Chapter 25: What Happened to Marvin?

Lesa was in her office at the library going over the sizeable dossiers they now had on the physics researchers at MIT. Jake, Toby and Janet had all been interviewed personally by Dr. Grayson. He had claimed that he was retiring at the end of the current academic year and would no longer be doing research of any kind anywhere. This was very disturbing and depressing news to the group, and it had put a damper on pretty much everything.

Gloria stuck her head into the room; then entered when she found it empty except for Lesa. "What has you scowling at your computer?"

Lesa shook her head. "I'm missing something that should be obvious. The information that Jake, Toby, and Janet got from the Grayson family last Thanksgiving would have one believe that Admiral Grayson is a workaholic, but the records at the lab indicate he's hardly ever there. He might be entertaining a bevy of mistresses, but it doesn't fit his character profile."

Gloria stepped around the desk to look over Lesa's shoulder. "Where does he typically go?"

Lesa pointed to the screen, "The gasoline and credit card receipts and statements that the private investigators retrieved from his trash indicate that he spends a lot of time in Virginia Beach, New London and Arlington."

Stepping back, Gloria asked, "Does his wife travel with him to Virginia Beach?"

Clicking a link Lesa replied, "Not often. She goes with him to New York, Phoenix, and New Orleans once or twice a year. They have children in those locations."

Gloria pointed out, "Virginia Beach and New London have active US Navy shipyards, and the Pentagon is in Arlington."

Tracing another reference Lesa smiled, "Charles Brenner makes regular trips to Virginia Beach! That bastard is still actively working with the Navy. There's no telling how large his network of cronies might be, or how deeply they're buried in the Pentagon. I can't breech the Pentagon. We're screwed!"

Gloria smiled, "Several times a day and loving each time."

Lesa had to laugh, "Okay, enough sexual innuendo. How are we going to get his real team into a public place where we might have a shot at attracting a Confederacy pickup?"

Gloria headed for the door, "I don't know, but we have some of the most devious minds on the planet working for our side. I'm confident they'll come up with something."

Mid-morning an anxious Jake stuck his head into Lesa's office, "Something's happening at Starbucks, probably a Confederacy pickup. We've lost contact with Marvin and Misty."

Lesa was up and around her desk faster that he had ever seen her move. "Grab Ralph and Janet and head over there. I'm going to my house for supplies. Call me when you find out something."

Jake pulled out his cell phone and initiated a call to Ralph. He asked Ralph to meet him at Starbucks. He had to leave a message on Janet's cell phone. Jake was frantically searching his PDA for Janet's schedule when Ralph intercepted him. "What's up, man? You sound really stressed."

Jake looked up and briefed Ralph, "It looks like Marvin and Misty are inside Starbucks with an unknown number of Confederacy Marines."

Ralph subconsciously rubbed his chest. "I haven't been near Starbucks in weeks. What's the plan?"

"We need to round up Janet and be at Starbucks. The three of us are to get in there and find Marvin's note, phone, or PDA as soon as the interdiction field is lifted." Jake was not insensitive to Ralph's reluctance to hang out at Starbucks. "I'm trying to find out were Janet is, and my stupid PDA isn't cooperating."

Ralph put his hand over Jake's PDA, "Chill man. Keep an eye on the shop and I'll snatch Janet from the lecture hall. We'll be no more than ten minutes behind you. Be careful, people get hurt around a pickup."

Jake nodded and sprinted off toward the shimmering dome that had replaced Starbucks.

{ For details of what happened inside Starbucks, the reader is directed to 'The Starbucks Incident' }

At home, Lesa entered a locked walk-in closet behind her husband's desk. She pulled a foam-lined case from a cabinet and laid it on a narrow bench inside the closet. It took both hands to retrieve her Barrett rifle from a tall safe in the far corner of the small room and transfer it into the case. She pulled three ten-round magazines from a shelf in the safe, loaded each one with the massive .50 caliber cartridges, and placed them into cutouts in the case. Her S&W Model 29 and three speed loaders also went into their custom cutouts in the foam. She returned to the library after locking the safe, opened the bottom right-hand drawer in the desk, and punched a numeric code into the steel door built into the drawer. When it popped open, she pulled out a vintage Model 10 and two speed loaders. One loader went into the revolver's chambers; the other went into her shoulder bag with the pistol. As an afterthought she hooked the mating shoulder holster for the .38 with her left elbow before securing the desk drawer.

Lesa put the large case in the trunk of her car, opened the garage door, and headed toward campus with little regard for speed limits. She was back at the library in record time. Toby and Susan were with Gloria inside the main gallery and followed her into a conference room. Lesa had a one-word question, "Anything?" It was answered with silently shaking heads.

