Chapter 9: Decoding the Message

August 26, 1996, Chicago, Illinois

“I think that’s entirely possible,” Agent Stone agreed. “We just need to find out the guard’s name.”

I snapped my fingers, “Get a roster of the staff.”

“Why?”

I grinned, “Match it to characters in The Hunt for RED OCTOBER.”

“You think that’s the way they’re telling Spurgeon who his contact is?”

“It’s possible, don’t you think?”

“We’ll get that list, and we’ll run the registration number through the FAA. I want you to sit with a sketch artist to get drawings of those guys.”

“You didn’t have someone with a camera and a telephoto lens at the airports?”

“Sometimes you’re too smart for your own good.”

“Which means you did. Both airports, I suspect. So you don’t need my descriptions OR the tail number of the aircraft I memorized.”

“Do not ask. We do need a full description of the guard.”

I gave the description, down to the length of his fingernails and the make and model of his wristwatch, a Casio F91 digital watch, identical to the one Zeke wore.

“One last question,” Agent Stone said. “How much money?”

“The envelope was about an inch thick, and I’d guess $100 bills, personally. Would YOU risk everything for less?”

“I wouldn’t get involved in this at all.”

I shrugged, “Everyone has a price, Agent Stone.”

“Are you trying to tell me something?”

I shook my head, “No. And I can’t tell you what my price is, but I’m honest enough to admit that there is SOME amount, or SOME thing of value, which would secure my cooperation the other way.”

“Then what are you getting out of this?”

“Staying out of prison! I made a foolish mistake while trying to be a nice guy, and I bought my way out by cooperating with you.”

“And the ten million you think you’re going to get?”

I laughed, “I’m getting nothing. That was always going to charity.”

“It’s going nowhere.”

I shrugged, “I can’t tell you what I don’t know.”

“You do know the names of the charities.”

“You mean I know the names of my favorite charities? Yes, of course. That’s public knowledge. All you need to do is look at my tax returns or my company’s website. Or check our policy manual for charities for which NIKA does a dollar-for-dollar match for employee contributions, up to our giving limit, which is very generous.”

“We will find that money and you will help us, or the immunity deal is off.”

“I know,” I replied.

“Why do I have the feeling you think you can get away with this?”

“Because you’re paid to be suspicious. Anyway, when you get the staff list, I think you’ll know. I’m sure someone on your team has read Tom Clancy.”

“Quite a few of us. He’s very popular here.”

I nodded, we shook hands, and I left the building. Eve and I walked back to the office to finish out the work day.

August 28, 1996, Chicago, Illinois

“We’re stuck,” Agent Stone said.

They’d called on Wednesday morning and asked me to come to their offices. We were sitting in one of the conference rooms.

“How?”

“First of all, the tail numbers were fake.”

“Surprise, surprise.”

“And the only names which match are two people named Jones. One is the warden’s secretary, the other is a guard, but he’s on short-term disability and won’t be back until December.”

“What about the name of the guard?”

“Paul Karlson,” they replied. “But there’s nobody in the book with that name.”

“No, there isn’t. Can I see the list, please?”

Agent O’Toole handed it to me and I scanned it. The answer was so obvious that I started laughing. But then I realized there were TWO possible answers.

“What?” Agent Stone asked.

“Well, first, ‘Mark Ramsey’ was an alias Marko Ramius used in the latest book. But there’s another one which fits the clues much better. Pete Karlson.”

“Why him?”

I chuckled, “Thor’s Twins. Pete and Paul Karlson. I don’t know if they’re real twins, but even if they aren’t, that fits the clue perfectly. And maybe it’s Ramsey AND the Karlsons, but I doubt it. I think that has to be a coincidence because the book just came out. The Karlsons would explain the anachronism of using something from the movie which wasn’t in the book.”

“Pat, do you have the work schedule?” Agent Stone asked.

“Yes, through the end of October,” Agent O’Toole replied. “And yes, all three of them work on the 24th. All three on the night shift.”

