Chapter 22

Caleb Johnson sat in McDonald’s by Reagan International and was enjoying his big mac, fries, and coke. He didn’t frequent fast food very often, but the fries were still some of the best tasting fries on the market, and he’d loved the big mac sandwich the first time he had tasted it at 7 years old. He had his earbuds in and was watching Netflix on his laptop when he looked up and saw a very attractive red-headed woman looking at him. “Absolutely gorgeous...” He said to himself. He then smiled at her and then went back to his laptop. Moments later, the same woman he smiled at sat down and pushed a suppressed .22 pistol into his ribcage. The look on the woman’s face said, “keep your mouth shut”, so he did. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a man of Asian descent sitting down across from him. Caleb pulled his earbuds out and gently set them on the table.

The Asian man picked up a couple of his fries and ate them. “These are still some of the best-tasting French fries.”

“I wasn’t a huge fan of the oil they previously used, but this is much better.” Caleb told him.

“Yes, it is.” The Asian man told him. “I am sure you have questions, so I will get to the point of why I and my associate are here. You have a package that belongs to Miriam Michaels.” he said to him.

Caleb looked at him making sure to keep his expression neutral and not to give any sign of emotion. “I think you have the wrong...”

“Please do not insult my intelligence by denying it, I know that you have the bag.” The man said holding his hand up and interrupting Caleb. “To put your mind at ease, I am not here to kill you nor take it from you.”

“Who are you?” He asked.

“You could call me ‘the competition’ to the deal that she is trying to make.” The man reached down and took a couple more fries from his tray. He wiped his fingers on a napkin and then took an envelope out of his suit pocket and slid it over to Caleb.

Caleb opened the envelope and poured its contents out of the table. A flash drive slid out. “What’s on this?” he asked.

“Something you should be aware of and plan for accordingly.” The man told him reaching for Caleb’s earbuds on the table. He picked them up and handed them to him. “Please listen to what is on the drive, and then we will talk.”

Caleb looked at the Asian man for a moment and then plugged the drive into his computer. He ran the usual scans to look for malware and spyware. When they were finished, he opened the lone WMV file. He listened and watched as Miriam Michaels made plans to have him killed.

Caleb made sure not to give any hint of emotion away after he finished and pulled his buds out. “It seems I might have a problem...” he said quietly.

“It seems you might.” The Asian man replied.

“How did you get this?” Caleb asked.

“My associates know that the courier you were supposed to meet did not show. We have reason to believe that he figured out he was being followed and disappeared. It was suggested that we use the Michaels woman to try and re-acquire him. As you can see this video was taken after you left.” He explained.

“So why bring it to me when it would be much better used against the Michaels bitch?” Caleb asked.

“You might say that your reputation precedes you, Mr. Morris. You stay off the radar and do not do anything to draw attention to yourself. We like discreet and options if we need something moved.” The Asian man told him.

“I don’t know who you are, but I’m very picky about my clientele...” Caleb told him. He watched as the red-headed woman with the gun fluidly pulled a business card from her suit pocket and put it on the table in front of him. He looked at it for a moment and then back at her. She motioned with her head for him to pick it up. Caleb picked it up and read what was on it. “Hao Yu Jiang...”

“Please keep that should you decide that you would like to do business with us.” He slid out of the booth and stood up. “It has been a pleasure. Thank you for taking this meeting, Mr. Morris.”

“I didn’t really have much of a choice, but you’re welcome...” He told him. He then looked at the redhead. “By the way, would you be free for coffee or a drink later?”

She smirked, slid her pistol back into her jacket, and then shook her head no at him. Pulling her cell phone from her pocket, she made a phone call, said something in mandarin, and waited for Hao Yu Jiang.

“If you have questions, call that number. I will return your call within five minutes.” Hao told him. He and the redhead then walked out of the restaurant.

Caleb watched as a white Mercedes SUV with tinted windows pulled up to the curb. The woman held the vehicle door for Jiang and then climbed into the front passenger’s seat. He looked at the business card for a moment and then slid it into his pocket. Closing his laptop, he slid it back into his backpack and got ready to leave. As he was walking out, he made a call. “Yeah, we have a problem and it’s going to take the whole crew to deal with it ... Sure, tomorrow night, 1900 at my place, see you there.” He opened the door to his Tahoe, started it, and drove off.

