details. In fact, everything is getting blurred right now. I need a break."
Hank agreed and looked to Declan suggesting that he could control the next move.
"I'd like to talk with each of you individually," said Declan as he stood and stretched. "That helps me gather information as well as gives me the chance to formulate specific questions." He met with Hank first, then worked his way through the team, ending with Hank again.
"So what feelings did you gather as you spoke with my team?" asked Hank. He knew from his years of experience that an operative used his gut more than most people would have thought. He was already impressed with Declan and wanted to hear more from this young brilliant agent.
"There's more to this than the Tamerons are saying. They might not even know why this is happening, but my gut says there is something directly concerning Robert. Speaking of Robert, when can I talk with him?"
"Gabi is having a tough time with this and Robert is just as messed up right now. Let them calm down before you interrogate them." Hank smiled as Declan smirked. "Yeah, I know the drill. You'll tell them you just want to get answers to some questions. By the time you're finished they'll be wondering if they are the criminals. Give them a couple of hours to get their nerves under control."
"Okay then," said Declan. "Would you mind if I worked with Aaron until you give the OK for me to visit the Tamerons? He is a smart guy and I'd like to watch as he works through this puzzle."
Hank realized that Declan would be doing more than watching. "Keep me in the loop, Declan. Remember this is my organization and I make the final decisions."
Declan agreed, walked from Hank's office and strolled into the I.T. lab to find Aaron looking at icons from the GPS tracking chips. The icons were still blinking, but were now lined up on top of each other.
"That's interesting," he whispered thinking he was alone.
"What's interesting?" questioned Declan shocking Aaron. "Yeah, I learned stealth quite well. What's interesting?" he asked again.
Chapter 9
Aaron showed Declan what he was talking about. "I put GPS tracking chips into both Ethan and Kristoff's clothing and trainers. I still can't get used to the word trainers when I've always called them sneakers," he said looking over his shoulder to see Declan smiling at him.
Getting his breathing under control again, he continued, "When we discovered Kristoff's car, I found the chips were scattered over a wide area rather than in one place. Now they are together and are heading this way."
"Any idea why they might be headed this way?"
He looked at Declan and said, "Yeah, I do." He explained that he had given Robins the GPS locations of all the chips. "I bet they have something to do with this," he said pointing to the monitor. "I need to give Hank an update," he said as he called Hank's office.
When Robins and his team returned, they went directly into the 'clean room.' They gave the plastic bags of Ethan and Kristoff's clothing and personal items to Akerheart. The men, assisted by Declan and Aaron - all in clean room attire - began the task of sorting through the items.
"We went from one set of coordinates to the next until we found every item that had been chipped. These trainers were being worn by a teen playing ball with his mates. I asked him where he got them but he clammed up really fast."
Declan asked, "What did you use to persuade him?" already suspecting the answer.
"Money, of course; I figured these trainers cost over a hundred pounds so I offered him one fifty if he talked. And talk he did."
Everyone had stopped sorting, looked to Robins, and listened to his story.
"Apparently this stuff," he said pointing to the pile on the table "was found in a nearby park that the kids use after school. Now that it is summer break, the kids go there almost every day to kick the ball around. The other day, they found this bag of clothing and two gym bags as well."
"But the chips were scattered over a wide area, not in one place," said Aaron in a questioning voice.
"I wondered about that too," said Robins. "So I asked the kid to give me more. He said they looked at the stuff and divvied it up. The trainers fit this kid so he got them. Another wanted Kristoff's new gym bag, and on it went until everything was taken."
Aaron continued to give Robins the questioning look, so he continued. "Two of the kids were visiting relatives who were leaving that same day. They thought it was Christmas in July, so Ethan's gym bag and trainers went one way. Some of Kristoff's clothing went in another direction and these trainers stayed with the kid who found the bag."
"Any idea what happened to Kristoff's phone?" asked Akerheart. "It is still unaccounted for."
"No, the kid said there was no phone in the bag. I asked him for the address of the others, but he balked thinking he might get in trouble or something. When the cops and I talked to his parents and explained about the kidnapping, they readily agreed. In fact the kid's father made calls for us to smooth our way with the other kid's parents."
"Did you have to pay the other kids, too?" asked Aaron definitely curious about this entire situation.
"We didn't have to, but after talking to Hank, we agreed these kids did nothing wrong and decided to give each of them some money. Overall, it cost us about a grand, but we got everything back. One of the kid's fathers said he hoped everything worked out OK."
As they were talking, the overhead intercom sounded. It was Hank asking Declan to come to his office. When Declan got to Hank's office, he was told that Robert wanted to delay any further conferences until the morning. "He said Gabi is really distressed and needed some time to get her emotions under control. Frankly, I think it's more about Robert than his wife, but I agreed. We need to find Ethan, Declan, so don't take this as time to rest. Get back in there and help us."
Declan went in search of Natalie, but she had already gone home. The dispatcher said she had worked 24 hours straight and needed to get some sleep. He turned his attention on the one person who might have some more answers, Aaron.
Aaron was at his computer working through the email relaying process that he discovered earlier when Declan walked into the lab. He continued to work as Declan took a seat next to him. When Declan didn't say anything, Aaron looked to his side to find Declan watching the monitor as he worked.
"I am retracing my earlier steps to see if I can find out more about where this email originated."
Declan found Aaron to be quite disciplined and systematic in his approach to the task. He watched as Aaron used three different computers to track and step through the email route. At one point, Aaron used the same relays to send a test email to Robert's account. When it appeared, Aaron smiled knowing he was on the right path.
Declan admired this type of discipline. He learned through personal and professional experience, that those who could maintain this level of strict self-control were the best when put under field pressure. Sitting next to this shy, young man, Declan felt assured that Aaron was a good member of the team. "I've never been good at all this network stuff. I do well with computers and use them in my daily work, but this is way beyond me," he said as he continued to watch Aaron work.
Aaron answered without stopping. "I love this stuff. My friends think I'm just a nerd or geek, but I really enjoy what I do. Unfortunately this," he said pointing to the computers and around the lab," makes for a very lonely life. Most people just don't get it and seem to think I am too different from them." Suddenly realizing that he was giving too much information to a stranger, Aaron turned to face Declan and said, "I'm sorry. That is way too much information. It just slipped out."
Declan smiled and looked at Aaron. "It's not too much information; it gives me a better understanding of who you are. I think Hank made a smart decision hiring you."