The Greatest Good

by Craig N Hooper

  “That’s what I’m planning to find out.”

  “You think Stanley might know? Is that why you’re meeting him? You don’t think he’s involved, do you?” He scoffed into the phone. “That’s preposterous.”

  “I’m not sure what to think right now, sir. That’s the honest truth. But I’m going to find out.”

  “And I should be the first to know. Promise me that.”

  “I promise.”

  Sensing the governor was about to hang up, I continued. “One more thing, sir. I need one more favor.”

  There was a pause and quick sigh. “What is it?”

  “I had a contact gathering intel on two people, but that contact has just been detained, so I need some help.”

  “Intel on whom?”

  “Two NSA agents: one by the name of Eva O’Connor, and the other called Gustavo Enriquez. Any information I can find out about those two would be extremely helpful.”

  I heard him writing down the names.

  “I’ll see what I can do,” he said. “But on one condition.”

  “Anything, sir.”

  “You bring Stanley immediately to me after your meeting. Got it?”

  “Agreed.”

  He hung up without saying goodbye.

  After the call, I unloaded the Weatherby and adjusted the scope, dialed in the turrets, checked my field of vision, chambered a round, then double-checked my work.

  My beeper buzzed after I’d finished. I was surprised to see it wasn’t Gina’s number. It was a familiar one, though, and it took a moment to realize who it was.

  It was my ex-therapist Doc Jules.

  Are you kidding me? Really? Why would my snake of a former therapist want to talk now? Why would he think I’d ever want to talk with him anyway? Then I realized – something must be going down with Gina or Simon. My pulse quickened, but my ear piece suddenly crackled, forcing my attention away.

  “You in position, Aug?” Mick said.

  “We’re using codenames now?”

  “We’re on a mission, pal. Like old times, as you said.”

  “Ten-four, Gabe. That’s affirmative on position.”

  “Good, because the kid is on his way. He’s barreling right toward us in a maroon Chevy Tahoe. I can see him through the scope. His bug eyes are bigger than normal. You want to handle him alone? If you want, I can intercept him before he makes it to the warehouse.”

  “I’ll handle him. You stay in position.”

  “Ten-four, here he comes.”

  I heard the Tahoe’s engine humming as it approached. A moment later, the brakes locked and Stanley skidded the Tahoe to a stop close to the front of the warehouse. I heard a car door open, then slam shut.

  “He’s got a gun,” Mick said into my ear. “And it’s drawn, Aug. What do you want me to do?”

  “Hang tight.”

  “I can take out a knee, just let me know.”

  I didn’t think Stanley was a threat but, just in case, I brought my eye to the scope and pointed the rifle at the doors. “I’ve got it covered, Gabe.”

  The doors opened, just a fraction. I saw Stanley lift both hands to protect his eyes from the bright lights. I could’ve popped the kid in the chest, maybe even re-racked and planted another round into him, that’s how long he stood frozen by the lights.

  Finally, Stanley reacted and stepped out of view, but he didn’t close the doors.

  “It’s okay, Stanley,” I yelled. “It’s just me in here. Come on in.”

  “What’s with the lights?”

  “Don’t worry about it. Get in here, but not with that gun drawn.”

  “You’re sure it’s just you?”

  “Get in here, kid.”

  Stanley walked in and scurried to the left of the bright lights. He stuffed the gun into his shoulder sling. “Where are you, Agent Chase? Did you bring the laptop?”

  While watching him through the scope, I sighed. “Yes, I have it.”

  “Good. Eva just called. She needs it. It’s our deal. We agreed on a trade; if she gets the laptop she’ll come clean. That’s what this is all about. Apparently she’s going to make everything crystal clear at this meeting, as long as she gets the laptop. Those were her exact words.”

  “Do you really believe that?”

  “I do,” he said.

  I had to look the kid in his eyes to see if he was really buying his own story. I dropped the rifle, grabbed my handgun, and shimmied down the shelves.

