Chapter 18: Aftermath

Present Day
Days 40 - 46
Arlington, Virginia

The next morning, Jake began sorting through his belongings. Much of what he had purchased over the last few weeks was now used or lost, but that was of little consequence. The job was finished. What was left of Balustre would either self-destruct or be destroyed by the Feds. All he really needed anymore was anything related to Franklin Holloway, his current alias.

Bart Jackson was an identity that was now burned, along with Jake Kilbourne, Sean Williams, and Sam Wilcox. Travis Scott was also known but there still existed the possibility that he would need that identity if and when he got back to Everest. Somehow, though, that seemed unlikely to be a long-term strategy.

Before leaving, though, he went to his office and shut down or destroyed everything. The computers were disassembled, and the hard drives destroyed by the brute force technique of drilling holes in them with an electric drill. The same happened to the memory chips in the wireless router. Any of the remaining toxins were dumped into a large beaker of muriatic acid. Before he left the suite, he carefully poured the acid mixture down the sink while cold water was running. Then he washed out the vials and chemical glassware before breaking it and packaging it for disposal. Afterwards he left with the debris, which he dropped in the dumpster out back.

Finished, he went back to the Marriott and cranked up the laptop. There was only a single daily flight from Reagan to Little Rock, and it was too late to make a reservation for the day. He would have better luck if he drove out to Dulles, but he was just too tired to care. A month’s worth of adrenaline was flushing out of his system. He stretched out on the bed for a quick nap and didn’t wake until after dark. When he woke, he went down to the restaurant for dinner and then went back to the room. It was time to get some more information.

According to CNN, the FBI and Department of Justice were requesting Harold Blackstone return to the United States for questioning. Blackstone was currently in Switzerland, which did have an extradition treaty with the U.S. but generally didn’t extradite people who hadn’t committed any crimes under Swiss law. That didn’t really matter, though, since there were any number of countries around the world that didn’t have extradition treaties with America. While the vast majority were in Africa or other places Blackstone wouldn’t be interested in visiting, a surprising number were in very civilized vacation spots. Meanwhile the Treasury Department was attempting to track down several million dollars that had once resided in Balustre’s bank accounts.

Balustre headquarters were occupied by a veritable army of analysts and investigators from the FBI and DOJ. Though the FBI wasn’t speaking, there were several individuals identified only as ‘senior representatives’ of Justice and Treasury who were talking to the press. Balustre was not long for this world. The remaining members of the Board of Directors had voted to file for bankruptcy and reorganize. What was more likely to happen was that the company would be broken apart and sold in pieces. Corrections Corporation of America was interested in purchasing the Corrections division. Northrop Grumman was looking at the Training and Equipment divisions. Several British firms were talking to Treasury about buying the Overseas Security and Military Contracting units. The rest would certainly be grabbed up by other outfits.

Nobody was looking at the Executive Action division because it had effectively ceased to exist. What was left was being scrutinized by the Bureau, and indictments were promised. That seemed highly unlikely to Jake. The top three people in the division, O’Neil, Swan, and Conway, were all dead, and they were the only ones who knew exactly how the division operated and who their customers were. Further, the individual contractors within the division were all fleeing to locations where they could find employment without extradition. That left Jake Kilbourne in their crosshairs, but they either didn’t know about him or didn’t know about any of his alter egos. At least not yet. The likelihood they would eventually figure out who he was hovered over his plans.

Franklin Holloway flew to Little Rock the next day. The flight was late in the day, so he drove his rental car to the bar Janice Williams was working at, instead of to the apartment she was still at. Mac’s Pub was in an industrial section of the city, a section that had seen better days and was more than a little dilapidated. He parked and walked into the bar. He smiled as he realized that Mac’s Pub was not a place where anybody cared about smoking restrictions; the air was a little hazy, and he could smell something more than just burning tobacco. Over at the bar he could see Janice pouring a couple of shots of whiskey for a pair of guys chatting her up at the bar. He found an empty seat at the other end of the bar.

Janice headed towards him but stopped halfway to him, her eyes widening as she realized who was sitting there. His hair color and cut were different, and he was now sporting a mustache and goatee, but it was Travis Scott. Or Sean Williams. Or Jake Kilbourne, who she had never met but had only heard about. A different bartender jostling her elbow woke her from her trance and she continued to where Frank was sitting. She smiled and said, “You made it.”

Frank returned the smile. “I made it.” Lord, she looked good, he thought. She was wearing tight jeans and a low-cut tank top that showed a lacy black bra underneath, probably to help earn tips.

“Were you able to fix the problem? Or whatever?”

