Corrector (38 page)

“Can you bring in a map of the city?” Jake asked.

Carlson nodded and Laney left the room.  He returned five minutes later with something he’d printed from the Internet.  Jake guessed that was faster than trying to retrieve a map from wherever they kept such things.

Laney laid the legal sized sheet on the table.  Jake picked up one of the pencils and drew the slightly oval boundary that Carlson had shown him when she had been explaining the area of interest. 

“This is what you showed me,” Jake said, looking at Carlson.  “You told me to look closely so I would remember, but also warned that you were operating from memory as well, so the area you were giving me was not exact.  But the best guess at the time was that somewhere within that area is where the bomb had been located.”

“They should have been able to use arial and satellite images to pinpoint it,” Laney objected.

“They might have known better than your information suggested,” Jake agreed.  “At the time, you were involved in something of your own.  It was only because you were in the area that you stopped in to see me.  That and you wanted to break the case that had been stalled for so long.  The bombing wasn’t something you were directly involved in, so your knowledge was not complete.”

“I should have urged you to wait while I found out more,” groused Carlson.

“I explained why,” Jake replied.  “The idea was new to you at the time, and I don’t think you entirely believed I could do anything.  You were having the same kind of doubts you are experiencing right now.  I didn’t really believe I would be able to get back far enough.”

Carlson stared at the map.  Laney looked at Jake.

“Do you realize how foolish I am going to sound if I take this to the Director and ask for resources to pursue it?” Carlson asked.

“Is that what’s important?” Jake asked.  “How foolish you might look?  That’s not how I read you in Los Angeles.  Can you afford not to investigate it, given what you know from studying the cases where I’ve known other events in advance?  Hundreds of thousands of lives are at risk, as well as a loss of one of our cities.”

Carlson made a face.  “Take him back downstairs,” she instructed Laney.  “I’ve got to see if I can get in to see the Director.”

Special Agent Jim Laney came for Jake well before the morning meal.  Jake had slept well enough on the narrow cot, and had been awake wondering how the day would go when he saw the muscular agent making his way toward the cell.  He carried a bag in his left hand.

“Here, put these on,” Laney had said when he arrived at the cell and the jailer had unlocked the door.

Jake looked in the paper bag. It was filled with the clothes he had worn when he had come into FBI headquarters the previous day.  He took it as a good sign.

As he stripped out of the prison overalls, Jake asked Laney what was planned.

“We’re going to Atlanta,” Laney replied.

“So she was able to convince the Director I’m telling the truth?”

Laney scoffed.  “You can’t believe that.  I was present for your little demonstration and I still have doubts.  I can’t see how you could pull it off, but I’m certain there is another explanation.  What I can’t figure is how you come out ahead in this.  You have turned yourself over to us, and have revealed who you are.  You also have confessed to additional crimes, which have been verified as real events by the way.  What do you hope to gain?”

Jake sat on the cot so he could put on his shoes.  “Why is it so hard for you to believe I’m telling the truth?”

“What you claim just isn’t possible,” Laney said with absolute certainty.

“If the Director feels that way, why are we going?”

“You can thank Susan for that.  She is out on a limb on this one.  While I don’t think she believes in your supposed ability either, you do have a demonstrated record of knowing about planned activities in time to be in place to prevent unacceptable events from taking place.  We both are convinced some of those you admit to having killed were up to no good.  You even demonstrated you have knowledge about the Federal lockup that we can’t figure out.  So, you have some source of intelligence. Maybe the attack is real.  Maybe you know about something in the works but don’t want to reveal how you know.  Given the potential risk to the population, it has been deemed worth looking into.”

“I’ll take whatever reason you choose to go.  Just so long as we are able to stop this.”

“One thing though,” Laney added.  “You better not be screwing around with Carlson.  She’s one tough lady and has a record of bringing cases to conclusion.  Your elusive actions the past few years have been the one case that she has had little luck with.  I think that’s why she is so open to seeing where this will go.  But if you led her astray, be prepared for a mountain to fall on you.”

“Fair enough warning,” Jake agreed.  “But I’m telling you the truth.  I think you’ll come to realize that before this is finished.  Where do we meet Carlson?”

“She’ll meet us at the plane.  There is a Lear standing by to take us to Atlanta.”

“That sounds like a small plane.  How many of us are going?”

“Just the three of us from here.  We’ll coordinate activities with the regional office in Atlanta.  They will provide additional agents who are familiar with the city.  We will also meet with the police department and enlist their assistance as well.”

Jake stood, his shoes tied.  He left the bag and the coveralls where he had dropped them.  He noted that his wallet, keys,  and cell phone were not among the items returned to him.  No matter, they were on the way.  He had a momentary thought that he should have made a trip into Atlanta before coming to Washington to provide himself a jump to point, but that opportunity was past.  He’d have to hope things went as he hoped.  Once they left Washington, he would be somewhat restricted in his back-tracking opportunities.

Laney pointed the way and Jake headed off with Laney close behind.  They worked their way back to the bank of elevators that had brought him here the first time, returned up to the lobby where they headed out the front door where a car and driver were waiting.  Jake climbed into the back seat and Laney slid in next to him.

“Don’t think about trying anything cute,” Laney warned him.

Jake smiled.  “I came to you, remember.  I want to go to Atlanta.  I would have nothing to gain by trying to escape.  If I wanted to get away, the method I would chose you wouldn’t be able to protect against.”

Laney looked at him intently for a moment, then settled back.  The driver pulled away and they headed to Reagan Airport across the city.