  When I reached the ground, I said, “You’d better not reach for that gun, Stanley. I need to look you in the eye.”

  “What?” Stanley held out his good hand. “Why would I ever shoot you?”

  I hustled toward the kid. “Listen, before you dig yourself into even deeper lies, you need to know that I had a long conversation with Eva, right after you shot out my tire.”

  He wiped his nose. “I’m sorry about that. I felt like I had no other choice. You really got hold of Eva?”

  “You bet I did. And she had quite a different version of events than you did.”

  “When did you speak with her?”

  “What does it matter? You lied about a lot.”

  Stanley narrowed his eyes. “What did she tell you? I’m confused.”

  “I see it now, Stanley. I didn’t before.”

  “Didn’t see what?”

  “That you’re an actor, and a decent one. You have this whole naïve persona down pretty pat.”

  “What? I’m not acting. What did Eva tell you?” He blinked twice and looked genuinely confused.

  I put my hand on his shoulder and gripped it tightly. “You didn’t find the arms evidence on her computer, that’s what she said. She said you planted it. Didn’t you?”

  “That’s crazy. No, I didn’t. Where would I get evidence like that?”

  “And you blackmailed Eva for an SCS position, right? Used that arms evidence for coercion.”

  He stepped back and jerked his shoulder free. “Absolutely not, Agent Chase, I promise I didn’t.”

  I pointed at him. “You were hell-bent on revenge, weren’t you? Totally pissed at her for repeatedly denying your transfer.”

  He swallowed. “I was upset, yes, but not hell-bent on revenge. No way.”

  “Will you admit that you were spying on the TV network? Using your talents for domestic spying and making millions from it? You never mentioned a thing about that to me.”

  He opened his mouth, but didn’t say anything.

  “Well?”

  “Okay, I failed to mention—”

  “NO! You lied, Stanley, say it.” I stepped forward until my finger was almost touching his chest. “Say it now, say you lied.”

  He pushed up his glasses. “Okay, I lied about that, Agent Chase, I did. I broke some laws and spied on the network—”

  “And profited a lot. Don’t forget that.” I dropped my arm.

  “I did, you’re right. And Eva confronted me about it, told me to drop the transfer request and get the hell out of the NSA for good. She even had me ushered out of the building.”

  “I know, she told me that. That move really fueled your fire, didn’t it?”

  “It did, but not for revenge. It fueled my fire to prove to her that I was the best asset she could have. That’s why I broke into her computer.”

  I raised my brows. “And blackmailed her with what you found.”

  “No, if that’s what Eva said, she’s lying. That’s not what happened, not at all. I told you what happened with the information. I presented it to her and she was initially mad, but then she came around. Eva told me I had the skills to be an agent and she wanted to involve me in Operation Crucible.”

  I took a deep breath. “That’s not her recollection, Stanley, not at all. When you first broke into the NSA database, you said you found the names of the SCS members and the chairman.”

  “That’s true, I did.”

  “So you didn’t find mission information, organizational charts, kill codes, and t
hen used that information to send Mick kill orders?”

  “Kill codes? What? No way. I didn’t get information like that. Why would you say that? Besides, if I got access to kill codes, they’d changed the codes, right?”

  I hadn’t thought about that. Stanley was right. Unless, of course, Eva hadn’t changed the kill codes because then she would’ve had to admit that Stanley had broken into her computer.

  “Cellphone.” I wiggled my fingers. “Let me see your snapcell. You can’t keep lying to me. Your text records should confirm some things. In fact, it will clear everything up. It will prove whether you’ve been lying to me or not.”

  “Why? What for?”

  I sighed. “Let me see it. Let me see your texts to her. Show me now. You said you’ve been in constant contact with her.”

  Stanley’s mouth dropped. He stood motionless.

  “Come on, let’s see it.” I beckoned with my hand.

  He blinked and looked away. “Now I get it.” He looked back. “Now I understand why she insisted I get rid of my cell. She’s ingenious, Agent Chase. She really is.”

