Page 47 of Fearless
We all fall silent when we begin to hear voices. “Did you deliver the schematics?” Monroe asks.
“I did. Just knowing they won’t fall into the wrong hands brings me a little peace,” Simms says.
“I wish I had your confidence. The blueprints are replaceable and can be downloaded from the dark web for the right price.”
“I can’t argue with that, but we have a team monitoring specifically for such a thing,” Simms replies. “And having a suspect helps. The tech team will be keeping a close eye on any traffic coming from his IP address.”
There’s a full minute of silence between the two agents, and I check the connection to ensure it’s still intact. Monroe finally speaks. “After so many years of dedicated service to this country, I can’t believe he would do such a thing. I’ve always respected him.”
“Me, too. For now, he’s just a suspect since we’re not in the business of assigning guilt until all the facts are presented.” Simms replies. A few beats go by, and then he adds, “We have movement.”
“The boat approaching has ten men heavily armed. They are boarding the charter boat,” Monroe says.
“Jordan and his crew are being held at gunpoint and being forced off their vessel! Can you see who is in the boarding party?”Simms asks his partner.
“Not clearly,” Monroe replies. “Even with night vision, we’re too far away to make out any details with such poor lighting. Wait! It’s The Demon Kings!”
“Crap! I knew it! It’s a trap!” Simms declares. We can hear the static from him cueing up a walkie-talking or CB radio. “Juilette-Zulu, this is Bravo-Sierra. We can confirm that it’s a trap! Ten of The Demon Kings are heavily armed. Approach with caution! This op just took an unexpected turn.”
“Copy, Bravo-Sierra,” says a voice that comes in broken. “Our ETA is five minutes out. Pick up the charter crew once they are clear of the area, and we’ll take care of the problem. This mission is still salvageable if we can manage to take them into custody.”
“Juliette-Zulu, we’re in pursuit. Bravo-Sierra out.” There’s a squelch as Simms depresses the “talk” button on the radio.
With Simms and Monroe in pursuit of the crew, we can barely make out Monroe’s words over the wind as it whips past his microphone. “What made you think it was a trap, Simms? For all we know, The Demon Kings could be planning to steal the cargo for themselves.”
“Naw. The Demon Kings wouldn’t have let the crew go and take their boat if they weren’t working for the same person. They would have killed everyone on board. Thomas told Jordan that they may be boarded, but he never said by who. Thomas made sure to give Jordan the details while they were on the boat, which he suspected was under surveillance.”
“Thomas is a puppet, but who was the puppet master trying to draw out with this ploy? Finnegan and his men, or us?” Monroe asks.
“Both.”
A barrage of gunfire pops off in the background, followed by screams and shouts just before we lose the connection. I begin praying for the safety of the agents as they battle it out and for those on the side of justice to prevail.
Chapter twenty-five
Harper
Roger immediately gets on the phone with Ethan and updates him on current events. He swipes the speaker function so that the four of us can be a part of the conversation.
“Simms only allowed us to listen in, hoping I would learn something new,” Roger says. “I didn’t, and I can only assume that I am missing something vitally important. Ethan, I’ve sent you the recording. Maybe you can make heads or tails of it. We’re all exhausted, and it’s been a very trying day.”
“I know it has,” Ethan replies. “We’re getting close. All we need is one break to crack this thing wide open. Rosie went through the file on Finnegan’s computer and found a schedule of ship departures from Cuba over the past few years. They occurred once a week like clockwork until a month ago, when they nearly tripled. The last departure on the schedule coincides with the recent delivery of uranium.”
I’m too tired to think straight. “What are you trying to say, Ethan? Spell it out for us because we’re all ready to pass out from exhaustion. At least I know I am.” Jessie and Elijah nodin agreement, even though Ethan can’t see them. Roger doesn’t have to. It’s written all over his face.
Roger grunts. “It means that there wasn’t a delivery scheduled for tonight, and it was all a set-up. Finnegan wouldn’t have sent his men there, knowing that. That’s why Eloise accessed the file. She was confirming the shipment schedule, wasn’t she?”
“Yes, Jerry checked all the keystrokes and the only subfile that Eloise accessed was the shipping schedule,” Ethan replies. “Hey, I have an incoming call from Whitman. Let me call you back.”
Ethan disconnects, and I take a moment to stretch out the kinks. “I’m trying to figure out if this is a good development or not. Wouldn’t it confirm that my parents and The Demon Kings aren’t working together?”
Roger and Elijah both grimace, but Jessie is the one who verbalizes what they’re all thinking. “Maybe. We know that Zurkowski, Henrickson, Ackerman, and Walsh are all working closely with your parents, your father in particular. We know that they had eyes and ears on the boat and a listening device planted inside Roger’s luggage. They had all the same information as we did, which means they know someone is pulling Thomas’ strings. Maybe it’s your father.”
Elijah speaks up. “Whoever called Thomas told him that the uranium theft was planned and to expect it to happen again. We know that it’s your father who coordinated the confiscation of uranium. What if he told Thomas the false information and sent The Demon Kings to attack the FBI? Simms was right. It was a trap.”
“Then why would The Demon Kings have attacked Zurkowski and Ackerman? And Roger, by default?” I ask, myvoice rising in irritation. I’m not frustrated at the team but with the situation. I tell them as much.
“The Demon Kings are thugs for hire. I’m not even suretheyknow who they are working for. As long as the money ends up in their bank account, they don’t care,” Roger says.
