Bayside Boom

by Alex Cage

  Black considered not telling Toben about the address he had found, but he concluded that it would be a show of good faith and a way to build some trust. “Yeah, I’ll tell you in the car.”

  They ducked in the car and Toben drove up the driveway, passing the security hut before making a left turn onto the road.

  “Okay, what did you find, Black?”

  “That binder I was looking at had employee contact information.”

  “Okay?”

  “The name Johana Howard was in it.”

  “What? Really? We have to go back,” Toben said, flicking on the right-turn indicator.

  “No need. I have it memorized.”

  “Oh, okay,” Toben said, changing the flicker to indicate a left turn and turning at the Administration Building. “This is a big find, Black.”

  “We’re not even sure it’s her.”

  “C’mon. If everything you’ve said is correct, it has to be.”

  “Maybe you’re right, Toben,” Black replied.

  Toben made another left into the parking lot, pulling into a spot next to Black’s car. “Okay, so what’s the address, Mr. Consultant?”

  “It’s not too far away, just follow me,” Black said, cracking the door open.

  “Hold on, that’s not how this works. I’ll have Boyar run the address and I may need to call it in.”

  “That’s exactly what I don’t want you doing. Like I said, follow me,” Black said, exiting the car.

  Toben sucked his teeth, “Fine, just don’t lose me,” he said just before Black shut the door.

  Black eased under the wheel of the Viper and rolled out of the parking lot onto the road with Toben tailing him. He got on the Oakland Bay Bridge, heading back towards San Francisco. It took them twenty-five minutes to reach Presidio Heights. The area was clean, tidy, but a little dense. There wasn’t much to see other than a bunch of cars parked at the curb, decorative trees, and commercial and residential buildings between two and five stories high. Black glanced into his rearview mirror, watching as Toben maintained a two-car-length distance behind. They made two more turns before coasting into the Presidio Terrace community. There was a gate, but it was open. The community consisted of large single-family homes and condos. From the architecture, fresh coat of paint, and landscaped lawns, Black knew these homes came with a very high price tag. Observing the mailbox numbers, he stopped the Viper at a curb next to a small open field—an open community park area, Black guessed. He stepped out of the Viper and into the late morning sun, casually waving to a passing driver who had waved at him first. Stepping to Toben’s car, he entered on the front passenger side.

  “Okay, which house is it, Black?” Toben immediately asked, turning off the engine.

  “It’s that small grey house there,” Black said, pointing three houses down.

  “Why did you park way back here?”

  “I don’t like to be seen coming. You never know what you’ll run into.”

  “We have nothing to hide, do we? We’re just going to knock on the door and ask some questions.”

  “It’s not always that easy,” Black said, peering into his side mirror before turning back to Toben.

  Toben’s mouth gaped and his eyes squinted as he gazed in the direction of the house. “Is that—?”

  Black looked in the same direction. “Stokes,” he confirmed, finishing the sentence.

  13.

  THE TWO MEN watched Stokes walk from the house, cross the street, and enter a dark blue sedan. He was carrying a large white envelope. A minute later the taillights flickered on and the car crawled up the street, disappearing with a right turn.

  “What was he doing here?” Toben asked.

  “That’s a good question. Let’s go find out.”

  Black and Toben left the car, crossed the street, and walked up the sidewalk towards the house, a grey stucco one-story with white trimming, a one-car garage, and a small porch. They strolled up the short driveway.

  Clonking up the porch steps, Toben looked around. He narrowed his body and side-stepped to the door, placing the back of his hand against the door to knock—and as he did, the door cracked slightly open. Toben glanced over his shoulder down the steps at Black. It’s open, his lips motioned as he placed his other hand on his firearm. He drew his gun and shouldered the door open.

  Black hiked up the steps and eased in behind him. The front door led right into the living room. Past the living room, near the back of the house, was a hall and to the right was a small dining area.

