Borne Darkly

by Lee Perry

  She snatched the drenched towel from the console and angrily wiping sweat from her face and armpits, stormed from the room. She took the stairs two at a time from the second to the third floor, careful to close her bedroom door quietly behind her. Booting up the laptop, she accessed the files she created when she reverse engineered how Anthony created and managed his offshore bank accounts. She spent an hour reviewing the files then set about opening her own anonymous offshore account. Hours later, she slumped exhaustedly in her chair and sighed aloud. After receiving the email for activating her new offshore account in the Bahamas, she went back to her research files and embedded new code in the program that sold the stolen card numbers and deposited the collected funds to Rossi’s offshore account. From now on, she smiled as she stared at the screen, for every five dollars deposited into Rossi’s offshore account, one dollar will be deposited into mine, and no one but me ever needs to know.

  She stretched and arched her back, feeling the satisfying popping sensations along her spine and began typing rapidly on the keyboard. From everything I’ve read online, this is exactly how the mob works; everyone gets “a taste”, everyone steals but only a little, nobody gets greedy and the boss stays happy. She searched for a list of countries with no extradition treaties with the United States. All I have to do is be successful and patient… even if I can’t access funds directly from gaming sites, as long as my programs make Anthony money, I can relocate somewhere nice… I would still work for him, but remotely… Suddenly thoughtful, she turned to look out the window, realizing she forgot to close the drapes then blinked when she realized the sun was coming up. Wow, she shook her head and stood. Time flies when you’re having fun. Closing the browser, she shut down the laptop and headed for the shower, It’s clear Rossi intends to wrap things up here and move his operations to the Bahamas… so I’ll be needing new identities for Cameron and me when he’s ready to go… Then once I get him set up I’ll be able to simply walk away and settle someplace where I can get some decent shopping and lunching done.

  Reno, NV

  Tommy turned to Shen when they finally got to his Volvo in the massive dirt parking lot, “Mind if we trade for the drive back? That way we can start training while you drive.”

  Shen’s boyfriend, Tommy Chang, was an officer for the San Francisco Police Department and on the drive to Reno, it became clear to Catherine what drew her friend to this man, but she didn’t understand why they were unable to be together. She smiled in thanks when he held the door for her, Po and I will have to talk about that…

  “Okay with reading my tracing?” she asked, tracing on her palm and he grinned,

  “Yeah, actually, I totally get it.” He nudged Shen, “Did you know that’s how deaf Chinese communicated?”

  “Nah…” Shen grinned back, “not till she told me.”

  Catherine climbed in the backseat and buckled her seatbelt while Tommy circled around the car and slid in the seat next to her. After she told Shen of her intention to buy a gun he revealed that he was himself a gun owner; Tommy helped him buy a handgun suited to his needs and he urged her to let him ask Tommy to come along for the ride and help her make the purchase. She had readily agreed, and on the drive to Reno, Tommy drove so Shen could sit in the backseat with Catherine and translate. She found Shen’s boyfriend easy to talk to about her past, and she and Shen kept him entertained during the three and a half hour drive with stories of their time working together at Symteck.

  At the gun show, she let Tommy take the lead and with his guidance, she purchased a model 19 Glock 9mm semiautomatic for $500 with two magazines and a few boxes of ammunition, one of them magnum hollow points. On their way out, Tommy recommended she buy a cleaning kit, an airline approved lockable case and paddle holster. Looking down at the holster in her hands she thought, It looks like Jordan’s.

  “Okay…” Tommy began, handing her the owner’s manual that came with her weapon, “in here are the instructions for how to clean and maintain your weapon… but I’m gonna show you now so we can move on to the three rules of gun safety…” He looked up at Shen, “Once we’re in the desert we’ll look for a place to pull over so she can practice shooting, okay?”

  New York, NY

  Jordan opened the door to her and Don’s office and stood in the doorway, Yeah, she nodded to herself and closed the door again, I really don’t need to go in there yet…

  Inhaling deeply, she walked to the stairs and took them two at a time to the Cyber Division. She pushed through the enormous glass door, her eyes scanning the sea of cubicles until she spotted Assistant Director McNamara talking to one of her agents, an arm propped on the short cubicle wall. When she caught her eye and Bea waved her over, Jordan detected a reserved excitement in the woman’s eyes.

  She wended her way to her, “Hey,” she greeted her and the seated agent, “what’s up?”

  “Dave here was scrutinizing what he hoped was a facial recognition hit on your guy Coastanoa in Vegas when this came in,” she pointed at the young agent’s large monitor, “He’s just been booked there on a drunk and disorderly charge.”

  Jordan felt her heart race, “I need to call them.”

  The young man handed her his phone and clicking a link, placed the call. Jordan willed her heart to slow and when a voice answered on the second ring she identified herself, “Hello, “ she said calmly, “this is Special Agent Jordan Hawkins of the FBI, your department just booked an Ed Coastanoa into your facility… I need to verify his presence there and to make sure you know who he is.”