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Eva said she’d explain everything tonight at this meeting. She said you and Karla would be safe. I just needed to bring the laptop because the original arms evidence was on there. She wanted to destroy the evidence herself, once and for all. She also told me to destroy my snapcell, so there were no communication ties between her and me. I didn’t think much of it until right now.”

  I gripped his good shoulder again. “You don’t have your cell? You’re kidding me?”

  “I don’t, Agent Chase. I destroyed it, like she asked. The last text I sent was to you about this meeting. I did everything she asked because I wanted to ensure Karla and you were safe.”

  I squeezed his shoulder a little tighter. “I needed to see those texts to Eva, Stanley. You understand that? You understand it would’ve helped me believe you?”

  His head drooped. “I do now, Agent Chase. I’m sorry. Please, I’m so sorry.”

  I stared at him, balled my fists, then released them. I did that three times.

  “Walk with me, kid.”

  I prodded him toward the middle of the warehouse. As we walked, I thought about what Eva said on the phone. She told me she was going to lie to Stanley to get him to the meeting. She also said she’d clear everything up, then we’d arrest the kid.

  I still didn’t know who to believe.

  We stopped in front of the shipping container. The door was halfway open.

  “You understand, Stanley, that I have two conflicting stories about what’s going on, your version and Eva’s version. And both of you are pointing the finger at each other.”

  “I get it. But you have to believe that Eva has been manipulating me from the very beginning. It doesn’t make sense, Agent Chase. It’s not like I sent a kill order to Mick. How could I? Think about it. Mick was supposed to kill me! So obviously I’m not involved.”

  “I actually agree with you, Stanley, many things aren’t adding up. I really don’t know what to believe.”

  I pushed him into the shipping container. Not hard, but not soft either. He stumbled back and looked stunned.

  “I need to figure this out,” I said. “I’ll let you out after I’ve spoken with Eva.” Then I slammed the door and latched the metal bar shut.

  Stanley yelled something and banged against the door. I ignored him and walked toward the shelves. My beeper buzzed along the way. I looked at it and saw my mom’s number scrolling across the screen.

  My mom? What?

  Something must be seriously wrong for her to call me this late. Mom didn’t stay up past 9:30. Ever. I used the snapcell and called her number.

  Mom picked up on the first ring. “Hon, is that you?”

  “It is, Mom,” I said, breathing hard. “What’s going on? Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine, dear. I’m calling about Simon.”

  “Simon? What? Why?”

  A brief pause.

  “Mom, what’s going on? Talk to me.”

  She took a breath, then said, “He’s missing, Gary.”

  CHAPTER 31

  Missing?” I stopped breathing. “What do you mean, missing? What’s going on, Mom?”

  She immediately replied, “So he’s not with you? I was hoping he was with you.”

  “No, he’s not with me. What do you mean he’s missing?”

  Mom paused for a split second too long.

  “Mom!” I snapped. “I’m freaking out here.”

  “Sorry, dear. Gina called ten minutes ago and woke me up, said she was looking for you. She told me Simon was gone. She went in to check on him before bed and Simon wasn’t in his room. She tried to get hold of you on your beeper, but when you didn’t call her back she assumed that you’d taken him. She’s furious, hon.”

  “Of course I didn’t take him.” I said it much too forcefully, however. I took a deep breath. “He’s missing, really? Did she check everywhere in the house? He used to love playing hide and seek, I remember that. He loved that game.”

  “I assume she did, dear. She said you guys had an incident at a restaurant and that you left upset. She figures you took him out of spite. She wanted me to get hold of you to let you know that she’s called the cops. She’s accused you of abducting him. You haven’t done that, right? Obviously you haven’t. This is awful.”

  “Abduct him?” I pulled the phone away for a second, then put it back to my ear. “Are you serious, Mom? She thinks I abducted Simon?”

  A pause, then: “She does. You should call her back right away and straighten everything out.”

