by J. B. Tilton
"Well," said Scarborough, looking at a sheet of paper, "that's his house, according to the police report. I'm surprised he'd return here. He must think the police are looking for him and this would be one of the first places they'd look."
"Returning to some place familiar," said Jeremy. "He probably won't stay long. Like you said, he has to know the police are going to look for him here. Maybe he figures they've all ready searched here and moved on when they didn't find him."
"Yeah, but if that were the case someone would have been put on the place to watch it in case he returned. You see that even in the movies and on the police shows on television. He has to know we're watching his house."
"It's probably why he went in the back door," said Jeremy. "Richard, if I were in his position, I'd want to be getting as far away as possible. As far as he's concerned when he's caught he'll be treated like a terrorist. That means Gitmo, no lawyer, a tiny cell, degradation, humiliation, maybe even torture."
"It's against the law to torture prisoners."
"Maybe so. But it has happened. Besides, I'm not talking about what will happen. I'm talking about what he thinks might happen. Some people are under the impression that all prisoners, especially terrorists, are tortured. He's probably worried right now about what they'll do to him if he's caught."
"So he returns to his home? Knowing they might be looking for him there?"
"Everything he had on him was confiscated when he was arrested. He'll need some clothes, money, and a way to get out of the area. I'm betting that right now he's in throwing some clothes into a bag and collecting any money he has and anything he might be able to pawn. Once he leaves we'll probably never see him again."
Scarborough took out his cell phone and called Peters. He told Peters to call the local police and have them send a unit to Munif's address. Ten minutes later a patrol car pulled up next to Scarborough's car.
"There's an escaped prisoner in that house," said Scarborough, showing his ID and indicating Munif's house. "He's probably going to be coming out in a few minutes. Probably the back door. I don't know if he's armed. I want you to pick him up and deliver him to Lt. Glen Peter's at the 4th precinct of the D.C. police."
"Understood," replied the officer driving the unit. "Any special instructions?"
"Don't hurt him. He'll protest that it's all a mistake and that he's not a terrorist. Just deliver him to Lt. Peters. He'll know what to do with him."
The unit pulled to the curb and the two officers inside got out. As they did, Scarborough pulled away from the curb and headed back into D.C.
"What do you think will happen to him?" Jeremy asked.
"He'll be charged with escaping custody. Probably not much else. Glen will make sure they go easy on him. He might even get probation."
"Richard, he only escaped because we allowed it. And then only after we scared him so bad he felt he had no choice. He shouldn't be charged with anything."
"He was delivering money for a terrorist," countered Scarborough. "It could be a lot worse for him. Glen said he wouldn't press the terrorist charge but he will have to be charged with escaping custody."
"That's not right."
"Maybe not, but that's the way it is. Look, Jeremy, you know what the stakes are here. In the bigger scheme Munif isn't worth your concern. We did what we had to, that's all."
"I don't like it," said Jeremy. "I don't like it one bit."
"Like it or not, that's how it is. People end up in jail all the time simply for being in the wrong place at the wrong time. If Munif was completely innocent he wouldn't be in this jam. He was trying to make a fast buck on something he knew was probably illegal. He should have gone straight to the police, but he didn't. Considering what he could be charged with he's getting off easy. You'll just have to learn to accept that."
"Maybe," said Jeremy. "But I don't have to like it."
"Maybe not. But right now we have more important things to do. Like finding Moser and the missing plutonium. If we don't the entire discussion may be moot."
They drove the rest of the way in silence. Jeremy was not happy with the turn of events. But he also knew Scarborough was right. People everyday ran afoul of the law when they were just trying to get by. But he had been instrumental in one of those situations. He was beginning to wonder if he was cut out for this kind of work.
The next week went agonizingly slow. They had very few leads and most of those turned out to be false ones. Each day that went by brought the State of the Union Address that much closer and more likely that Moser would succeed with his plan. Analysts at Homeland Security were working around the clock to try and identify anything that was connected to Moser or any connection to the missing plutonium. So far they had come up empty.
Scarborough had been able to get the team added to the security detail for the State of the Union Address. Since it was the president giving the speech the Secret Service was in charge of all security arrangements. The head of the Secret Service was glad to have the extra help especially with the possibility of a credible attack.
Extra check points had been set up for several blocks around the Capital Building. Any vehicle large enough to carry a bomb the size of a nuclear device was to be stopped and checked. There were to be no exceptions including government vehicles. Anyone who refused to cooperate was to be arrested on site.
In addition, additional security measures would be instituted inside the Capital Building. All personnel entering the building would have their identification checked regardless of who they were. It wasn't going to go over well with many senior members of Congress, but the Secret Service had absolute authority when it came to the security of the President of the United States.