  The Las Vegas Booking Officer sounded nervous, “Yes ma’am… when we ran his prints your Ten Most Wanted alert popped on my screen…” She heard him clear his throat, “He’s wanted for capital murder and there’s a no press release banner on it.”

  “Excellent, put your supervisor on the phone please.”

  He passed the phone to the shift supervisor who explained Ed had been arrested for drunkenly picking a fight outside a bar. It had taken four officers to take him into custody and bring him to the Booking Center, and once they scanned his fingerprints and his alert in the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted List appeared on the screen, they did indeed realize who was sitting in their drunk tank.

  While he spoke Jordan pulled her cell phone from her pocket, “Captain, I cannot stress strongly enough how important it is that the media not be notified that you have him in custody. Our finding the murderers of five of our agents depends entirely on you and your staff.” She glanced at Bea who nodded silently, pointing to the agent’s screen; a phone held to her ear as well, “We’ll be moving Coastanoa,” Jordan continued, reading the newly arranged itinerary, “under heavy security to High Deseret State...”

  Bea murmured, “Less than an hour.”

  “In less than an hour.” Jordan repeated.

  The jail supervisor told Jordan everything she wanted to hear and she signed off, handing the phone back to the seated agent. Exhaling nosily, she grinned at them, “Thank you…” She paused, suddenly realizing the room was completely silent. She slowly turned to look around her and saw every agent in the room standing quietly in their cubicles, watching them.

  “Great job everybody,” Bea raised her voice, “thanks to all your hard work, we got Coastanoa!”

  The room erupted in cheers and Jordan’s grin widened even more while she texted Catherine.

  Las Vegas, NV

  Jordan texted Catherine the few scant details she had of Ed’s arrest while she was on the plane. Catherine’s flight was delayed in San Francisco and they had exchanged a flurry of texts of Jordan convincing her to wait for the flight and not rent a car and drive to Las Vegas.

  Her flight arrived two and a half hours before Catherine’s and she had nervously paced at the gate that would eventually deliver Catherine Bernard to see the man who shot her and murdered her child. She had been on the phone for hours, alternately texting Catherine and talking to Stewart. They knew they had to keep Coastanoa’s capture from the press if they w
ere going to have a chance at capturing Rossi, and Stewart had asked the FBI director himself to call the chief of the Las Vegas Police Department and High Desert prison warden to emphasize the importance of locking down their departments. Jordan did not intend to let news of Ed’s capture drive Rossi further underground, and as she paced she started to feel nervous exhaustion set in; anxious word would leak out and make it impossible for them to ever track down the murderers of five of their own, let alone find Catherine’s son.

  When she was finally forced to sit and recharge her phone she texted Catherine, telling her she could text her from her tablet, but without the benefit and safety of their private chat program.

  “Okay, I don’t suppose we have to worry about encryption if we don’t use any names.”

  Jordan plugged in her phone to charge and powered up her tablet. Once the wi-fi connected she sent a text, “Are you there? It’s me, Prisms.” Sighing tiredly, she sat back in the vinyl seat and stared at the tablet until a message appeared,

  “Prisms, it’s good to have you back.”

  Jordan smiled, typing, “I’ve missed you so much.”

  “Me too… only 35 more minutes now.”

  Jordan adjusted the strap on her shoulder bag, watching nervously as passengers disembarked Catherine’s flight. When she finally appeared Jordan stood nervously, unsure how to greet her in a public setting but Catherine ran to her, dropping her shoulder bag at their feet so she could wrap her in a fierce hug.

  Her eyes squeezed shut and she hugged her back with equal intensity, “Finally…” she whispered, “finally…”

  When Catherine released her she signed, “I knew you would find him, Jordan.”

  She scoffed, picking up her bag, “Cyber found him.”

  Jordan pulled the rented car out of the airport and onto the road; feeling more relaxed once they were inside the privacy of the vehicle, “High Desert State Prison is just forty miles north of here on route ninety-five… It’s a medium security prison but they’re keeping him in a small, high security wing until tomorrow morning, then I’ll accompany him to a federal penitentiary in Allentown, Pennsylvania.” Catherine shot her a terrified look. “Along with a huge phalanx of big beefy U.S. Marshalls…” she assured her.

  Catherine only nodded. She knew it would be too distracting to make Jordan read her signs while she drove so she held out her hand instead. Jordan took it and drove one-handed on the highway.

  Jordan had to relinquish her service weapon before a guard led them into the sally port and the warden escorted them from there to high security housing. He took them into a darkened observation room and Catherine clutched Jordan’s hand when he led them to a curtained window,

  “This is a one-way mirror,” he explained quietly, “He is handcuffed to a secure table on the other side of this glass, you will be able to see and hear him…” He pointed to a speaker next to the window, “and I promise he won’t be able to see or hear you...” he added earnestly, clearly unaware Catherine was unable to speak and pulling the cord, parted the heavy drape.

  Jordan looked from Ed Coastanoa to Catherine, “Breathe…” she murmured, “just breathe.” She nodded and Jordan turned to the warden, “Can I speak to him now?”