“Yes. When can you leave?”

Janice answered, “My shift is over at one. Or do you mean when can I leave...”

“The second.”

“Then, now.”

“Get your jacket. I’ll meet you at the Sentra. I saw it parked out back.”

Janice nodded, too nervous to say anything else. She told her boss she wasn’t feeling well and needed to go home. Then she grabbed her jacket and went out the back door. She found him standing next to the Sentra. She slowed as she came up to him. “You’re back? You’re really back?” she asked.

“I’m really back. God, you look good!”

“Oh, Jesus! Shit!” Janice launched herself at Frank, wrapping her arms and legs around him as she began kissing him. “You’re back! You’re back!” she exclaimed.

“Let’s go, Janice.”

“Where?”

“Back to the apartment. That’s first. Back to the apartment.”

“Yes.” She unlocked the car and asked, “What about your ride? How did you get here?”

“A rental car. I’ll follow you over.”

“Okay.”

Fifteen minutes later they were at the apartment. She let him inside and he brought in a duffel bag. Janice turned to him and said, “I need a shower. Whenever I leave work I stink of beer and cigarettes. I’m not human until I can take a shower.”

“I have to tell you; I am liking the look.”

She glanced down to where his eyes were focused and blushed. “Hey, I’m competing for tips with a bunch of little hotties half my age. I need all the help I can get!”

“I’d be happy to give you a tip.”

Janice snorted. “I bet I know exactly what that would be the tip of! We’ll talk about that after I clean up.”

Frank nodded and smiled. “As I recall, your shower isn’t big enough for two. Care for a drink?”

“There’s stuff next to the fridge. Out in fifteen.”

Frank went to the designated liquor cabinet and found a bottle of Captain Morgan and some cans of Coke in the refrigerator. He made a couple of rum and cokes and carried one to the bathroom. He knocked on the door and said, “Drinks are ready.” He opened the door as Janice stuck her head around the curtain. “Rum and coke okay?”

“Just fine. I’ll be out in a few.”

“Okay if I take the next shower?”

“Sure.”

He closed the door and went back to the kitchen, to get his own drink. Then he wandered around the small efficiency apartment, wondering how much of a home Janice had made of it? Would they be able to fly back to Everest, or would they need a moving van? He was roused from his reverie when the bathroom door opened. Janice was wearing an oversized bathrobe and drying her hair. “Your turn. I left the water running in the shower. The faucet’s kind of tricky.”

“Not a problem.” Frank headed into the bathroom carrying his drink. Ten minutes later he was back, wearing a towel wrapped around his midsection. He found Janice sitting on the bed still wearing the robe. He sat down next to her.

“Is it really over?” she asked.

He nodded. “As over as it’s going to get. Balustre is destroyed; the parking lot is basically an FBI adjunct. Nobody is coming after you, that’s for sure. You’re safe again. Me, probably so, but that’s not completely sure. You, though, you’re safe.”

“So, we can go home again?”

Frank nodded. He could go into the specifics in the morning. He just said, “Yes.”

Janice reached out and tugged on the towel he had around his waist. “Do you know how long it’s been? It’s been pretty lonely at night. Or do secret agents do the James Bond thing and have a woman in every city?”

“I wasn’t that kind of secret agent,” he laughed. He twisted around and tugged the belt on her robe loose.

“Good! Now stop talking!”

It was several hours later before they crawled under the covers and turned out the lights. They slept late the next morning. Franklin sensed when Janice got out of bed and went into the bathroom. He sat upright and stretched, but then got out of bed and rooted through his duffel bag for some clothing. When Janice came out of the bathroom, they shared a quick kiss and then he went in. When he came back out, she was in the kitchenette. “Sorry, but there’s nothing fancy. It’s just cereal and juice unless you want to go out.”

He leered at her. She was wearing a long t-shirt and nothing else. “I know what I’d like to eat!”

“Later,” she said with a smile. “Besides, you need to eat something. You’re going to need the energy!”

Frank snorted and laughed. He grabbed a bowl from the cabinet she pointed to and poured some cereal into a bowl. He joined her at the dinette table. Janice poured him some juice and asked, “Last night you said something about it being safe for me to go home, but not you. What’s going on?”

Frank sighed and nodded. “You’re safe, that I’m sure of. You were never in danger from the law, just from Balustre. When I took them down, you became safe again.”

“And I can just go home?”

“Sure! You’ve broken no laws. As far as the rest of the world is concerned, you’ve just taken a vacation. You just have to go home and rebuild your business. I’ll help you as much as I can with that.”