Back inside the Mercedes, Bill Chen, Danni Massoni, Paul Johnson, and Heather O’Brien were sitting down the street listening to Caleb Morris’ phone call in real-time.

“Did you get the tracker planted?” Bill asked?

She held out an iPad to him and started talking. “Yep, the damn thing works like a charm too...” Danni said as she was driving. “I’m thankful for being as thin as I am, his Tahoe is an old police trade-in and sits lower to the ground.”

“I’m really thankful that the director’s PA speaks Mandarin.” Paul announced.

“Korean and Japanese too...” She replied with a smile as she put her sunglasses on.

“I’m surprised the director volunteered you for this after we suggested it to him. He’s said on more than one occasion that his workday would fall apart if you quit of asked for a transfer.” Danni said chuckling.

“I don’t know about fall apart, but I think he’d...” She made air quotes, “FORGET about his more important meetings if I didn’t stay on him.” Heather told her as they all started laughing.

Paul watches the blip on the screen as it moves through Washington DC towards Baltimore. “Have we gotten anything off the phone tap?”

“There were a couple of calls to potential girlfriends, his father and he talked about him coming down for a long fishing weekend and calls from friends. I’m more interested in what his crew is going to talk about.” Johnson explained.

Massoni hit the call feature on the steering wheel of the SUV. “Call Farooq...” she told it.

“What’s up?” Charles Farooq asked.

“We’re on our way back to the office. Caleb is having a meeting at his place tomorrow night at 1900. Can you have the facial recognition people on standby for the pictures of people we’ll forward?” She asked.

“I’ll call Nathan and put him in the loop about this. He’ll be happy to work with them since he’s sweet on the woman that runs one of the teams. Also, I’ll grab a laser mic and all the stuff that goes with it.” He replied.

“Did we get the tap into the gate camera for his apartment complex?” Johnson asked.

“Yes, we’ve been using it off and on to test it for the last couple of days. What time do you want to activate it?” Farooq asked.

“My gut tells me 1800 until 2100. Tell them to flag everyone until we clear them.” Massoni told him.

“What are you thinking?” Johnson asked his partner.

“I’m thinking that if he’s calling a meeting to discuss this, that he possibly might have some friends in very low places or decent muscle on his crew.” She replied.

“I’ll call him now...” Farooq replied hanging up.

“Look at his file again and tell me what firearms he owns.” She asked Paul.

Johnson picked up his iPad and started opening Caleb’s file. “According to the data we got from ATF, he has an FFL to own curio and antique firearms. He also has tax stamps to own four suppressors and four short-barreled rifles.”

“Anything unique?” She asked.

Paul showed Bill what he was looking at and they both chuckled.

“What? What’s so funny?” Heather asked.

“Two are AR15’s, another is a short-barreled SCAR 16, and the last is a Kriss Vector in .45 acp. Your husband has a Kriss, doesn’t he Danni?” Johnson asked.

“He does, and it’s one of my favorite ones to shoot.” She replied with a smile.

Johnson had a smile on his face. “Judging by the smile on your face, I bet you’re going to want to shoot it this weekend.”

Danni looked over and Paul and then back to the road. “I need to get a new partner; you know me ENTIRELY too well.” She said with a chuckle.

“Holy Crap...” Bill said in surprise as he looked at the tablet.

“What?” She asked him.

Paul took his iPad back and started the explanation. “He owns a 1910 Lee-Enfield, an 1874 Snider Enfield, an 1841 British Brown Bess, an original 1865 Sharps, a LeMat revolver, and a collection of uber-rare 1911 pistols.”

“Care to enlighten us?” asked Bill Chen.

“Well ... All of what I’m going to say is dependent on the condition of the firearms. The Enfield’s and the Sharps rifle, depending on the condition, the serial number, and its history would go for between two thousand on the low end and seven thousand on the very high end. The Brown Bess would go for between twelve and fifteen thousand. The LeMat would go for around $25k.” Paul told them.

“What about the 1911’s?” Danni asked.

“It says he has 2 of the Singer and 6 of the Union Switch and Signal.” He replied.

“Singer ... As in the sewing machine company?” Heather asked.