The flight had taken just over an hour, just long enough for them to settle in and eat the small breakfast that had been arranged for them on the plane.  Carlson had been waiting when they arrived.  Today she was wearing the gray version of her FBI suit.  She looked tired, and Jake suspected she had spent a good deal of the night making preparations and convincing her superiors this trip made sense. 

The landing in Atlanta was bumpy.  Jake could see why by looking out the windows.  He hadn’t known about the storm.  Heavy rains were pounding Atlanta this morning.  That wasn’t going to make their task any easier.  He wondered why Carlson hadn’t told him about the weather, but she might not have known about the storm.  Before, when she had lived through this particular date, Atlanta hadn’t been on her personal radar.

When the plane came to a stop at a small private terminal they disembarked and climbed directly into a large black SUV that was waiting for them.  Laney climbed into the backseat next to Jake and Carlson climbed into the front seat next to the driver.  Even though the vehicle was parked at the base of the stairs, they all were more than a little wet by the time they were safely in the vehicle.  The driver introduced himself as Special Agent Harold Evans.  He would take them to the FBI office and would be part of the team assigned to Carlson, who was to be the Special Agent in Charge of the case. 

“How long is the storm supposed to last?” Laney asked as they started off.

“At least through tonight.  More than likely into tomorrow as well.  This is going to make matters much more difficult.”

The FBI office was in the northeast corner of Atlanta, outside the Highway 285 ring.  It took them a while to get there as traffic was a mess as a result of the storm.  Jake took the opportunity to have a look at the city through the rain.  He had never been to Atlanta before, but a combination of the rain and the way it was spread out he was unable to get any real sense of the place other than it was flat.

“What about the police?” Carlson asked once they were on the way and Evans had settled into a slow crawl with the other cars.

“Representatives will be at the meeting as you have requested.  They don’t have any idea what this is about, but have agreed to provide manpower.  Realistically, it will be the next shift change this afternoon before they can brief their people, and with this weather, I don’t know how effective they will be.”

Carlson nodded and Jake could see it was no different than she had expected.

“Has there been any word on the vans yet?”

The vans were a pair of specially equipped units that would be flown into Atlanta from wherever they were normally stored.  Laney had told Jake the vans were designed to be able to drive past buildings and monitor for radiation being leaked.  They should be able to detect any but the most carefully shielded nuclear materials, and if this was meant to be a dirty bomb with lots of already hot waste nuclear material packed around the main core, then picking up a signature of the devices was expected to be straightforward.  Jake wasn’t so sure.  He had asked about how effective they had been in the past.  Laney had admitted that they had never picked up covert materials being shipped into the country.  In tests that had been performed, the rate of success in uncovering a suspect shipment had been between 15 and 85 percent, depending on who was running the test, and perhaps simple chance.  That didn’t seem like a very good ratio to Jake.

“They should come in sometime tomorrow,” Evans replied. 

Jake did quick calculation.  Tomorrow was five days before the bomb would be triggered.  That didn’t seem like very much time.

Then they arrived at the FBI facility.  It was a very large glass building.  Jake was surprised that such a large facility was required for Atlanta, but Laney had explained that it was one of fifty-six regional offices and was responsible for more than just Atlanta.  At least they should have adequate resources.

Once inside, they were escorted to a large conference room on the third floor.  Evans had called ahead as they approached the facility, so by the time they entered the room, more than a dozen people were already present.  Jake was reassured by the efficiency of the group, and his hopes for their success improved.

Laney pointed to a couple of chairs off to the side and Jake sat where indicated.  Carlson stepped up to the front of the room without hesitation and tapped the microphone to be sure it was active.  Harold Evans had closed the door, a signal that everyone who was coming was present.  Carlson didn’t hesitate, and in a simple direct presentation outlined the potential threat they were concerned about.  She didn’t explain the source of the information, only that it was considered reliable and they needed to act quickly.

The people here were professionals, FBI and police as well.  They might be curious about the background, but realized the immediate concern was attempting to locate the bomb.  Therefore, questions were focused to that end.

“Do you have any idea where it might be located?  Atlanta is a large city.”

An overhead projector was switched on and Carlson placed a transparency on the flat screen.  It showed a map of the city with the area Jake had outlined back in Washington D.C. outlined in red pencil.

“Christ,” someone muttered.  “That’s still a large area, and not one of the better areas to try and get local cooperation.”

The area shown on the map was nearly two and a half miles long, and perhaps two wide.  It extended north and south almost equally from the east-west Ralph David Abernathy Freeway and was mostly to the west of the Freeway 75 & 85 throughway. 

“A lot of that area is old and rundown.  Some ghettos, some abandoned areas, and some that have seen recent restoration.  In additional there is an old industrial area that remains mostly closed and run down.  A lot of gang activity there.  Drugs, prostitution, you name it.  The locals won’t be the type to help us out.”

“I assume we can’t tell anyone what we are really looking for?” someone asked.

“Unfortunately, no.  That would result in panic.  We have to try and keep this low profile,” Carlson replied.

Jake groaned inwardly.  He understood, but he knew that would make the job harder.

Questions and answers lasted another fifteen minutes.  Then it was time to break.  In addition to Evans, two additional agents had been assigned to the task.  Jake was introduced to Special Agents Norman and Simpson.  They would be coordinating efforts with the police, who would have their patrol officers keeping an eye out and would assign a number of detectives familiar with the area to start working their snitches and other resources familiar with the zone that had been identified.  Evans would remain with them and they would perform their own search of the area.  Carlson and Laney would also direct the teams in the vans once they arrived the following day.