“What time does that shift start?”

“10:00pm. Bill, I think all the clues line up.”

“I agree,” Agent Stone said. “Steve, have they said anything else to you?”

“No,” I replied. “I’m not sure they will. I mean, what else can I do for them?”

“Given that we don’t know the plan? I have no idea.”

“There is one other thing you have to consider,” I said.

“What’s that?”

“That they know I’m ‘compromised’ and this is a ruse and misdirection.”

“We’ve thought about that. All we can do is wait and see.”

We shook hands and I left their office, meeting Eve outside as I usually did.

“I think your idea might be right,” I said to Eve.

“It does seem too easy, doesn’t it? And you keep saying they’re being dumb, so I think you’ve had that thought, too.”

“I have. Noel Spurgeon is not a dumb man. And I can’t imagine Matheson is, either.”

“You think you’ve been played?”

“I think the FBI is being played and I’m the bow to their violin. Basically, Spurgeon’s team got the FBI to look the wrong way by making it seem as if they’re communicating in code, but the code is easy for me to figure out. Way too easy.”

“Which means nobody has a clue what’s really happening.”

“I wonder if Matheson even knows the plan. Or the jokers on the plane? The real plan can’t involve any of them.”

“Did you tell the FBI what you’re thinking?”

“Just that I wondered if this was all a ruse. I think it is. And I know how to find out.”

“The money for charity?”

“Exactly. And I know just how to handle that in a way the FBI can NEVER trace.”

“The Outfit?”

“Oh, hell no!” I chuckled. “There isn’t anything left of the Outfit, even if I had thought about that.”

“What’s your plan?”

I shook my head, “This one I have to keep to myself.”

We headed back to the office as I developed my idea about the money. If it really was a ruse, the money would never change hands. I couldn’t believe there was the slightest chance they’d pay me ten million to run interference. If they knew I was compromised, refusing to pay wouldn’t be a risk, because they’d have known I was in touch with the FBI. But to know THAT, it meant that either Agent Stone or Agent O’Toole was dirty, OR that their procedures were not as secure as they thought they were.

I needed a way to make a completely untraceable phone call, so after lunch, I walked to a convenience store and paid cash for a pre-paid phone card with international access. I walked to Union Station, wary of running into the pimp or one of his associates, but reached the pay phones near the Burlington Northern tracks without incident. I dialed the sequence of numbers for the card, then the number I wanted to reach.

“«Привет», Vanya Konstantinovich,” I said when the phone was answered by my friend in Saint Petersburg. (‘Hello’).

“Stepa Rayevich! How are you?”

“Quite well. And you?”

“The same, thank you. We’re anxiously awaiting the start of our new business!”

“As am I. I’m calling because I need a serious favor.”

“What can I do for you?”

“I need to park some money in a place where no US authorities know about it or can find it. It’s not my money, Vanya, but you should treat it as if it were.”

“And you think Russia is the place for this?”

“I do. I think your business contacts could easily handle this. Of course, you would be free to invest the money, and keep any returns, so long as you return 100% of the principal, minus any legitimate exchange and transfer fees.”

“This could be done. How would you get the money to us?”

“Through whichever Russian bank you nominate. But I do not want to know. I will have someone get in touch with whomever you want to handle this. All you need do is confirm the money has arrived, and then, when the time comes, which may be a few years, facilitate a transfer to a Swiss bank which I will nominate through Lyudmila.”

“Let me speak to my partners in Moscow, but I’m sure this can be done. And you have my word the money will be there when you ask for it.”

“It’s never coming to me, nor will I ever have any actual use of it,” I replied. “I can explain, eventually, face-to-face.”

“Understood.”

“I’ll call you on Friday about this time. Is that sufficient for you to at least confirm with your partners?”

“More than. How will I know the instructions are from you?”

“The person who calls will identify himself as Alexis Gogol.”

Vanya laughed heartily, “You and your James Bond!”