Jeremy talked to the entire team and they all agreed to help. Naturally some expressed other possible options to the situation.
"What about just cancelling the speech altogether?" asked Wil. "If there's no speech then everyone won't be there. Moser won't have the opportunity to do the destruction he's planning."
"We can't do that," said Jeremy. "If we do it will alert Moser that we're on to him. If that happens he might chose an alternate target. Some place we would have no idea where it is. And we're pretty sure he's still in the D.C. area somewhere. If he finds out we know what he's up to he might flee the country and we'd never have the chance to capture him."
"What about evacuating the area?" offered Mariah. "Get all of those people out of harms' way?"
"That's not an option either," said Scarborough. "The Washington, D.C. metropolitan area is the 7th largest metropolitan area in the country. It has over 5.5 million people. The logistics alone of an evacuation would be a nightmare. Plus there are all the areas outside the metropolitan area which would suffer from a nuclear detonation. We're talking upwards of maybe 20 million people. It's just not feasible to evacuate that many people especially in the time we have."
"And if we did, here again, we'd alert Moser that we were on to him," said Jeremy. "Our only option at this point is to stop Moser before he can detonate the bomb."
"Why not just get all the police in the area to form a ring around the Capital building?" suggested Conrad. "That way there'd be no way for him to be able to get to the building."
"First of all," said Scarborough, "there aren't enough police to do that. Secondly, even if we did, it would leave the entire rest of the metropolitan area completely unprotected. And, as Jeremy has said, when Moser saw that ring of police he'd know we were on to him. And he doesn't have to be in or even near the building. He could just drive the truck carrying the bomb up to the police line and detonate the bomb. It would have the same effect as detonating it inside the building."
"We have satellites," said Mariah. "Can't you use those to detect the bomb? Program one of them to search for radiation and home in on any significant spots."
"Actually, NASA is doing just that," said Scarborough. "As soon as they pick up anything they'll notify the head of the security detail."
"What about
the army?" asked Kamalene. "Aren't they trained to handle situations like these?"
"And turn the nations' capital into an armed military camp?" questioned Scarborough.
"Yeah, that would be real subtle," said Simon. "Tanks rolling down Pennsylvania Avenue. No, nothing suspicious about that at all."
"Simon has just demonstrated my point," said Scarborough. "As far as we know, Moser isn't aware that we're on to him yet. We have to keep it that way. If this were an ordinary situation it wouldn't be so dire. But we're talking about a nuclear device. We've all grown up in the nuclear age. We are all well aware of the amount of death and destruction a nuclear device can do even miles from the point of detonation.
"Our only hope is not to do anything out of the ordinary that might cause him to become suspicious. Presumably, whoever's driving the truck carrying the bomb has orders to get as close to the Capital Building as possible before detonating it. They wouldn't have to get right next to it. So if we can't stop Moser before that truck arrives it may be too late."
"I guess there's not much else we can do except what we're all ready doing," said Mariah.
"Not unless one of you has any ideas," said Scarborough.
"Well," said Frank, "the State of the Union Address is tomorrow night. If we haven't found Moser or the plutonium by now I don't really know what another 24 hours is going to make. I guess we'll just have to do the best we can and hope it's enough."
"Richard," said Mariah nervously, "I know I don't have any right to ask. Not with so many other people in danger. And it is possible Moser will be successful and be able to detonate the bomb. But I was just wondering . . . ."
"I've all ready arranged for a car to pick up Susan and Bobby in the morning," said Scarborough. "They'll be safely in the northern portion of Baltimore long before any of this happens. I have a sister who lives in Baltimore and she's all ready said she'll be glad to put them up for a couple of days. She doesn't know why, of course. Only that they need a place to stay. And she's well aware of Bobby's special needs. She's a nurse at a pediatric ward so they'll be in good hands."
"Thank you," said Mariah. "I kind of feel guilty about it. Nobody else is being warned or moved. It doesn't really seem fair that Susan and Bobby get the chance so many other people won't have."
"Hey, what's the sense of being an assistant director of Homeland Security if I can't use some perks now and again? Besides, if Moser is successful it may not make a whole lot of difference. If that bomb goes off the entire country is going to be in turmoil."
"Well, I guess we'll just have to see that it doesn't go off," said Simon. "What do we do?"
"Meet here at the house tomorrow at 4:00 p.m.," said Scarborough. "We'll go to the Capital Building and see about setting up our security. Keep your cell phones handy. If anything happens before then I'll let you know."
"You know," Simon said to Janet, "Moser has the bomb. We could all be dead tomorrow. Seems to me this is a good time to collect on that dinner you promised me."
"That sounds like a line from a movie," said Janet.
"Well, paraphrased a little maybe," said Simon. "But it's still true all the same. What do you say? Just dinner and I pay. Just like we agreed."
