ENEMY WITHIN THE GATES

by Richard Drummer

  “Wait, that makes even less sense, don’t you think? Jordan could not have been making it easy for them. So why wouldn’t they take an elevator? Were they armed? Did you see weapons in the video? And how the hell did they manage to force her down multiple flights of stairs while keeping her from screaming the entire time?”

  “Senator, these are all issues we’re struggling with. It seems your daughter did not offer any resistance. Kitchen personnel on the basement level say they saw a woman matching Jordan’s description walking along unescorted, wearing a lab coat.”

  Karlson’s eyes widened. Red flag, her mind screamed. Bright, beaming huge fucking RED FLAG! One of many so far, all signaling the same thing; nothing here is as it seems. The whole situation was already stinking to high heaven. None of the answers were adding up and she now wondered if there was a completely different explanation. She had to keep asking questions. Only then would she get anywhere near the truth.

  “Wouldn’t that mean that Jordan was. . .helping them? Is this some sort of Patti Hearst thing, like Stockholm Syndrome?”

  “That is a very real possibility. Whether out of fear or whether your daughter trusted these men, we don’t know exactly. Until we do, her abductors are considered armed and dangerous. Senator, please, there is much more to do. We have people waiting to set up recording equipment to tap your phone for intercepting ransom demands. We are wasting time with questions that can be answered after the more pressing issues have been addressed. Now, I strongly suggest we all go do what needs to be done to get Jordan back safely. Is that acceptable?”

  “Yes, of course,” she agreed, as though it were stupid to even ask.

  “Very good,” said Masterson. “Until then, none of this can be released to the general public. We would like to control the quantity of information so as not to push the kidnappers into reacting erratically.”

  “I understand,” Karlson said, nodding. “I’ll go excuse myself from the function I’m attending here and meet you at my home. Thank you, Special Agent Masterson. I hope you’ll forgive the anger and frustration I’m heaping on you.”

  The agent nodded his understanding.

  “One more quick question. I promise it will be the last.”

  “Ma’am.”

  “You told me these people knew the schedules of staff and security, as well as the floor plans of the hospital, right?”

  “Yes, that much is certain.”

  “Agent Masterson, how does someone acquire that much information about a seemingly secure medical facility in such a short amount of time?”

  Agent Barnhart finished his phone conversation and chimed in. “That’s an excellent question, senator. Although we don’t have all the details, we did discover from the security video technician that they experienced some unusual glitches in the system this morning.”

  “What sort of glitches?”

  SA Barnhart flipped to another page of his notebook. “He believes someone hacked in and installed a video loop.”

  “I don’t know what that is.”

  “The security camera is temporarily taken offline, and a repeating image, a video loop, plays in its place. It appears the kidnappers used a number of these loops to mask their escape.”

  “How did they know to do that? How did they get in?”

  “We have our people working on that right now. To breach the hospital’s security measures would be technically challenging, to say the least. It would be even harder to hide your footprints once you’ve been inside. That may be what leads us to Jordan’s captors. It also sheds some light on another question you posed; how do you get so familiar with this facility in such a short time?”

  “Yes, how would one do that?”

  SA Barnhart lowered his notebook and locked eyes with Karlson. “They were watching. They tapped into the hospital video grid and were watching everything, observing it all in real-time. They would then relay that information to their people on the inside.”

  An arctic chill gripped Karlson. Icy fingers cascaded down her spine as adrenalin flooded her heart. She staggered back and swallowed hard. They were watching. What an ironic choice of words. She could hear the echoes of Jordan’s voice. ‘I saw the security video. I watched you watching them!’

  “Well, I’ll be damned,” she said quietly. This was no coincidence. She didn’t believe in them. There was so much more here than the abduction of her daughter. Every feeling of sorrow and fear for Jordan’s safety drained away and was replaced with cold, hard anger with a newfound determination.

  40

  The FBI agents had barely left the room before Karlson grabbed Lawton’s arm and spun him around.

  “I need you to arrange an immediate press conference from the stage right here. We have an opportunity to pull in some sympathy votes, and the rest of the country needs to believe that my poor, overworked, broke down daughter has been kidnapped.”

  “Katherine, what the hell is wrong with you?” Lawton nearly yelled. “Your daughter has been kidnapped! That was the goddamned FBI!”

  “Jesus Christ, Gene! Don’t you see what’s really happening here? She hasn’t been kidnapped. She’s been rescued by her fucking little geek friends!”

  Lawton started to answer, but her reaction shocked him into silence. He stared back, wondering what was going on behind those fiery eyes. Maybe she was cracking under the strain and strayed off into her own little private reality. How else could she come up with such a convoluted conclusion? Was this the beginning of the end? The final meltdown of his candidate and the end of a near-perfect campaign? A more distant, nearly inconceivable thought sprang forward. His expression changed from one of fear to astonishment. What if she was right?