Looking at Toby, Lesa asked, "Toby, will you step out into the main gallery and send everyone in here as they arrive? Thanks."

Across the campus Sara Jay and Tiffany were trying to reason with a tearful Millie and Sasha. "It'll do no good to go to Starbucks now. We'll not be allowed inside until the pickup is over with."

Millie and Sasha knew that, but like so many others they wanted to try anyway. Sasha wailed, "I knew I should have blown off that stupid transportation class and gone to Starbucks with Marvin."

Millie agreed, "Yeah, my economics class is also kind of dumb, too. Everything's changing. Going to any kind of classic urban planning class is just us zombies doing mindless exercises. The curriculum needs to be updated to reflect the impact of the Confederacy and Sa'arm influences."

"Come on guys," Tiffany tried to be encouraging, "don't count yourselves out just yet. I mean, you just know that Lesa has a plan for this."

Once inside the Library, Toby directed them to the conference room. He was back at his post when Jake, Janet, Ralph, and Misty broke through the doors like thoroughbreds from the starting gates and then quickly slowed their progress down to a walk. Toby waved to get their attention and all five entered the conference room.

Inside the conference room everyone wanted to hug Misty, but she pushed them away and shook her head. "Wait, back off a second. I love you all, but we have to hurry. We need to locate kids belonging to Rebecca Lawrence, Julie Ann Swanson, and Alicia Morgan. We also need to find a Meghrani Avalareddy, wife of Professor Naveen Avalareddy and get them all to a new pickup. Lesa, Marvin said you were right about brain-trust pickups. He's going to work from the Confederacy side to make sure the Marines show up at your party in July."

Lesa had already logged onto the workstation in the conference room and was directing information to the overhead projector. She was shaken by the fact that one of the women lived across the street from her, and the other was one of her oldest friends with whom she had just tried to mend fences.

Lesa brought up a directory listing for Julie Ann and Samuel Swanson. "I'm trying to remember how many kids Julie Ann has. A lot, though, and they range in age from thirteen to diapers. They'll be scattered all over Atlanta. Her oldest is in the same class as my daughter, Sara. Gloria, use the terminal outside to find out where Samuel can be found."

Gloria nodded and headed into the main gallery of the library.

Lesa turned to Misty, "Is this professor associated with Tech or some other school?"

Misty replied, "I'm not sure, Tech I think."

Lesa nodded, "There's a faculty directory next to the card catalog. Will you check it for me please?"

Jake spoke up, "Never mind that, Misty. I have a name, address and several phone numbers for a Naveen and Meghrani Avalareddy. The address is a downtown condo."

"Okay, Jake," Lesa was getting into her stride. "Will you find her and get her to Crestlawn? But first, get a message to Jason at Woodside Academy and have him round up his sisters and meet you in the parking lot. Woodside is kindergarten through twelfth grade. He knows you; so, I'm hoping he'll not question you. Tell him that something has happened to their mother and you're taking the girls to meet her, which is true."

"My car isn't big enough," Jake noted.

"I'll get the excess," Susan volunteered and headed for the door with Jake.

Jake nodded to Susan and they each headed for their cars. He waited until he was outside the library before dialing the first of the numbers he had scribbled on a piece of paper.

Lesa was mumbling, "That leaves Alicia Morgan, husband Horace Morgan. Okay, we don't know how Horace and Samuel are going to take the news that their wives are gone. I suspect Samuel is a player and won't be too upset. I don't know anything about the Morgans, though."

Misty interjected, "Don't forget about Rebecca Lawrence's husband."

Lesa shook her head, "Chuck died in the same shipwreck that killed my husband."

Gloria returned brandishing a piece of paper. "I've got a business listing, address and phone number for Samuel Swanson."

"Great," Lesa said. "Now see if you can do the same for this guy."

Gloria headed back out to locate Horace Morgan.

Lesa pulled her cell phone out of her shoulder bag and quickly dialed a number from memory. "Sergio, this is Lesa Crews ... I've been great, Sergio. Listen, I'm in a bit of a hurry. I need you to send out two of the teams I arranged with you for a snatch. I need them to pick up Samuel Swanson at his office, like ten minutes ago, collect his kids, and bring them to the Crestlawn Cemetery. The second team does the same with Horace Morgan ... That's right, husband and kids ... Bill me Sergio, just get it done ... Do your guys really need to know why? Since when did they need to explain anything to a target? Just do it, Sergio ... Sergio, don't make me call my father..." Gloria came back in smiling. Lesa read off the information on both slips of paper to Sergio. "Love to you and the wife, bye now."