“They made around 500 before Pearl harbor. They’re one of the most sought-after models by collectors. They usually auction out for anywhere between fifty to one hundred and fifty thousand. The Union Switch ones are usually easier to find, but still, they start at around five thousand for collectors.” Paul replied.

“Where’s the money coming to buy this stuff?” Bill asked.

“His family history says that his grandfather fought in World War 2. If I must bet, that’s where he got it” Paul told him.

“And if he didn’t inherit it?” Danni asked.

“Then he’s done VERY well for himself in his business, and they were working right under our collective noses...” Paul replied.

“Why buy firearms though?” Heather asked.

“They’re an investment, plain and simple. Rare firearms are like stamps and coins. They do nothing but appreciate.” Paul told her.

Office of the Secretary of the Interior

Greg Michaels junior was looking over reports about the new laws that were being proposed for land preservation when a knock on his door came. His PA stuck her head in and asked if he was available.

“Who is it?” He asked.

“It’s the same FBI agents that notified you about Lana.” She replied.

“Of course, send them in.” He told her making his way to the door. Agents Smith and Williams stepped through the door. “Please come in, how can I help the FBI today?” He asked smiling at them.

“Mr. Secretary, we just wanted to drop this off to you. When we took Lana’s vehicle from West Virginia everything that was in it was cataloged and stored. We’re returning it to you with the bureau’s heartfelt apology for it being so late.” Jackson said holding out a box to him.

He took the package from them and opened it. Aside from various personal effects, there was an envelope on top. The only thing written on it were the words “For Mary”. He looked up at the agents with a tear in his eye. “Thank you, I appreciate you bringing this to me.”

“It’s not a problem sir. Again, we’re very sorry for your loss. We’ll let you get back to work, thank you for your time.” Kara told him.

“No, thank you for bringing this to me.” Greg told him shedding a tear.

“You’re welcome sir, have a good rest of the day.” Jackson told him as they walked out. When they got out to the main hallway, Jackson spoke. “He reacted like a man that was in love.”

“I noticed that. Let’s run this by Nathan before we change the course of our investigation...” Kara told him

When they got back to their Tahoe, both agents climbed in and looked at James Wilson in the back seat. He had a laptop open and was monitoring all calls from his office.

Greg walked back over to his desk, picked up his cell phone, and dialed Mary. “Hey Mary, how’s things in the big apple?”

Mary giggled quietly. “You know how it is, lots of people and all of them are in too much of a hurry to stop and smell the roses.”

“I know the feeling.” Greg said sadly.

“I miss her too, my son. She was very special.” Mary told him.

“She was.” He said wiping his eyes. “Anyway, I have something that she left for you, and I need to get away from DC for a weekend. Would you mind if I brought it up to you and stayed the weekend?”

“Of course, you can. Dimitri and I have a reservation at Tatiana’s, you are welcome to join us.” Mary told him.

“Did they finally reopen?” he asked her.

“Yes, they have more room and a small dance floor in the bar area.” Mary told him. “They are closed Mondays to offer dance lessons that night.”

“I don’t want to intrude...” Greg told her.

“Nonsense, you are not intruding at all. Dimitri always loves to talk soccer with you, and besides, you are as much family as she was.” Mary told him. “We would consider it our privilege to buy you dinner Saturday night.”

“That sounds very nice. I’ll catch the late train up and see you Friday night.” Greg told her.

“I will be there to greet you, my son.” Mary said. “Before I forget, Dimitri is hosting a small party on Saturday, and you are invited.”

“Thank you for the invitation, what should I wear?” Greg told her.

“It is a quiet business party, so business casual would be appropriate I think...” Mary told him.

“I’ll pack accordingly...” Greg told her.

There was a pause in the conversation, and then Mary spoke. “I know this will not help but remember the good things and time will heal your wounds.” She sadly told him.

“I will, I will see you Friday. Ya lyublyu tebya mama...” Greg told her.

“Ya tozhe lyublyu tebya, moy syn...” Mary replied disconnecting the call.

Down in the SUV, Kara was taking notes as she listened to the call. “I love you too my son ... this is something we need to push higher.”

“You speak Russian?” Paul asked.

“Yes, I learned it in college, and then I spent two years at the embassy in Moscow.” Kara replied. “Has he been anywhere near his parents in the last couple of weeks?”