  “Think about it,” Karlson said. “These guys had five days to conceive and implement a kidnapping from a secure medical facility. The preliminary planning alone should have taken weeks all by itself. Then it’s pulled off flawlessly by two, count ’em, two employees that casually walk her out the back door against her will in a stolen lab coat. Oh, and here’s the clincher, they accomplish this with the aid of a super hacker genius who taps into the security system. Then he miraculously guides them past a small platoon of guards. Does any of this sound wrong to you? Does any of it sound familiar?”

  Karlson paced the room like a caged animal. “Who the hell could pull off something like this? I’ll tell you who. A bunch of local nerds that knew Jordan, knew the inner workings of that hospital and could hack into the security system. Just like they’d done in my office. Does that about cover it, Gene?”

  The words struck Lawton like a lightning bolt. “Oh my God,” he muttered, staggering back in near disbelief. Karlson had nailed it. What a brilliant plan! And perfectly executed by a bunch of rank amateurs who came together to help a friend! He chastised himself for missing the clues before Karlson had put them together. He was better than this. “Let’s hope the FBI doesn’t think the way we do and figure out what’s really going on here,” he said.

  Karlson nodded as her mind raced forward, processing stray fragments of information and attempting to plug them into the remaining questions. “You can practically read their game strategy,” she said with a look of amazement. “No wonder it seemed so easy. A bunch of super nerds crack a system maintained by overconfident, overpaid blowhards.” She put her hand to her mouth to stifle a laugh. “They waltzed right in and took over like they owned the place.”

  She turned to Lawton as her demeanor changed, her jowls tightening as her nostrils flared. “Find out who the ass hole is that runs the security at that hospital. I want answers, Gene, and I want them now.” She thought another moment, then said, “No, we’ll wait on that one. Set up a press conference right here, right now, to milk this moment for all it’s worth. We need to appear distraught. Start throwing some blame around. Make them think the president had a hand in this to kill the momentum of our campaign. Create some doubt in people’s minds. Control the moment.”

  The look of extreme confi
dence reappeared as she pointed at Lawton. “Arrange our announcement, then start making calls. We can use the FBI to our advantage in tracking her down, but we should also have our own people working it. Some rules may need to be bent. I’m not going to wait for some judge to get his ass out of bed to sign a search warrant. You know what to do. We’ve dealt with similar situations before.”

  Lawton watched in awe as Katherine Karlson transformed. On cue, she summoned the biggest sobs and tears he’d ever seen. He couldn’t remember a movie moment that could top this.

  “Gene,” she cried with the sorrow of a woman whose heart had just been ripped from her chest. “Get those cameras turned on. We have a statement to make!”

  Lawton was mesmerized. What a performance! Say what you would about Karlson being a manipulative bitch, which he often thought privately. This performance was nothing less than brilliant! He loved a woman who could kick off her pumps and tread through the mud, especially now.

  This could all get very dirty, very fast. He could also envision this becoming a potential threat to his own career. Maybe it was time to establish a discreet distance from his boss. He would do whatever was necessary to bring her plans to fruition. But he would now build a buffer between them. Give himself room to claim plausible deniability. Make sure he wasn’t privy to all the facts. That way, he could swear she kept him in the dark. It could be done, but cautiously, or she would see right through.

  It was time to cover his ass and think of his own future. If her ship was going down, then he didn’t want to be caught up in the swirling eddies pulling everyone else to the bottom. He would watch for the right moment to abandon the ship, which now seemed close at hand. It was time to double down and take care of Numero Uno.

  Gene Lawton stepped up to the podium of a hastily arranged press conference and opened the notes he drafted only moments earlier. He tapped one of the many clustered microphones before him and began his introduction.

  “At approximately eight thirty-five this morning, members of an extremist group stormed into the Haven rehabilitation hospital in Bethesda Maryland and overpowered security forces. They made their way up to the third floor and abducted Jordan West, the daughter of Senator Katherine Karlson and California Governor Clifford West. Ms. West was recuperating at the facility from physical and emotional exhaustion suffered as a result of working tirelessly on her mother’s presidential campaign. She was taken against her will and forced into an awaiting vehicle. As yet, we have not received any ransom demands but expect them at any time. It is difficult to ignore the suspicious nature and timing of such an egregious act. There is a strong suspicion that the perpetrators are attempting to usurp the American voting process.

  “The FBI and local law enforcement are working together diligently and are making progress in identifying the group responsible for this crime. At this time, however, they cannot rule out the involvement of foreign or political elements. Further statements will be made as additional information becomes available. Right now, senator Karlson would like to make a brief statement.”

  Lawton stepped back as an emotionally distraught Katherine Karlson made her way to the podium.

  “Someone has taken my daughter, my baby,” she began. “I am asking that group of terrorists, if they are listening, to please let me talk to Jordan. This is not about politics. This is not about money. This is about the life of Jordan West, and she is not a pawn to be used for your twisted purposes. You can still release her and walk away from this before it’s too late. You have my word that no one will come after you. But if you don’t,” Karlson paused a moment, sniffling back a sob and looking straight at the camera. “If you don’t, then I will find you. Jordan, baby, if you’re watching this, I want you to know… that I’m coming for you. Please,” her eyes filled again, “Please let my daughter go,” she begged, “Please…”

  Karlson finished her short plea with an Oscar-winning breakdown, televised live around the world. Her performance would stand the test of time as one of the pinnacle moments in American politics. The tears continued to stream as she maintained her breakdown. Inwardly, she felt as though she’d just thrown the winning pass in the super bowl.

