by Dean Atwood
“What’s the matter?”
“All of the lights just went out.”
Chapter 27
W ith her phone in her left hand, Blaire crawled on her knees, sweeping her right hand from one side to the other on the smooth hardwood floor, frantically searching for the pistol she’d dropped when QT had called.
She could hear Quinton’s voice on her phone. “Blaire?” he said in a questioning tone. When she didn’t respond, he shouted out desperate commands. “Talk to me. Tell me what’s happening.”
She answered in a snippy whisper, “I can’t talk now. I dropped my gun. I have to find it before he’s inside. I’m hanging up. Don’t call back. He’ll hear the phone ring.”
“Wait, don’t hang —” Blaire ended the call and tossed the phone aside before QT had a chance to finish his sentence.
When she heard the glass panel beside the front door break, her movements in search of the pistol became frantic. Her eyes had adjusted to the dark enough that she could see outlines of objects. She saw something on the floor next to the leg of the sofa. She slid over to it and felt the gun handle in her palm as she grasped it. With pistol in hand, she crawled back to the end table and picked up the golf club that was next to it. As QT had instructed, she’d taped a flashlight to the head of the longest club in the bag, which was the driver.
She heard more glass breaking and falling to the floor, followed by the slide of the chain lock, and click of the deadbolt, which the assassin had accessed by reaching through the space where the glass panel used to be.
When she heard the door creak open and the shadowy outline of a person appear in front of it, Blaire turned on the flashlight and lifted the driver to aim the light at the man’s head. As QT had suspected, the assassin was wearing night goggles to give him a vision advantage once he cut off the electricity. The brightness of the flashlight temporarily blinded him. He began shooting in the direction of the light. Blaire kept her body as low as possible to avoid getting hit, while still shining the light in the direction of the man’s goggles. Some of the bullets shattered the table lamp, sending it crashing to the floor. Others slammed into the chair where she’d been sitting, making a deadened sound as they hit the cushioning. The rest of the shots were fired frenetically, striking all around her, but none hitting her.
It seemed to Blaire that the onslaught would never end, but it did. One of the bullets hit the flashlight and knocked the club shaft out of her hand. The killer stopped to assess the damage he’d done. She took advantage of the temporary pause to turn on the spare flashlight and stand upright. She pointed her pistol at the man and held the flashlight next to the gun to continue blinding him. She saw him removing his night goggles to regain his vision. Before he had them off all the way, Blaire fired two shots into his chest. She could see the impact of the bullets knock him backward, but he didn’t fall. QT had warned her that the man would probably be wearing a bulletproof vest. She aimed toward his head and kept firing until her weapon was empty. Whether any of the bullets had found their mark, she didn’t know.
She hadn’t thought to remove a spare clip from her overnight bag to use in case the first clip wasn’t enough. It was too late to look for it now. She threw the pistol onto the floor and hurried toward the door. The man was lying in the hall. She shined her light on his head and could see blood flowing from the side of it. All she could think about was getting out of there. She wasn’t about to waste precious time, checking his pulse She was going to her car as fast as possible.
The front door was partway open. She opened it the rest of the way while continuing to shine the light on the fallen assassin and watching him to make sure he didn’t miraculously arise and attack her. She walked backward through the front doorway. As she turned around to head for her car, she crashed into the chest of a man. Her first thought was that the hitman had an accomplice. She began screaming and pounding the man with the flashlight. He grabbed her in a bear hug to prevent her from continuing the assault. She struggled to free her arms and lifted her knee in an attempt to hit the assailant in the groin. It made partial contact but didn’t cause the man to release her.
“Blaire, stop! It’s me, QT.”
It took a few seconds for the words to register. When they did, she relaxed and squeezed him tightly.
As soon as he loosened his hug, she regained her composure. She extended her arms to put space between them and lightly hit her fist on his chest. “Why didn’t you get here sooner,” she said.
“I’m sorry. I got here as fast as I could.”
QT entered the hall and looked at the body on the floor. He checked the man’s neck for a pulse and confirmed he was dead.
“It doesn’t look like you needed me,” he said.
“What are we going to do now? If we call the police, it’ll be all over the news.”
“You’re right. Neither the FBI nor the other intelligence agencies will want this to get out. We still don’t know who hired the guy or why. This isn’t over.”
“You mean, as soon as the person behind this finds out the hitman is dead, he’ll send another one?”
“No doubts about it.”
“As the lead investigator into Jeremy’s murder, aren’t you obligated to report this to the FBI?”
“Under normal circumstances, I’d say yes. But, these aren’t normal circumstances.”
“We can’t just leave him here without reporting it, can we?”
“I have an idea, but I’m going to need your help.”
“Tell me what you want me to do.”
Chapter 28
T odd Andrews and Karen Williams sat in the visitors’ chairs in Special Agent Warren’s office and looked up at him as he rotated his elevated office chair from an angled position to one where he was facing straight at them.
He scowled and said, “Which one of you broke your confidentiality promise and informed Agent Target about Project Typhon.”
Todd looked at Karen and then turned back to Warren and said, “It wasn’t me.” He glanced back at Karen, as if to say, it must have been you.