  He nodded and led the way back to the hall door.

  Holding Catherine’s hand, Jordan led her firmly to a chair, “Sit here… you’ll be able to watch and hear us… Catherine,” she squatted to look in her eyes, “I’ll only be a few minutes, will you be alright in here?”

  She nodded again and Jordan could feel her tremble.

  “I’ll wait with her…” the warden said quietly and Jordan stood,

  “Thank you.”

  Catherine sat, rigid and silent as she stared through the one-way glass at the disheveled unshaven man. He killed my little girl… and changed my life forever… She drew a careful breath and swallowed convulsively when she saw Jordan enter.

  “Hello, Ed,” Jordan entered the room, “my name is Jordan Hawkins; I’m a special agent for the FBI…” She sat across the table from him, “Comes as no surprise though, does it?”

  The metal table was bolted to the floor, his handcuffs were secured to a steel ring bolted to the tabletop and he sat with his hands neatly folded. He gave her a contemptuous look, “I got nuthin’ to say to you…” he muttered before looking away.

  “That’s understandable…” she shrugged, “so many years of taking out Rossi’s competitors… I get it;” she nodded, “you’re loyal… you’re smart… look how long it took us to catch you.” Her brow furrowed, “So…” she sighed aloud, folding her hands on the table in deliberate imitation, “here in Vegas for business? Or pleasure?” Ed stared fixedly at the far wall and she cocked her head to one side, regarding him, “Although I don’t see how killing a four year-old child would earn you a vacation of any sort… even from Rossi.” She took a picture of Chelsea from her pocket and held it out to him, “I just don’t understand how you can look at a little girl like this and pull the trigger…”

  Ed looked at the picture and then looked away, Fuck you, he thought with a silent snort of contempt, I’m not afraid of you…

  “She was just a baby, Ed… and you killed her… for what? So Alex Sparrow would steal millions for you using the Internet, right?” She continued quietly, “Business is business, but killing a sweet little girl…” she looked down at the picture, “how can that be good business?” She peered up at him, trying to catch his eye, “Was it a mistake, Ed?’ she said softly, “Did she startle you somehow and you just… reacted? You know,” she cajoled, “we all get older… reflexes slow down… you see something out of the corner of your eye and you just… shoot…” Ed stared hard at the wall and she sighed heavily; “Okay… we have your fingerprints in the house from that night so you’ll definitely get the death penalty… murderers of children… and their mothers…” she waved her hand limply, “can’t forget her… always get the death penalty…” She sat back in the chair, regarding him with a shrug, “without question… unless you cooperate…. Because I still think it was an accident that you shot her… that would bring it down from Murder One to Murder Two… especially since the mother didn’t die until much later… So turn over Rossi and the federal prosecutor will only ask for life without parole.” His eyes flicked to hers then away again and she added, “I promise.”

  Catherine watched, her hands tightly clutching one another on her lap. This is the man who killed Chelsea… she thought, feeling increasingly lightheaded, He killed her and shot me… and… and… She wrenched her hands apart and gripped the chair seat, afraid she might topple off. The warden suddenly appeared at her side. Bending low, he placed a gentle hand on her shoulder and murmured,

  “Are you alright?”

  She nodded and he backed away, Breathe… she commanded silently, all we have to do right now… is breathe.

  Jordan could hear the air whistle in and out of Coastanoa’s nose but he said nothing. “Well, think about it…” she tucked Chelsea’s picture back in her pocket, “and I’ll see you tomorrow.” She left the room and a guard escorted her back to the observation room where she found Catherine standing next to the warden just inside the door,

  “Okay?” Jordan asked, concerned by her pale features and Catherine nodded, taking her arm.

  The warden led them back to the sally port and Jordan thanked him on both her and Catherine's behalf. She retrieved her service weapon and they walked in silence to the car. Jordan opened the door for her and Catherine burst into tears, her hands clamped over her mouth as she stumbled into Jordan’s arms.

  She held her close, resting her chin on her head while Catherine cried. “I’m so sorry…” she whispered into the soft hair, “I’m so sorry.”

  Long minutes passed until she felt Catherine sag and she helped her sit in the car, “Watch your head…” she murmured, raising a hand to protect her as she sat her in the car. She handed her some paper napkins she pulled from her jacket pocket and sat on the seat n
ext to her.

  “Thank you, Jordan.” Catherine signed, sniffing and clearing her throat. Dabbing at her eyes and blowing her nose, she sniffed and shook her head, “Do you think he shot her by accident?”

  Jordan looked deep into troubled red-rimmed eyes, “We’ll never know for sure… I think Rossi sent him to kill you as a message to Alex. Once he saw Chelsea there… and he knew she saw him shoot you…” She shrugged, “I don’t know if he would have shot her to eliminate her as a witness, or if he shot her from pure reflex… we’ll never know, Catherine. But I need a place to start so he’ll tell us where Alex and Cameron are.”