  Lawton took Karlson’s arm and guided her through the throngs of microphones, cameras, and bright floodlights. “We have nothing further to add at this time,” he announced. “Now please, make room and allow a mother to grieve for her missing child.”

  Karlson made a show of hiding her face in her hands while occasionally peering out. Each time she did, the multiple flashes of cameras captured the moment—every one of them perfect—a made-to-order closeup to accompany the front-page headlines. Absolutely heart-wrenching, absolutely soul-searing, absolutely superb, she commended herself.

  They made their way to the curb, where Lawton opened the rear door to an awaiting limousine. As she climbed in, Lawton turned to face the cluster of cameras. “You can all help by giving this woman some time and some privacy. We will let you know when there is any news to report. In the meantime, please, say a prayer for Jordan.”

  He followed her in and pulled the door closed. The limo pulled from the curb, rolling slowly through the unrelenting throes of photographers, all hoping to catch that one in a million photo and sell it to the highest bidder.

  “That was catchy, what you said back there,” Karlson said, checking her makeup in a handheld mirror. “Say a prayer for Jordan. Nice touch.”

  Lawton flashed a grin.

  She added, “You should include that every time we make a statement.”

  He nodded and wrote the memo in his phone notes.

  “Let’s stay on top of this, Gene. We need to be one step ahead of the FBI in tracking her down, now that we know what’s really going on.”

  “Agreed. I can bring in the same private security group we used last fall. I’ll call and get them up to speed with what we know. I’ve already brought in another company to pose as secret service agents. They questioned all of Jordan’s known friends. That’s how we found out about the connection between this computer hacker and the guys in the band.”

  “Very good,” she answered, “just make sure your fake agents don’t cross paths with the real cowboys. I don’t want to be backtracking with questions about every little thing we’re doing.”

  He nodded. “I’ll pass that on now.”

  “Give me a minute before you do. There’s a call I need to make right now.” Karlson pulled out her phone, pressed the first name in memory, and put it to her ear. She locked eyes with Gene. He watched the transformation all over again. The tears, the pout, the grief on command. “Clifford!” she cried, “Oh Clifford, our baby’s been taken!”

  41

  Joe and Theresa froze in the middle of preparing food and stared at the television and the breaking news bulletin. The room fell silent as Gene Lawton strode to a podium. He made a brief announcement and then introduced Senator Karlson.

  Jordan’s face turned an ashen hue as she walked over and stood next to the image of her tearful mother. Ethan came up behind, putting his hands on her shoulders. She took little notice.

  “Jordan baby, if you’re watching this, I want you to know. . . I’m coming for you.”

  The words landed on her like a pallet of bricks. She could see through those manufactured tears, could see mommy’s mind working, hear it whirring, manipulating, right through the manufactured veil of deception. She felt pity for everyone else watching who could not. They were being sold a bill of goods that did not exist. Her mother was using this moment for all it was worth. Jordan shook her head, wondering why she had expected anything different.

  She remembered this woman serving her drugged coffee, then watching the false expression of concern on her face. Jordan was rendered powerless to resist, unable to speak or even hold her head up. She recalled the conversation between Gene and her mother as she lay sprawled out on the back seat of Lawton’s car. Karlson spoke of her initial reluctance to slip her own kid a mickey. She had obviously gott
en over it. They discussed Jordan’s fate. Karlson clung to the hope that her daughter would come around to seeing things differently sooner than later.

  Gene posed the question; what if she didn’t? Karlson did not respond. Jordan took her mother’s silence as an answer in itself. She would be given a choice, either go along with the plan or kiss any hope of a normal existence goodbye. It was as simple as that. In this theatrical performance from hell, Jordan was the new villain. Nothing more than a hindrance, a dead weight. An immovable object blocking the path of the great Katherine Karlson, the future president.

  The words rang in Jordan’s head again; I’m coming for you. God, her mother figured it out fast. How did she know? Was this some motherly premonition that her daughter was safe and the entire kidnapping story was a ruse? Or was it possible that she was actually agonizing over locking her daughter up, believing Jordan was indeed in mortal danger? No, she knew. There was no doubt in Jordan’s mind that she had received much more than a message of hope from a mother pleading for her daughter’s safe return.

  “That was a threat,” she said, pointing at the screen. “She’s coming. She knows what really happened, and she’s coming.”

  “How could she possibly know?” Theresa asked, staring back, perplexed.

  “I don’t have an answer for that,” Jordan said, shaking her head, “but you have to trust me on this. She knows. She was talking to all of us when she said, ‘I will find you.’ Murray, you said earlier that your home was raided by the Secret Service.”

  Murray nodded.

  “The Secret Service does not participate in such activities. Were you aware of that?”

  “No, but they looked pretty official to me,” he said.

  “Did they show any identification before they entered your home?”

  “Come to think of it, they didn’t even offer. They just stormed in and did an extensive search.”