“Except for lunch with his father, he’s stayed away from his parent’s home. Of course, from what we know about his mother, why wouldn’t he?” James told them.

Jackson drove away from the department of the interior building. He then called Nathan Blackmon and put it on speaker as they made their way back to FBI headquarters.

“Nathan Blackmon...” SAIC Blackmon said answering the phone.

“Nathan, I’ve got Kara and James here with me. We’re headed back to the Hoover building, and we need to meet with you and the director in the next hour.” Jackson told him.

“What do you have so I can let the director know.” Nathan asked.

Kara gave him the reader’s digest version of what they knew. “We want to change the course of where we’re investigating. We’re not sure that Greg junior is involved with his father and Davynskov.”

“I’m calling the director now, come straight to the executive conference room when you get back.” Nathan said hanging up.

An hour later, they were going over what they knew so far when Nathan and Director Wray walked in. The three stood.

“Sit and tell me what you have.” Wray told them.

“Jackson and I took the letter and Svetlana’s possessions from her vehicle over to Michaels junior. He thanked us and looked in the box. He saw the letter on top and immediately started tearing up. He wiped his eyes and thanked us for returning her things to him. The thing that caught us as odd was the fact that he acted like a man that actually was in love with her.” Kara told them.

“What do you mean he acted like he was in love?” Nathan asked.

“All the emotional cues were there. You could see the emotion in his face and eyes. Furthermore, when he opened the box, we both watched as his shoulder slumped like he was remembering a painful experience.” Jackson explained.

“Maybe he’s that good of an actor?” Director Wray asked.

“No sir, I don’t think so.” James Wilson said. “According to the dossier we have, Greg is a weakling where his parents are concerned. But that’s not the meat of what we’re here to report.” He cued up the recording from his laptop and played it for Nathan and the Director.

When it was finished, Jackson spoke. “We need to come at this from another angle. If Greg junior considers Mary Winnigham a parental figure, we have another way of getting Greg senior and Davynskov at the same time.”

Nathan started to smile finally understanding what his agents were asking. “Your opinion sir?” he asked the director.

“Mary said, Dimitri ... From what Bill Chen reported, she means Dimitri Poletov, the Russian syndicate underboss. I want to know FOR SURE that he’s not stealing information from Michaels junior before we proceed. If he’s clean, go for it.” The director told them.

“We’ll be watching them this weekend and we’ll know by Monday.” James told the director.

“I want to see what you have first thing Monday morning...” he replied.

“Yes sir...” Nathan told the director. “When are you leaving for New York?” he asked Jackson, Kara, and James.

“I’m not going this time. My wife is celebrating her new promotion and we’re going to Cherokee NC for a long weekend.” James told him.

“Did she get the charge nurse position she wanted?” Nathan asked.

“She did. She’s working second shift, but that works out good for her since both the girls left for college last fall.” James replied.

“Please tell her we said congratulations. You and she have a great weekend.” Nathan told him.

“Ok, when are you two leaving?” Director Wray asked Kara and Jackson.

“We’re leaving tomorrow afternoon after the meeting. We want to scout the restaurant and the general area before we start planning surveillance.” Jackson replied.

“We’re also planning to drop by Linear for a peek. We want to rattle Davynskov’s cage a bit and see what happens.” Kara replied.

“Are you sure that’s wise?” The director asked.

“We’re taking a calculated risk, but we think the positives outweigh the negatives.” She replied.

“We’ve got a tap on both Greg senior and Davynskov’s phones. We’re hoping that he makes a call to let Michaels senior that we’re starting to sniff around Linear again. The goal here is to get them together and talking.” Jackson told Nathan.

“Not a bad plan. By the way, any luck with the contractors that Miriam hired?” Nathan asked.

“Actually yes. We’ve pinpointed where both are, and we’ve flagged their passports to intercept them when either fly back into the country.” James to him.

“Where are they?”

“One is in Livorno, Italy. The one that Miriam has contracted to kill Danni and Paul’s courier...” Kara quickly looked at her notes. “Caleb Johnson, is in Poland.”

“Where in Poland?” The Director asked.

Kara looked through her notes. “He has a house and fourteen acres outside of Minsk. Google earth shows it to be a medium-sized house in a rural housing area.”