“There is a chance this won’t happen,” I replied. “And a chance the money won’t arrive. If either of those happens, I’ll simply owe you a favor.”

“As is always your way! I will speak to you on Friday.”

We said ‘goodbye’ and I hung up, then turned to walk out of the station. I kept my eyes peeled for anyone who might cause trouble, but saw no one and returned to the office without incident.

That evening, at the dojo, Sensei Jim tested Marcia for 1st Kyu, and awarded her a brown belt with two thin black stripes.

“She’s ready for her black belt,” he said to me after the test.

“I agree,” I replied. “She and her dad both agreed with our plan to wait until next Summer, after she graduates, rather than have her participate as an adult at the Memorial Day tournament next Spring.”

“And Molly has two competing?”

“Yes. Ted and Amy. I take it Jolene entered?”

“She did.”

“She seems to be doing better,” I replied.

“I agree, but she does not have the temperament or the ability to be an instructor.”

“Agreed. I’m still concerned about how she’ll react when you retire.”

“Which in and of itself is the evidence you need to not make a rash decision.”

“I know, but that doesn’t mean I don’t care.”

“I realize, but you’ll find that it is VERY tempting to make an exception, just once. But once you do, then the temptation comes to make more exceptions, and the next thing you know, you have a dojo full of students like Mitchell.”

“Oh, I know. I handle my team at work that way as well. It’s the only way. But that doesn’t make it easy, especially because Jolene and I were pretty close at one point, and this has come between us.”

“It’s one of those things which can easily happen when one person progresses faster than the other. I saw it in the military.”

We bowed and then Kara, Stephie, Ashley, Birgit, and I headed home.

August 30, 1996, Chicago, Illinois

After I confirmed with Vanya Voronin that his consortium could accept the money, I had to get in touch with Murray Matheson. My first attempt was via the cell phone which he had given me, but dialing the number which had called me previously received a disconnect tone. That didn’t surprise me at all, but it meant I’d need to use a more conventional method of contacting him.

“We need to meet,” I said when he answered his phone at Spurgeon Capital.

“You aren’t supposed to call me!”

“We need to talk about what you owe me. Now. Face-to-face.”

“We’re not done.”

“I am unless we talk. Today.”

“Fuck,” he spat. “Poag Mahone’s on Wells. Thirty minutes.”

We hung up and after checking my watch, I told Kimmy I was going out for a bit. I walked to the bar on Wells and saw Murray Matheson at a table. I let the hostess know I was meeting him and walked to the table and sat down.

“Ten million, remember? And confirmation you destroyed the documents.”

“That was done. For the money, we aren’t done.”

“And what leverage do I have once you are? I’m sure you have an exit strategy. And I’m sure once you execute it, I’ll never see you again.”

“I’ll need to make some calls and make the arrangements.”

“I’ll provide you with a name and number to call to get the bank information.”

“What are you talking about?”

“Making sure the Feds can’t get their hands on this money. And it needs to come from an account outside the US which has ZERO ties to Noel Spurgeon. I’ll be able to check.”

“So now you’re an international currency trader?”

“No, but I know enough. The money will disappear for some time. When the time is right, it’ll reappear.”

“Two weeks, most likely.”

“Day fifteen, I blow the whistle on your little scheme.”

“Don’t fuck with me. It could take longer to do it your way.”

I shook my head, “You have that exactly backwards. Don’t fuck with ME! You picked the WRONG guy to try to trap. Now you’re trapped. Ten million, in the custody of my friends, in two weeks or that’s the end.”

“I said it could take longer.”

“You better hope not.”

He got up and left. I dropped a $20 bill on the table for whatever his drink was, then left and headed back to the office. I was reasonably certain nothing was going to happen, but I’d just put them on what might be an impossibly short timeline. If they were going to get him out, it had to be before I went to the Feds. If not, and if the money didn’t materialize, that would prove they knew I was already talking to the FBI. And that was what I expected to happen.

“Did you hear about the Russian plane that crashed in Norway?” Elyse asked when I stopped in her office.