  There had to be a logical explanation for Simon’s disappearance, not a sinister one. I thought about it. The thug who’d abducted Mick’s wife and girls couldn’t have taken Simon. No way.

  “How long does Gina think he’s been missing?” I asked.

  “She doesn’t know for sure, maybe a couple of hours at most.”

  The thug had been busy the past couple of hours. After he woke in the hotel room he must’ve gone straight to the LA field office. There hadn’t been time for him to drive to Gina’s and abduct my son. I visualized the route he would’ve taken and the time he needed to do it. It wasn’t possible. His recent whereabouts were accounted for. It couldn’t have been him.

  Sweat beaded on my forehead. I wiped it away. Maybe Simon had found a really good hiding spot. Maybe Gina had freaked out and wasn’t thinking straight and didn’t thoroughly check the house. Or maybe there was another explanation, maybe a crazier one, like sleepwalking. Are young boys prone to sleepwalking? What age does that start?

  “Hon,” my mother said. “You need to call her straight away.”

  The phone beeped, alerting me to an incoming call. I pulled it back and looked at the screen. The number was unlisted, and I assumed it was the governor.

  I put the phone back. “Listen, Mom, you can’t begin to believe what I’m going through right now. I’m tied up at the moment—”

  “Tied up? At this time? What could you possibly be doing? And what’s more important than this?”

  I hesitated for a moment.

  “Talk to me, hon.”

  “You’re right, Mom, absolutely nothing is more important than Simon. It’s just that I’m on assignment and can’t leave right this second. Believe me, if I could, I would, without question.”

  “You’re working now, at this hour?”

  “I am. As soon as I’m done I’ll head straight to Gina’s and figure this out. For the time being, can you call her and let her know I had nothing to do with Simon? Tell her I’ll be over as soon as I can. Maybe Simon is hiding or sleepwalked to the neighbors or something like that. There must be a simple explanation. Were there any signs of a break-in?”

  “She didn’t say.”

  The phone beeped again.

  “Mom, please do this for me. I need you.”

  She sighed. “Sure, dear. Call me when you
know what’s going on. Heaven knows I won’t be going back to sleep.”

  I thanked her and tried to swap the calls, but the other caller had hung up. I immediately thought about abandoning the meeting and heading straight to Gina’s. After a moment of deliberating, I figured that was the wrong move. If Simon had been abducted, I knew that it must be either Eva or Stanley behind it, and so my best chance of getting Simon back was sticking right where I was. Plus, I absolutely had to figure out what was going on. I had to clear my name and prove I wasn’t a traitor, fugitive, and murderer. If I didn’t, I’d never see my son again.

  I stayed put and refocused the Weatherby’s scope on the warehouse door.

  The snapcell buzzed again. I picked it up.

  “Governor?”

  “It is.”

  “That was fast,” I said.

  “I haven’t looked into Gustavo Enriquez yet. I started with Eva O’Connor. Did you know she was a West Point graduate?”

  “I didn’t.” West Point was America’s top military academy. It was a bit of a surprise that Eva was a graduate, but I wasn’t sure of the relevance.

  “She was actually the first female graduate of the program.”

  “Really?” I said.

  “She was. When I found that out, I knew that a colonel friend of mine who still works at West Point would know all about her. And he always works late. So I contacted him and he did me a huge favor.”

  The governor paused. I didn’t know if it was for dramatic effect, so I prodded him on. “Which was?”

  “He sent me her personnel file. All documents of former West Point graduates have been scanned and logged into a centralized database, so it was easy for him to send me the file. It’s large and contains not only her academic records, but tons of personal and financial information as well, at least about her earlier years. Nothing, of course, about her time after graduation.”

  “Anything of interest?”

  “That’s the thing, I just glanced through it quickly. I haven’t really dug into it. It’s late, Agent Chase, so I thought I’d send it directly to you and you can go through it in detail.”

  “Makes sense, but I don’t have access to the internet or a computer right now, and I’m a little tied up.”