Wray picked up his cell phone. “I think I can help out with the one in Poland...” Director Wray said with a smile. “Gina, I need a favor in regard to the Michaels family...” Wray looked at his watch. “Sure thing, 1600 ... Thanks Gina.” He said disconnecting the call. “Nathan, if everything plays out the way I hope, plan on Charles and Jackson making a trip to Berlin to bring him back. You’ll have access to my plane for the trip, so plan accordingly.” He said turning and walking out.

Kara, Jackson, and James had puzzled looks on their faces after the director walked out. “What just happened?” Jackson asked.

“Apparently you might be getting an early Christmas gift...” Nathan said with a smirk.

Caleb Johnson’s apartment 24 hours later

Danni, Paul, and Charles had changed vehicles and were back in a bureau Tahoe across the parking lot from Caleb’s apartment. Charles and Kara were watching their perspective laptops in the back seat. Charles was listening to the feed from the laser microphone that he had aimed at the patio window on Caleb Johnson’s apartment. They had a complete list of “Caleb’s crew” and the bureau was busy running background checks on them.

“Derrick Henderschott was a petty officer third class with an intelligence rating. His record is clean, not even a speeding ticket.” Danni told the men. “His brother Robert is a retired chief petty officer. He was an electrician in the Navy and now is a journeyman electrician with Baltimore gas and electric. He’s been with them for 6 years. The mystery man is Perry Abrams...”

“Which one is he?” Paul asked.

“The one that could bench press the building. What’s so mysterious about him?” Charles asked.

“If I had to guess, I’d say he was agency or NSA. It says analyst and employment dates with nothing else listed.” Kara said handing her tablet to Charles.

“How about we pass this off to the director tomorrow afternoon and let him run with this.” Charles suggested. Danni and Paul nodded in agreement. “Zachariah Simpson, Marine scout/sniper, 12 years with MARSOC. Twice to Tora Bora, he earned a silver star in Wardak during the surge, Khowst, and Sar-e Pol. He’s seen it and then some. His MOS was changed to MP after he was wounded in Sar-e-Pol.”

“I think we can call him and Perry Abrams the reconnaissance and or muscle.” Paul said quietly.

“Uriah Anders ... IT in the Navy. He’s the youngest of the group. Anders went to college at MIT and has a master’s in Computer theory and enlisted after he graduated.” Charles told them.

“Oh great, a really smart guy.” Paul said to the other two agents.

“He grew up in the foster system in Maine. I wonder how he paid for an undergrad and master’s degree? MIT ain’t cheap.” Charles thought out loud.

“My guess is he did long enough in the Navy for them to pay off his college loans and got out. At least that’s what I did...” Paul told them.

“The meeting is starting...” Charles said unplugging his earbud.

Caleb had passed out bottles of beer as his associates were asking questions before they listened to the recording.

“How did this Jiang get this?” Derrick asked looking at the business card.

“He said he’s the competition for the deal she’s working.” Caleb replied. “I wasn’t going to argue with him due to his protection having a suppressed .22 to my ribcage.”

“What did he have for protection?” Perry asked him.

“Tall, red, built, and looks like a goddess in high heels.” Caleb said with a smile. “Think Jaime Pressly but with red hair.” The other four were speechless as Caleb explained what happened. “Seriously, I didn’t even see it coming. She just smiled at me, walked over, sat down, and pushed the pistol into my ribcage.”

“Yeah, that is pretty sexy.” Robert said with Derrick nodding his head in agreement.

“Please tell me she had blue eyes...” Perry asked.

“Nah, total Irish. They were green like the grass...” Caleb replied.

“There’s nothing on here but the recording. No malware or spyware or anything that would allow the system to be traced, Caleb.” Uriah told them bringing them back to the reason they were all meeting.

“Well at least we know that he’s not trying to spy on us.” Caleb said out loud. “Go ahead and play the file. The group listened as Miriam Michaels plotted to have Caleb killed after he finished his delivery. He was shaking his head as the recording finished. “So?”

“Sounds like the snobby bitch didn’t get her way so she’s going to make you pay...” Perry said quietly.

“That was my thought as well.” Caleb replied.

“Other than ‘She’s got shitloads of money, what do we know about her?” Derrick asked.