“I saw it online earlier. It sure sounds like what they call ‘controlled flight into terrain’ which is one technical term for ‘navigation error’.”

“Talk about a fuck-up!”

“Mountains don’t move. And they’re unforgiving if you hit them with a plane.”

“True. You’ve disappeared several times this week. Where have you been?”

“Just let it go, Elyse,” I said gently.

“There’s something going on.”

“Nothing I can talk about. But it is NOT the problem we were dealing with before. He’s totally tame. Heck, he’s turning into an upstanding businessman! He’s turning a tidy profit even without the gambling and escort services!”

“Another Steve Adams success story?”

“The real success is the four major drug busts the DEA has made. It makes no difference to me what a man does for a living, you understand. But the drug business is a little dangerous.”

Elyse laughed at the quote from The Godfather, “OK, Don Stephen!”

“Seriously. I don’t really care what people do in that regard. I blame the government for the laughable ‘War on Drugs’ which only serves to increase the violence AND increase the profits for the drug kingpins, while simultaneously shredding the Constitution. But you know I’d never touch the stuff, and never tolerate anyone working here touching the stuff.”

“How would you know?”

“Pot? I probably wouldn’t, and I wouldn’t care, so long as it’s not in the office. The other stuff? Once it starts impacting their work - and it would - we’d know. Think about Cindi, albeit with booze.”

“She’s on the straight and narrow so far.”

I chuckled, “She just needed the right encouragement.”

“And the right reward!” Elyse laughed.

“That is Charlie’s opinion.”

“You two have wanted to screw since forever!”

“Yes and no,” I replied. “You know how that got started.”

“True. And you know my take.”

“On Cindi and me? Or you and me?”

Elyse laughed, “There are times...”

“You know I’ll never refuse you.”

“I know. But it’s complicated.”

“One thing isn’t complicated,” I replied. “And that’s the fact we love each other.”

“So true,” she smiled.

We hugged, and then I went back to my office to finish out the workday. That evening, after dinner, I walked to the Woodlawn Tap to meet Dave for a drink or two.

“How are things at IIT?” I asked.

“It’s weird not having more work than I can do in the available time and having to delegate things.”

“Welcome to the lazy life of an academic,” I teased.

“Right!” he laughed. “Six hours of instruction, about three times that in preparation, plus my Master’s courses.”

“But the stress?”

“It’s there, but it’s different. I think once I get into the swing of things, it’ll go away.”

“I would hope so!”

“How is Terry doing?”

“He starts his new role officially on Tuesday. He’s settled into an apartment, has spent time talking to everyone, and is ready to hit the ground running. But that’s enough shop talk! That’s not why we’re here!”

“Will you come lecture?”

“Absolutely. You should ask Cindi and Julia as well, if you haven’t already.”

“I will. Did Jodie tell you Doctor Bauer made me her advisor for her internship?”

I chuckled, “No. I suspect the good doctor has plans for you to be able to get more students into NIKA in the future.”

“If that surprises you...”

“Of course not! You know you’ll need to work with Terry on that.”

“I know. I’ll be professional.”

“He’s not a bad guy, Dave. He made some mistakes in his personal life. I made quite a few myself, if you recall. Give him the benefit of the doubt, please.”

“You’ve always been so clear about your opinion of cheating.”

“Yes, but I’m not in ANY position to judge anyone else. Not to mention that life is way too short to do that.”

“Do you want to know the weird thing?”

“What’s that?”

“I’ll probably end up bringing work home with me. That’s the norm.”

I shook my head, “Something I’ve always frowned on. Now, if it’s just doing the work at home rather than sitting in your office at IIT, that’s different.”

“That is what it is, but it’s just strange after ten years of you adamantly insisting that we not take work home.”

“You’re an academic now! You get to play by different rules! Heck, you can take Summers off if you want!”

“I’m going to teach at a couple of the junior colleges. Doctor Driesson has contacts which will ensure I can get those positions. Teaching basic computer science concepts will go a long way.”