  Toben walked towards the back of the house, gun aimed in that direction. Black walked into the dining room. Scanning the scattered documents on the table, he noticed some mail addressed to Johana Howard. He continued into the kitchen, which looked like it had been recently renovated. Polished brown granite rested on top of the counters and island. A shimmery natural color backsplash popped from the wall, and all of the appliances had a new shine. The cabinets wore a glossy finish and some of them were left open. Black heard doors opening and closing in the hall. He walked back to the living room and heard Toben yell, “Clear.”

  “Clear,” Black echoed.

  Toben joined him in the living room, dodging the decorative pillows which lay on the floor. “No one’s here,” he said, holstering his gun. “It would’ve been great if she was here and surrendered.”

  “You know it won’t be that easy. This isn’t an episode of NCIS.”

  Toben chuckled. “I wonder what Stokes was looking for,” he said.

  “I don’t know. I’m interested in why he was here looking for anything at all. But whatever it was, I think he found it and left in a hurry. Did you find anything in the rooms down the hall?”

  Toben shook his head. “Nothing noteworthy. I don’t think we’ll find anything here that’ll help us locate her any quicker. But I’m going to have a team search this place,” he said as he pulled out his phone.

  “Hold on,” Black requested. “We don’t know if or when she’s coming back.”

  “Okay…?”

  “And you want to catch her quickly—”

  “Right?”

  “Well, let’s say she does come back here. If she notices a crowd of agents outside her home, she’ll know she’s been made and be scared away. But if you place a small surveillance team here, your chances of an easy capture increase greatly. That’s if she comes back though.”

  Toben nodded, sucking in his lips. “Good point. Let’s get out of here.”

  Black stepped outside the house first. Toben followed, closing the door behind himself and placing a call to Agent Boyar. They walked up the sidewalk and across the road to their cars. Black unlocked the door to the Viper and cracked it open.

  “Hey, Black,” Toben called to him, ending his phone conversation.

  Black looked at Toben, waiting for him to continue.

  “Looks like my team found something that’ll help us catch these two.”

  “Good. You should have this wrapped up in no time. You’ve seen enough to know that I had nothing to do with the bombing, so I think this is a good place for us to part ways.”

  “I thought you wanted to know who came after you.”

  “I already know who. Stokes.”

  “But don’t you want to know why?”

  It does have me scratching my head, Black thought to himself. “Yeah, I guess I’m curious,” he said aloud.

  “I thought so. How about you follow me to HQ and we’ll see if any of this new information can help us figure it out.”

  Black looked at him for a long moment. “Sure,” he finally agreed, smiling.

  “Great. Just follow me,” Toben said, dropping into the car and starting the engine. Black did the same in the Viper. Toben pulled off, circling around the neighborhood before exiting the community. Black followed him for twenty minutes before they reached a tall concrete building. They passed through a security gate and entered a parking garage. Toben pulled into a spot labeled for visitors and Black parked
next to him. The two exited their cars and Black shadowed Toben into the building. They stepped into a large lobby, entering a line for the metal detectors. They cleared the metal detectors, and on their way to the elevators they stopped at the front desk, where a lively blue-eyed receptionist with sunflower-blond hair welcomed them. She slid Black a clipboard asking for some basic information and handed him a visitor card.

  Minutes later, the two were entering the office of Toben’s unit.

  Boyar was at his desk pointing at something on his computer screen and Ashley was sitting on top of his desk looking at it. They were talking to one another in a soft tone, almost in whispers. It took them a few seconds before they noticed Black and Toben standing near the door.

  Boyar stared at the pair, raising an eyebrow.

  Ashley sprung to her feet. “Alright… What’s going on, Agent Toben?” she asked.

  “Black is going to work with us on reviewing your findings. He may be able to shed some light on this case,” Toben said.

  “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Ashley objected.

  “Yes. I trust what he has told us.”

  “What? Wait a minute. You two spent a few hours together and now you’re best friends?”

  “It’s called the truth,” Black jumped in.