Perry picked up his iPad and started talking. “She’s married to Greg Michaels senior who has his fingers in just about anything you can name. He’s got numerous government contracts to provide services and material support in some aspect to virtually every branch of the government to include the DOJ. He’s also got lots of overseas contacts and does business with more than a few, shall we call them ... questionable ... people in Columbia and Bolivia. In short, we need to tread carefully in whatever we do with the snooty bitch. Her husband has more resources than we do.”

“Play that last part, Uriah...” Robert asked. They listened to the part where she was arranging a booty call with her hitman. “That’s something right there.”

“Which part?” Caleb asked. “The part where we hear she’s fucking her hitman?”

“Yeah. We need to remember that when we plan.” He replied.

“Still, the problem we have is that this Michaels bitch is planning to have Caleb killed. What’s the consensus?” Robert Henderschott asked.

“We need to plan to get her first.” Perry said quietly. “We have a good thing going here. We’re making good money and I’m not going to allow some rich privileged white chick with delusions of being a mafia boss screw it up for us.” The group laughed as they listened to Perry. “The first thing we need is to do background and run recon on her.”

“Uriah already has that in the works. He’s delving deep into her personal and professional life.” Zachariah replied.

“I’ve already got my big system running her background and financials.” He replied quietly. “I already found out she came from the East Tennessee mountain area and put herself through college at Georgia and that her son, Greg junior, his wife was killed in an accident in West Virginia.”

“We need to look into that further, maybe we can use it for leverage against her.” Robert said.

“No, I doubt her daughter-in-law even registers on her radar. She doesn’t come across as the type that cares for much of anything that doesn’t include her.” Caleb replied. “I’m also going to guess that she has a problem when people tell her no. When I told her I was out, she got a look of extreme hatred in her eyes.”

“Ok, so she’s also self-absorbed and totally into no one but her.” Derrick replied.

“What about her son?” Perry asked.

“He’s the undersecretary for the Interior and so far, is clean.” He turned his laptop around so the others could see. “Here’s a picture of him attending his wife’s memorial service. If you look closely, you can see the bitch laughing and cutting up without much of a care. So, consider the idea of her daughter-in-law being beneath her confirmed.” Uriah said.

“Do we know anything other than the first name of the hit man?” Perry asked Uriah.

“Not yet. But I have a case of Red Bulls in my mini-fridge, and I’ll have something for you by the morning or early afternoon.” Uriah said with a smirk.

“That’s our resident geek, always ready with the energy drinks.” Zach replied as they started laughing.

“I’ve got Miriam’s phone number and it won’t take long to trace the call and to whom it was made.” Uriah replied.

“I hope you’re not that fast with Lin.” Caleb replied as they chuckled.

“Not in the least ... I love her long time.” Uriah replied with a deep Asian accent with a slow gyration of his hips. The whole group broke out into laughter.

“So, we all agree to be proactive with the bitch?” Caleb replied. The group all nodded their heads in agreement.

After listening to their conversation, Danni hit the call button on the steering wheel. “Call Nathan...” She waited as the call connected.

“What’s up?” Nathan asked.

“I’m about to take a page from Kara’s book and do something really REALLY stupid.” She replied.

“That’s not giving me much to work with, she’s done lots of things that are stupid but have worked.”

“Please verify that Hao Yu Jiang is flagged in the system, and then would you please send me his info? We’re going to talk to Caleb and his crew in a few minutes.” Danni told him. Paul just smirked

“Confirmation on Jiang being flagged in the NSA and DOJ. Give me five minutes and you’ll have his information. Charles, just a heads up. The Director said that you and Jackson are more than likely making a trip to Berlin to pick up one of the hitmen Miriam has used. Plan on being on the ground a couple of days prior to meeting the agency people.”

“YES!!!!” Charles replied pumping his fist and then cabbage patching in the back seat.

“Happy much?” Paul asked.

“I have time to take a train to my favorite bier house in Munich and have a couple of Berliner Kindl Weisse.” He replied.

“I love Berliner Kindl ... and now I hate you with the burning hot passion of a thousand suns...” Danni replied. Her iPad dinged as she got an email. She picked it up and looked at it. “Thanks, Nathan we’ll have Charles record what’s said and share tomorrow at the meeting.”