“What about you?”

He rolled his eyes. “That’s a bit more questionable. Again, Balustre is out of the picture. The people who were after me are either dead or heading to places without extradition treaties. The people who might be chasing me now are the guys with the badges. There is a very good chance that they are interested in talking to me.”

“Will they arrest you?”

He shrugged. “Maybe. I’m sure there are plenty of them who will want to.”

She asked quietly, “How many people did you, well...”

“Nineteen, plus one collateral damage. Two others were killed by Balustre’s people internally.”

It took Janice a second to respond. “They were killing their own people?”

The response was a wry smile and a nod. “At the end they were eating their own.”

“Why so many? And what about the collateral damage? That was a person!” she protested.

“I know that, Janice, and I’m not proud of it. I can tell you this, the company was dirty, top to bottom. They are merchants of death. They kill people in this country and abroad and don’t think twice about it. There’s an old saying, something about lying down with dogs and waking up with fleas. Well, fleas brought the plague! The Balustre employees who died knew what kind of business they were in, no matter what nice words they told their family and friends. As for the police officer who died, I am truly sorry about that and will have to carry that with me the rest of my life. I will point out, though, that Balustre didn’t even acknowledge the idea of collateral damage. I know of at least four people they killed just trying to find me, and if they had gotten hold of you, oh shit, that would just be the start.”

Janice asked, “What do you mean?”

“Let’s say that I learned about what was happening and simply took off and disappeared. Trust me, if I didn’t care about you, I could have vanished with five minutes notice. What would have happened next was that they would send in a team to grab and interrogate anybody who might know me. Do I have any friends? A girlfriend? A boyfriend? Let’s grab them and ask them questions. A Balustre Group interrogation starts off at torture and goes downhill from there. If they don’t get any answers, let’s bring in some family members and torture them to make the first people talk. If you didn’t tell them where I was, they’d have brought in some of your nephews and nieces and cut them into ribbons in front of your eyes until you told them what they wanted to know.”

“Oh my God!” Janice whispered. Franklin just nodded. “So ... you ... the FBI ... are you going to jail?”

He shrugged. “I don’t know. That’s a big maybe. By now they have determined that Jake Kilbourne is Travis Scott is Sean Williams is Bart Jackson...”

“Who?”

“Bart Jackson, another alias. Anyway, by now they know what Balustre figured out, which is that I am the guy who went after Balustre. I can guarantee that there are any number of lower ranking FBI agents who would be happy to slap me in a Federal prison for the rest of my life. Their problem is with their supervisors. I can also guarantee that nobody in the senior ranks of the Federal Bureau of Investigation or the Department of Justice want it to become public knowledge that the Central Intelligence Agency was running an assassin inside this country with the assistance of the Department of Defense! Think that might be a little embarrassing when it shows up in the Washington Post or the New York Times?”

Janice’s eyes opened wide. “Ohhhhh...”

“Yeah, ohhhhh,” he agreed. “I think that if I go back to Everest I’m safe, but for how long? What happens to me when somebody blabs to a reporter and some politician decides I am the perfect guy to bring down some government agency. The target on my back is now from law enforcement, not Balustre.”

“So, what do we do?”

“I don’t know, Janice. I just don’t know. First things first. Let’s get you back to Everest and let you rebuild your life. Then we can figure out what is happening with me. You’re safe now. That was the entire reason for this. Now you’re safe again.”

She nodded and stood up, taking their empty bowls to the kitchen sink. Then she turned back to him and asked, “By the way, what is your name today?”

“Franklin Holloway, but you can call me Frank.”

She shook her head in amusement and walked back to the bed. She stripped off her t-shirt to stand there in her birthday suit. “Well, Frank, remember earlier when you said what you wanted to do? Get to it!” She plopped back on the bed and motioned for him to come over.

Frank Holloway laughed and joined Janice in bed.

That afternoon, after Frank and Janice climbed out of bed and cleaned up again, it was time to get serious about returning to Everest. “Are we driving back to Everest in the Sentra?” she asked.

“Not unless you have some sort of serious attachment to it. We need you to go back to being Janice Northcott and I need to stay in character as Franklin Holloway. The Sentra was purchased by Sean and Janice Williams.” He stood up from the couch he was sitting on and went to his duffel bag. He returned with a plastic bag with Janice’s original papers from Everest. “Here, take these back. You can go back to Janice Northcott right now. We’ll destroy the Williams stuff before we leave.”

Janice opened the bag and dumped her license and Social Security card and credit cards in her lap. She laughed when she saw her Blockbuster Video card. “I think I can afford to lose this.”

