Chapter 18

There was no way for Alon to slip into the U.S. without getting noticed by some agency of the government. He was not a criminal or terrorist, but he, as a political journalist, was someone that had impacted political and social interests of some powerful people. Someone would be curious enough to at least flag his presence in the country, while others might track his movements and contacts.

The cover story of why he had to visit San Francisco had to do with a number of articles and stories he had been working on. Because of the large Asian population in the area, there were a number of news outlets specializing in stories and events that would be ideal publishers for his work. He made sure that the appointments that he had arranged on short notice were legit business contacts. He also took the opportunity to seek sponsorship of his news podcast, a recent project he had begun. The three appointments were across two days and allowed time for some “social activities.”

He charged the Stanford Basketball tickets on his credit card, took an Uber from his hotel near the airport to the arena, and would take one back after the game was over. He even bought a snack at the concession stand on the credit card.

Just before halftime came, he went to go to the restroom, sat in a stall and slipped his phone and smart watch into a bag that blocked electronic signals, then slipped that bag into another similar bag just to be sure. He left the arena and walked through the campus to a library that had study areas where people could talk quietly. As soon as he entered the lobby, he spotted Bobby waiting. Without looking directly at him, he continued over to the carrels, waited about 5 minutes for Bobby to arrive, then closed the door.

Bobby shook his friend’s hand, “I didn’t see anyone tailing you.”

Alon sat down, “Do you still think all of this ... tradecraft is necessary?”

“They tortured and killed one of the attorneys I am working with.” Bobby related the story of the young associate lawyer that had been kidnapped and killed in Reno. By the time he finished the story, all of the color had drained out of Alon’s face.

“That sounds like Tan for sure. I’ve tracked at least thirteen disappearances or murders that can be linked to Tan or his soldiers. Those found were tortured and mutilated to send a message.”

Bobby shook his head, “But why’d would he be chasing me?”

“Your government agent seems to think it is the pictures or other information on your laptop?”

“Yes, and they admitted to hacking the data contained in my cloud backup, but didn’t find the information. The pictures were on a memory card and was not set to back up to the cloud.”

“Ok, can I look at the pictures on the card?”

“Yes, but don’t touch the computer, if someone gets a hold of this machine, I don’t want them finding your fingerprints on it.”

Bobby had set up the new laptop on the desk and began scrolling through the pictures and narrating when and where they were taken. Most were pictures of moldy walls, broken or missing safety equipment, and other worker safety violations. With well over two hundred pictures, they had been working for almost half an hour before Alon sat up straight.

“What ... what was this?”

“That is a broken safety rail in a factory.”

“Where?”

“Ah ... that would have been in Indonesia, a factory in a town outside the capitol. It was a quick impromptu stop to do an initial assessment for our sales team. I found railings on the catwalk above the machine floor that were missing or broken.”

Alon asked Bobby to enlarge the left side of the image. The good camera and the bright lights of the factory gave the photo great depth of field so that objects in the background were almost as clear as those close to the lens. The picture had captured a group of men walking on the factory floor below. Alon stared at the image then moved to the next which had been taken only a second or two after the first. In the second the faces were even clearer. Six more images caught the group as they progressed left to right across the room then disappeared through an office door.

Alon stared at the image then at Bobby then reached for his smart phone. He typed in a search the turned the screen so Bobby could see the image. “Is that the same man in your pictures?”

Bobby zoomed his picture in to get a better look, “Yea, it’s the same guy.”

Alon took back his phone and repeated the process, and was able to identify two other men.

The reporter sat back in the chair and pointed to the picture on the computer screen, “I believe that the correct expression in English is ‘FUCK!’ That is an image of two government ministers, the Lieutenant Governor, two high level justice officers, one major crime figure and one murderous enforcer named Tan walking together like they are good friends. No wonder Tan has never been caught. He has been working for corrupt members of the government!”

Bobby thought for a moment, “That’s also why my government wants these pictures, they could use these to blackmail the ministers, put pressure on them for ... whatever.”

Alon looked down, “Now what do you do?”

Bobby looked at his reporter friend, “I had the beginning of a play in mind when I called you. This makes it even more urgent and important. My goal is not justice or politics, but to get my family clear of the criminals and get them clear of the government agents stalking us.”