She was surprised at how quickly Todd was willing to throw her under the bus without knowing whether she’d revealed anything or not. Agent Target had warned her that Warren would confront her to try to get her to admit she was cooperating with the FBI.
“Well, I certainly didn’t answer any of his questions about the task force,” she said. “I do what I’m told and keep quiet. If he knows anything about Typhon, somebody else at the JUIAF must have told him. I’m loyal to my friends and coworkers.” Karen momentarily looked back at Todd with narrowed eyes, and he averted his eyes to avoid her silent reprimand.
Warren stood and glared at them. If it were a staring contest, the two computer analysts were overmatched. After a couple of seconds, they both became uncomfortable and looked down at their feet.
Warren relaxed and pasted a half-smile on his face. “I had to ask,” he said. “The FBI agent told me that you both refused to reveal anything to him without my permission. He’s picked up a thread of information about the project from somebody in the office, but he’s grasping at straws. I think both of you understand the consequences of being disloyal to the team, am I right?”
“Yes, sir,” Todd said, being quick to be the first to answer.
Karen was changing her mind about Todd. She had illusions that he was a soulmate because of their common love of technology, but he was beginning to remind her of an annoying, know-it-all boy in her elementary school, who was always the first to raise his hand and say, “I know, I know,” whenever the teacher asked the class a question.
“How about you, Karen? Do you agree?” Warren asked.
“It goes without saying that there are consequences for being disloyal and there should be.” She glanced at Todd again to let him know that this applied to personal loyalty as well as the team.
Warren seemed unaware of Karen’s non-verbal reprimands of Todd. “With all the excitement going on,” he said,
“I’m concerned we’re not keeping our eyes on the ball. I know Agent Glover is gone and Cyber Analyst Saunders is missing in action, so to speak, but that doesn’t mean our work is done. I expect Saunders to contact us as soon as she feels safe and I’ve already started a search for Jeremy’s replacement. I have to be careful not to bring an FBI spy into our group, so it could take a while to find the right person.”
“If I may say so, sir,” Todd said, “I’ve been continuing to work on my assignment.”
“Have you got that monkey candy gadget installed on the CEO’s security guards’ phones?”
“Yes, sir. I installed the candygram and monkey calendar apps on their phones right after our meeting this morning. And, I’ve already identified a potential time to gain access to Anne Upshaw’s house. She’s speaking at a technology conference in two days, which means that she and her bodyguards will be gone tomorrow evening and the next day.”
“Good job, young man,” Warren said. Todd glowed from the praise.
Teacher’s pet, Karen thought.
“How about you, Karen?”
“You said this morning that my first priority was to find a way for the field agents to avoid cameras and alarms once inside CEO Upshaw’s house. I’ve determined the best method to accomplish that without being detected. I’ll bring the new FBI agent and Blaire up to speed when they’re available.”
“Yes, we’ll have to get them on board quickly, if we’re going to be ready to proceed. We have a short window of opportunity.”
“Also, as you requested, I did further analysis on Ted Danziger’s communications. Remember, he’s Upshaw’s VP of Operation?”
“What’d you find?”
“I found out there were several calls between Danziger and Jeremy Glover. I’ve only been able to access the envelope information, so far. I know when they spoke, how long the call was, and approximately where they were located when they talked. I’m still working with the NSA staff in Utah to break the encryption, so we can listen to the actual calls.”
“We need to figure out why the two of them would be talking on the phone,” Warren said, but he didn’t act surprised that Jeremy was talking to a high-level, Upshaw manager, whose house he had recently broken into. “Excellent work Cyber Analyst Williams. Keep digging and let me know when the phone encryption is broken.”
“Yes, sir.”
“No emails have been decrypted yet?”
“No, sir.”
“Contact me immediately when they are and keep them private from everyone except you and me.”
“Yes, sir, I will.”
“It’s late. The two of you need to get out of here. It’s going to be another busy day tomorrow, and I need you well-rested. The security to enter the premises is going to be tighter than normal for a while. Plan to get here earlier than usual to compensate.”
With those final instructions, Todd and Karen got up to leave. They reached the door at the same time. Todd deferred to her to decide who went first. She didn’t have to think about it. While he dilly-dallied, she cut in front of him and walked up the hall without him.
“Wait up, I’ll walk you to your car,” he said.
“Why, are you afraid to go alone?” She didn’t give him a chance to answer before adding, “I’d rather walk by myself than to be with somebody who doesn’t have my back.” With that last salvo, she quickened her pace to put more distance between them.
Chapter 29
T he burner phone she’d found at Jeremy’s house wasn’t as sophisticated as her iPhone, but it had voice and messaging features, along with basic internet access. Blaire was still shaking. Killing another human being, no matter how evil he was, isn’t easy for any man or woman with a conscience. QT had told her it was adrenalin causing her shuddering, and it was a typical response in circumstances like hers. Nothing about the entire experience felt the least bit typical to her.
With trembling fingers, she entered the numbers and hit send. She could feel a lump in her throat as she waited to see if he would accept a call from a phone he didn’t recognize.