  “Excuse me?”

  “When someone tells the truth, people who are looking for the truth tend to believe and trust them, because they both have the truth in common. On the other hand, people who are more… emotional may overlook the obvious evidence and the truth behind it.”

  “So what are you saying, Mr. Black? I’m not looking for the truth and I’m emotional?”

  Black shrugged. “Or your emotions are stopping you from seeing the truth.”

  “You men are so—” Ashley started but Toben interrupted.

  “Okay, okay, let’s go to the back room,” he said gently, leading Ashley by her shoulder towards the back of the office.

  Black followed them and Boyar stood from his chair and trailed behind Black. The four of them entered the room and each found a seat around the circular table.

  “We’ll start with you, Agent Boyar,” Toben said. “Tell us where you’re at with the image.”

  Boyar sighed. “Well… the graphic artists were finally able to clear up the image and we’re searching various databases for any facial matches as we speak. While that was going on, I searched for connections between the theme parks and the new 324 law. I didn’t find any protest, but I did learn there will be an open panel with activists who are anti-324, speaking at both theme parks.”

  “That’s good. Where and what time?” Toben asked.

  “I’m not sure exactly where in the theme parks, but the panelists will be meeting at Fantastic Galaxy tomorrow and Fantastic Universe the day after.”

  “Where did you find this information?” Black asked.

  “From some of the activists’ social media pages. And I’ve already alerted the local authorities to a possible attack.”

  “Good, good. Did you put a BOLO out on Ty and Johana?” Toben inquired.

  Boyar shook his head. “No, because I don’t have all the information just yet.”

  “Oh yeah, you’re still waiting on the facial recognition results. Agent Chapp,” Toben said, turning to Ashley. “What do you have for me?”

  She had her arms folded, lips flattened, staring sharply at Black.

  What’s this girl’s problem? Black thought to himself.

  “Agent Chapp,” Toben repeated.

  She rolled her eyes to Toben, unfolded her arms, and jolted her head as if she was breaking a trance.

  “Sorry. I—ah—I checked into Reeves and Guo, and I tell you it doesn’t take too much digging to discover they’re shady. They’ve both worked cases where evidence went missing, both have had issues with alcohol and drugs, both are under investigation with Internal Affairs, and both have one failed relationship after the next.”

  “Did you find anything that connects them to Stokes?” Black asked.

  Ashley paused for a few seconds and exhaled before answering him. “No. Didn’t get around to looking into Stokes yet. Had to take some calls from the FBI and ATF about Pier 40. Apparently Petrak owns that old Recreation building and the storage units out there.”

  Of course. Now it’s making sense, Black thought.

  “But anyway, I looked into Johana and you won’t believe what I found out. Her name is Johana—”

  “Howard,” Toben cut in.

  Ashley shook her head. “Where did you hear that name?”

  “Black,” Toben said, tilting his head at Black. “He’s pretty good at sniffing things out. At Petrak’s seafood warehouse he found a binder with employee contact details. Among those employees was the name Johana Howard.”

  Ashley nodded. “Hm. He may be good,” Ashley said with a smile on her face, “but he’s not that good, because her name is Johana—”

  “Petrak,” Black interrupted. “Johana Petrak.”

  The table went silent. Black looked around and saw everyone had their mouths open and their eyes fixed on him.

  “How could you have known that?” Ashley asked.

  “At the storage unit I overheard Ty mentioning something about how Johana’s dad would get upset if she wasn’t working the front. And you just mentioned Petrak owns the building, so I put two and two together. What else did you find out about her? I know you did a preliminary background check.”

  “Ye—Yeah. She was born in Czechia like her father. When she was younger, her mother got sick and passed away. From what I could find, Petrak was in and out of her life. He kept her in things like martial arts and gymnastics, but eventually he moved to the States to chase this lifestyle he currently lives, leaving her in Czechia with her grandparents. When Johana was older, her grandparents moved here to San Francisco so she could have a chance at a better life. Her grandparents died a couple years back, two months apart. I’m guessing Petrak reentered her life around that time, which is probably the reason she’s caught up in this mess,” Ashley finished, releasing a deep sigh.