"Well," said Janet, glancing around the room, "I suppose I did promise. And I suppose one dinner couldn't hurt."
"Great," said Kamalene. "Count me in, too."
"Sounds like a good idea," said Frank. "I'll grab my coat."
"I have an idea," said Wil. "Let's all go. Sort of a last supper if you will."
"I'm in," said Mariah. "But I expect to be around for a whole lot more suppers, thank you very much."
"I could eat," said Conrad. "Guess I'm in, too."
"Hey, I didn't invite everyone," protested Simon. "Just Janet."
"Don't worry, Casanova," said Kamalene. "We'll all pay for ourselves."
"But you're still paying for me," said Janet. "That was the deal."
"Great," said Simon. "A nice quiet, intimate dinner. Just you, me, and half of D.C."
"Hardly half," said Conrad. "Maybe a quarter."
Jeremy just smiled and shook his head. Hardly the quiet little dinner that Simon had expected.
CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT
"I'm Special Agent in Charge Walker James," said the man at the Capital Building the next night when the team arrived. It was almost 6:00 p.m. and the sun had set more than 30 minutes previously. "I'm in charge of the detail tasked with protecting the outer perimeter of the Capital Building tonight. The head of the Secret Service told me you would be assisting with that security detail."
"That's right," said Scarborough. "Secretary Napolitano thought it would be a good idea if we had a little extra security tonight. You've been briefed on the special risk for tonight?"
"You mean someone trying to drive a nuclear device into the Capital Building? Yes, I have. So have all of my men. Any vehicle trying to get to the Capital Building tonight will be stopped. If they refuse to comply my men have orders to use whatever force is required to stop them."
"Just be careful," said Jeremy. "We wouldn't want anyone accidentally setting off the nuke."
"That won't happen," said a man with James. He wiped his forehead with a handkerchief. "A nuclear device has to be deliberately detonated. It's not like you can shoot it and set it off I don't care what they may show you in the movies."
"My second-in-command, Special Agent Jamison Conroy," said James.
"Are you okay?" Jeremy asked Conroy. "You don't look so good."
"Oh, my doctor tells me I'm just getting over the flu," said Conroy. "I'm fine."
"Well, I'm a doctor," said Jeremy. "If you start feeling worse let me know. Sometimes the flu can flare up before you're completely over it."
"Thanks," said Conroy. "But my doctor says I'll be completely over it in a day or two."
"I wasn't told much about your team," said James. "Other than they've got special training of some kind. Care to elaborate on what that special training is?"
"We've been tracking Moser for weeks," Scarborough. "Richard Moser. He's the one behind this possible attempt. Moser is a special case. Your men aren't trained to handle him. Or the men he's recruited for this job. If – when – the attempt to drive the bomb into the Capital Building is made, they'll handle it."
"My men are trained for anything. And none of them is about to let a terrorist into the Capital Building, let alone let him detonate a nuke there."
"Special Agent," said Jeremy, "I appreciate your confidence. And I have no doubt your men are the best trained men available. But so are these terrorists. In fact, they've received special training precisely for this mission. This team is specially trained to handle these specific terrorists. I don't mean any denigration to you or your men. But trust me. You've never been in a situation like this one before."
"Well," said James thoughtfully, "I was ordered to provide you with whatever help you needed. The President himself gave me my orders. And while I don't necessarily agree that my men can't handle it, I was told to cooperate in any way possible."
"Good," said Scarborough. "We don't want a fight over jurisdiction. This is your detail and I respect that. And the Secret Service will get full credit for whatever happens tonight."
"Credit or blame?" questioned James. "If this terrorist has a nuclear device, he can do a lot of damage before he gets to the Capital Building. In that event whoever is in charge is going to take a lot of heat for it."
"You won't have to worry about that," said Scarborough. "If Moser's man detonates that nuke, none of us will be around to answer for anything."
"Well there is that," said James.
"So," said Scarborough. "Where would you like us?"
"Well," said James, "you're people are supposed to have some kind of ultra secret training. Care to enlighten me how I can best utilize that training?"
Scarborough looked at Jeremy. Jeremy thought for a moment.
"What would be the easiest way for someone to drive a veh
icle up to the Capital Building?" Jeremy asked. "Assuming they wanted to drive it right into the building?"
"I guess the most direct route would be straight up Pennsylvania Avenue," said James. "Or they might take Independence Avenue to Maryland Avenue. Either route will take them straight to the front of the building."
"What about behind the building?" Scarborough asked.
"There's no direct access to the building from that direction. Capital Street is a direct path to the building but it ends at 1st. And 1st runs parallel to the building. If someone wanted to drive a vehicle into the capital building the best method is to take one of the first two routes and drive it right up the front steps through the main doors."