“Special Agent Warren speaking,” he answered in a belligerent manner with an undertone that said, who has the nerve to make an unsolicited call to me this late in the evening.
“It’s Blaire Saunders.”
“Blaire,” he said. “By God, it is you, isn’t it? I’ve ... that is, we’ve been worried about you. Every intelligence agency in the country is looking for you.”
“I figured they would be.”
“Why’d you run away?”
“Initially, I was acting on pure instinct. Self-preservation was foremost on my mind. The man who killed Jeremy was shooting at me. When I saw the hitman’s SUV leave, I got into my car and drove away as fast as I could.”
“You should’ve stayed here, where we can protect you.”
“It crossed my mind that somebody inside one of the government agencies was behind the shooting.”
“I doubt that very much, but I understand what you’re saying. If it were me, I might’ve done the same thing you did ... You trust me, don’t you, Blaire?” he said, emphasizing the word me.
“Yes, sir, that’s why I called.”
“Good ... good. It’s time for you to come in. You’ll be safe at the JUIAF. Where are you? I’ll meet you and personally bring you to safety.”
“I’m at Jeremy’s house near Charlottesville. One of the properties he bought with payoffs.”
“Give me the address.”
“Before I come in, I need your help with a situation.”
“A situation?”
“I just killed Jeremy’s assassin.”
“What? If you say you’ve killed someone, I believe you, but how do you know it’s the assassin?”
“Because he broke into the house where I’m staying and tried to kill me. I was waiting for him and miraculously, I was able to shoot him before he shot me.”
“I underestimated you. It’s good to know you can defend yourself if necessary.”
“Thank you for saying that. Which agency is investigating Jeremy’s murder?”
“The FBI has the lead. Colonel Smithers and I think the Defense Department should be running it, but we’re following orders and going through the motions to support the FBI.”
“Should I call the FBI or the local police to report this killing?”
“Neither. You did the right thing by calling me. We don’t want an Albemarle County sheriff messing around in federal government business. And, we sure don’t want the FBI interfering with Project Typhon.”
“Hasn’t the task force been dissolved after what happened to Jeremy?”
“We don’t end a war because of a single casualty. I need you back on the team. We have an opening to proceed with installing equipment at CEO Upshaw’s home.”
“Don’t we need an FBI Agent on the team, too, since we’re taking domestic actions?”
“Yes, I’m working on that. But cooperation with the FBI on Project Typhon is separate from the FBI’s murder investigation.”
“If I can’t call the FBI or police, who should I report the killing to? Or, should I leave the house without reporting what happened to anyone?”
“You’ve reported it to me. I’ll take it from here. Has anyone seen you while you’ve been at Jeremy’s house?”
“Not that I know about ... Wait a minute, there was a cleaning lady who came here earlier in the day, before the shooting occurred.”
“Do you have her name.”
“She told me, but I don’t remember.”
“No problem. It shouldn’t be difficult to track her down.”
“Why would you want to track her down? She doesn’t know anything. I don’t want her hurt.”
“She knows plenty. She saw you at Jeremy’s. Don’t worry, we aren’t going to harm her. We’ll talk with her and make sure she forgets ever meeting you.”
“What are we going to do with the hitman’s body?”
“I have a friend a
t the CIA who runs a different type of cleaning service than the one that cleans Jeremy’s house.”
“If I come in, won’t the FBI want to interview me?”
“We’ll let them talk with you, but you can’t reveal anything about Project Typhon and you can’t talk to them or anybody else about the man you shot.”
“If I’m not honest with the FBI, won’t they be spinning their wheels looking for a shooter who’ll never be found?”
“First and foremost, it’s our job to maintain national security. If that inconveniences the FBI, so be it.”
“Aren’t you concerned about who hired the assassin? He didn’t come after Jeremy and me for the fun of it.”
“We aren’t stopping the FBI from continuing their investigation. We want them to be successful. If they discover the identity of the person behind this plot, they’ve done us a service. The only thing is, we can’t allow their investigation to interfere with the execution of Project Typhon.”
Blaire sighed and said, “I want this nightmarish day to be over.”
“It’s almost over. Give me your address and I’ll pick you up.”
“I’ll find my own way back to the JUIAF. I’ll text you the address of Jeremy’s house when I leave, so you can arrange the cleanup.”
“That’ll work.”
“I understand why you’d rather not inform the FBI right now about Jeremy’s killing, but I don’t feel comfortable totally excluding them. I’m going to contact them on my way to the JUIAF to let them know I’m coming in. I won’t answer any of their questions tonight.”
Warren was silent for a few seconds and then said, “I was planning on contacting them tonight to inform them you contacted me and would be available for an interview tomorrow, but if you’d rather tell them yourself, that’s fine.”
“Is there an APB out for me?”
“No, local law enforcement hasn’t been contacted about you being missing.”
“Good, I can drive my car without worrying about being pulled over by the cops.”
“When can I expect you?”
“Around ten o’clock tonight. Can you arrange to have a change of clothes waiting for me? Jeans and a top are fine. I have my overnight bag, but no fresh clothes. It seems like every time I put on something clean today, it gets spattered with blood.”