  “You didn’t find anything linking her to Stokes?” Black asked.

  “No, Black. You’re really fascinated with Stokes. Does he have you spooked?”

  Black chuckled. “I don’t spook easily,” he said before turning his attention to Toben. “Do you want to tell them, or should I?”

  “I’ll do it,” Toben exhaled. “In that binder was also an address for Johana. Black and I went to the address and we saw Stokes leaving the house.”

  “The house we talked about on the phone? The one you wanted me to put a surveillance team on?” Boyar put in.

  “Yep. Let’s keep an eye on Stokes.”

  “Okay, I’ll start looking into him now,” Boyar said, standing and exiting the room.

  “We need to get down to Fantastic Galaxy before that panel meeting tomorrow. How do you feel about making the trip down there?” Toben asked Ashley.

  “Are you coming or am I going alone?” she asked.

  Toben and Ashley fixed on each other’s faces for a few seconds.

  These two, Black thought, looking down at the table.

  “I—I have a lot to do here, but I don’t want you going alone,” Toben said. “If our consultant doesn’t mind, I’d like him to accompany you there.”

  Black glanced at Toben.

  “No, I think I can manage on my own,” Ashley declined.

  “I don’t want you going by yourself,” Toben repeated before turning towards Black. “So Black, what will it be?”

  “Sure, I’ll go.”

  “Okay then it’s settled,” Toben said, standing from the table.

  “Wait,” Ashley protested.

  “Agent Chapp, we don’t have time to wait. There’s a lot at stake here. Expense the plane ticket, rooms, food, and whatever else you need, okay?”

  Ashley glared at Toben for a moment. “I’m driving there,” she said, leaving her seat and walking o
ut of the room.

  Toben looked at Black expectantly.

  Black shrugged and lifted himself from his seat. “Driving may be a good idea,” he said before leaving the room. In the main office area, he saw Boyar sitting at his computer and Ashley craned over her desk writing something on a sticky note. Toben brushed past Black’s shoulder, stopping at Boyar’s desk.

  “Agent Boyar.”

  Boyar looked up at him.

  “Agent Chapp will be heading down to Fantastic Galaxy in a little while. Go ahead and move forward with that BOLO for Johana Howard, or Petrak, or—actually, both.”

  “Sure thing. Will she be going by herself?” Boyar asked, turning in his seat towards Ashley. “You’re going alone?”

  “Unfortunately not,” Ashley replied, slapping her pen on her desk, walking to Black, handing him a sticky note. “Meet me at this address in an hour, hour and a half. And don’t be late, because I will leave without you,” she concluded, walking to her desk and stuffing items from the drawer into a tote bag resting in her chair.

  “This girl is really starting to try my patience,” Black muttered under his breath.

  “Black will be accompanying her,” Toben finally answered Boyar. “You and I’ll be looking for this Ty kid.”

  “And looking into Stokes,” Black interjected.

  “Yeah… and looking into Stokes,” Toben echoed. “But finding the suspect takes priority.”

  “He shouldn’t be too hard to find. Did you get a look at the license plate of the blue Impala?”

  “No. I was so mad at Matt I didn’t notice. Did you happen to get it?”

  “Nope. I saw the car in The Spinning Sails’ parking lot but didn’t get a look at the plate because of how the car was angled. How did you guys find Matt?”

  “Toben put a tracker on him,” Boyar answered.

  “Really?” Black laughed. “Where did you put the tracker?”

  “In his backpack,” Toben said.

  Black thought and remembered Matt putting his backpack back into the blue Impala. “He left his backpack in the car,” Black said.

  “What?”

  “Matt left his backpack in the Impala. If you follow the tracker it should lead you to the car and hopefully to Ty.”