Page 26 of Fearless
Ethan clears his throat. “Who is the person that just spoke? If anyone can be turned, it’s him. He sounds nervous, and that’s something we can use.”
Leanna narrows her gaze at the screen. “I can’t see his face clearly, but it sounds like Carlos. He’s seventeen and working to help his mom out with the bills. He has four younger siblings, one of which has a heart condition. He dropped out of school and took on a job because the medical bills were piling up.”
Carter wraps an arm around his wife. “When the waves got a little rough for snorkeling, Leanna hung out on the deck andchit-chatted with Carlos while the rest of us were in the water. Carlos is a good kid. I think if we can help him out, we can get him to talk.”
Ethan and Ben share a look and communicate silently. “Carter and Leanna, we’ll find out where Carlos lives, and when we do, I want you to approach him and his family and offer sanctuary up here. One of the top heart surgeons in the country is on our payroll, and Dr. Hunter Blackstone may be able to help.”
“And what if Carlos doesn’t agree to cooperate?” Leanna asks.
“Hopefully, that’s not the case. Regardless, we’ll ensure that Dr. Blackstone can assist, even if we have to fly him down there,” Ethan says with a wink.
It’s a solid plan, and I’m glad that the help Shining Knight provides isn’t conditional. It goes to show how much they really care about helping the world, one person at a time.
We watch in silence for almost an hour until another boat pulls up alongside the charter vessel. A man wearing shorts, a tank top, and flip-flops hands over a box with the number 235 on the side before speeding off into the darkness.
“That’s it?” Carter asks. “Where are the people?”
The man holding the box goes to the office and opens it. It’s difficult to make out the contents since only the top is exposed, but there are clearly 12 cylinders of something contained within, and the label for radioactive material is on top of each one. The man peels off the labels, closes the lid, and secures the box behind a false wall.
Ethan grunts. “It’s time to call Director Whitman.”
“Why?” I ask.
Ethan frowns, and his face fills the screen. “Because this case just went nuclear.”
Chapter fourteen
Roger
Ethan and Ben have us on standby while they communicate with Director Whitman and inform him of the situation. We determined that the cylinders contain Uranium-235, which is a key component in making a nuclear bomb. When they come back online, Ben’s face is red with rage, and Ethan’s fists are balled up tight.
Jessie scowls at her screen. “You have bad news. I just know it! Rip off the bandage and give it to us straight.”
Ben growls, but Ethan schools his features and takes a few deep inhalations to calm himself. “Director Whitman told us to stand down. The FBI will officially take over the case, and we’re not to interfere.”
I pound my fist on the coffee table. “We’re in a position to recover the uranium before it gets into the wrong hands. Why wouldn’t he want to utilize us to handle this? There’s no way he can have agents here by the time the boat docks.”
Ben throws his hands up in the air. “He’s got several agents working this case who are at a field office in Miami. They canget there by helicopter and be at your location within the hour. It will be cutting it close, but it’s doable. Whitman wants the six of you to hang tight until he can get a full debrief; then, he expects you to walk away.”
“You can’t be serious!” Harper exclaims. “I’m not walking away from this. I’ll turn in my badge before that happens. All we know so far is that this resort is being used to smuggle people and nuclear materials. We have no idea if this is just one of many locations being used, who is behind this, or why someone would need uranium in the first place.”
Jessie snorts. “They’re building a bomb, Harper.”
Harper rolls her eyes. “Yes, I know. Butwhyare they building the bomb? Who or what is the intended target? Is it a terrorist group or a lone wolf? What are their motiva…”
Bang! Pow! Pew! Pew! Bang!
The sound of shots being fired burst through the speakers, and my eyes zero in on the big screen. Until this point, the men on the boat had remained silent as they navigated the waters with radioactive material on board. It was as if they were afraid the vibrations from their voices would disturb the volatile material and cause an explosion.
I watch in awe as the crew falls one by one, and four men clad in all black climb onto the deck. The assailants are clearly communicating with one another, although we can’t pick up their words through the camera. One of them points to the stairwell that leads below deck, motioning his partner to go.
I pull up the camera from the small office area and have it viewable side-by-side with the footage from the camera facing the deck. A man pulls back the false wall and removes the box ofUranium before slowly turning around. He glances up at where our camera is supposedly hidden and grins so that his white teeth gleaming against the black paint covering his face.
“There is no way he could have known where the camera was! The office is grimy, and the walls are coated in filth, hiding the tiny spec perfectly,” Jessie says, annoyed.
“Unless…” I start to say.
Jessie’s hands go to her hips, and she cocks her head. “Unless what, Roger?”