Frank nodded. “Just don’t leave it behind. Throw it away after we leave here.”

She cocked her head and gave him an odd look. “Everything is about sneaking around to you, isn’t it?”

“It’s called tradecraft, and it’s what’s kept me alive for the last thirteen years.”

“Huh.”

“Anyway, I say we get a flight to Helena and rent a car, then drive to Everest. The Sentra is in the name of Williams; we leave it here. We drive to the airport here in my rental car and turn it back over to Hertz.”

“What about the apartment?” Janice asked. “We signed a lease.”

“Sean Williams signed a lease. Once we are gone, they will never find him.” He shrugged. “Same with the car. Leave it unlocked with the keys on the dashboard. It won’t be here twenty-four hours later. The Williams family will leave here on a brief vacation and never be heard from again.”

“It’s a different way of looking at things,” she admitted.

“I’m not asking you to live this way forever. I just want to get you home so we can get our lives started again.”

“Our lives? Or just my life?”

Frank sighed. “I don’t know yet, Janice. Up until now, I have just been trying to stay alive and keep the bad guys from killing you. That almost blew up a few weeks ago.”

“What do you mean?”

“Balustre couldn’t find me, and they couldn’t find you, but they could find your family. They tapped their phones and waited until you called one of them. You called some of them to say, ‘Happy Birthday!’, and they were able to backtrack you.”

“They went after my family?” she gasped.

“I told you, these people were ruthless. You’ll love this. At the end, one of them tracked me down and used you to blackmail me to kill another Balustre employee. The rats were turning on each other at the end.”

“Jesus!” she exclaimed, then asked, “And did you, you know?”

Franklin smiled. “I did them both. It seemed the safest plan.”

“Shit!”

That afternoon they booked a flight to Helena, though all the flights had a stopover in Denver. They also drove over to the nearest Walmart to buy a set of luggage. Then they started packing. Frank had to teach Janice about the ruthlessness of leaving things behind. “You already have pots and pans back in Everest. You don’t need to pack them up and ship them. Same with the television. Same with the alarm clock. You needed them here, but you don’t need to ship them. Again, it’s tradecraft to me. If somebody comes looking, there won’t be a record of anybody shipping things to another address to investigate.”

Janice just shook her head. Then she asked, “What happens to us, Frank? What happens when I screw up and call you Travis?”

Frank patted his lap and pulled her down on the couch next to him. “Some of this we just won’t know for a day or two, so let’s not worry too much until then. For one thing, I’m going to probably have to stay with you for the time being.” She looked at him curiously. “I told you how a Balustre team came out to the house to kill me. Well, they failed - obviously! - but in doing so they shot the living hell out of my house! There’re bullet holes everywhere! The place looks like a sieve! I don’t even know if it can be rebuilt. I certainly can’t live in it.”

“I can probably put you up. You must be good for something other than assassinating people,” she teased. “But what happens next?”

“First things first. Before we even go home, to either yours or mine, we need to talk to Marty, find out from him what the law enforcement community has in mind. He’s a cop and might have orders to arrest me, but I think I can trust him to give me a warning before that happens.”

Frank and Janice flew to Helena the next day. It was only four hours of flying, but what with security checks and the layover it took them from mid-morning to late afternoon before they could pick up their rental car. They traveled as a couple, leaving Frank’s duffel bag behind and using their new set of luggage. Janice had commented while packing the night before, “Where’s your machine gun and secret radio?”

Frank smiled. “Do you know how hard it is to smuggle a machine gun onto a plane?”

“Hey, if James Bond can do it, you should be able to!”

“You want to know what else is difficult to smuggle on planes? Pot! If you have any, you need to dispose of the evidence.”

Janice giggled at that. “Want to help?” She didn’t wait for his answer but pulled a Zip-Loc bag out of a kitchen drawer. It had a couple of joints inside.

“Not my style. Thanks, but I’ll stick to booze. I’ve broken enough Commandments lately.”

She pulled out one of the joints and lit it with a pocket lighter. “Your loss.” She took a big hit deep into her lungs. “You know, it makes me horny.”

“Maybe it’s not my loss after all.” Janice giggled at that and took a second hit. Franklin smiled; if they didn’t finish packing that night because Janice got rambunctious, they could always finish in the morning.

Janice slept most of the flight from Little Rock to Denver, and then from Denver to Helena; when she was awake, she complained to Frank that it was his fault because he had kept her up all night performing lewd and unnatural acts. She refused to answer when he asked for specific details. “I’m just asking so that I know which ones you enjoyed the most!”