Point of Control (18 page)

C
HAPTER
33

Monday, March 23, 8:15 a.m., Denver, Colorado

Bailey found a row of empty seats at a quiet gate and plopped down. She plugged in her laptop, got online, and searched for Ellensburg again. Her two-hour layover had turned into a six-hour layover because she’d missed her connection after her first flight had been delayed. She’d already had a meal, taken a walk, and napped for a few minutes. Frustration wouldn’t get her to Seattle any faster, so she might as well get some work done.

She read for an hour, learning everything she could about the area, but nothing helped her pinpoint a location where a megalomaniac might keep people captive—while also possibly providing them with research space. Milton Thurgood was either long dead or voluntarily employed. Dana Thorpe might have already shared her research data and been eliminated as well. But Lee Nam, the cryptographer, was probably still alive, coding as fast as he could with a figurative gun to his head. But even if he was dead, she still needed to find the kidnapper and provide evidence that her government hadn’t been responsible for Lee’s abduction and death. Kim Jong-un’s deadline was only thirty-six hours away, and on every TV screen she saw, the media had an expert yammering about Jake Austin’s impending execution, with some neocons using it as an excuse to pound the war drums, saying that a nonresponse would be a “show of weakness.”

Her phone rang, and she hesitated. It was probably Garrett. She hadn’t returned his call yet and she wasn’t sure why. But it could be her boss too, so she checked the screen. A Washington State number she didn’t recognize. “Agent Bailey.”

“This is Nolan Fredrick from the Washington State business licensing office.”

Finally!
“I hope you have information for me.”

“I do. I worked through the weekend to pull together a list of recent real-estate transactions in the three categories you specified. I just emailed you a file with the complete list.”

“Thank you.”

“I summarized my findings in the email, but I wanted to call and share the critical transactions with you in person.”

Great.
She waited.

“There are two that seemed significant. Two months ago, a radio manufacturing company called WireWorks sold to Everett Digital Enterprises, and last September, the Palisades Mine sold to a company called JCC Holdings.”

Both gave her a jolt of hope. “Where are they located?”

“The radio factory is in Yakima, and the mine, which had been shut down for years, is also in central Washington, near Wanapum.”

Google Maps was up on her laptop’s screen. Both locations were within easy driving distance from Ellensburg. “What do you know about the buyers? Are those two companies connected?”

“Not as far as I can tell, based on the paperwork filed.”

“What else can you tell me about the company that bought the mine?”

“It’s owned by another holding company, C&M Investments, based in Mexico. So I don’t have access to the owner’s name.”

Damn!
“I may call back with more questions.” Eager to extend her research, Bailey hung up.

The holding companies didn’t surface in any online search. The owners wanted to remain anonymous. She called Havi. “It’s Bailey. I need your help again.”

“Hello. What can I do for you?”

His tone confused her, but she didn’t have time to process it. “I need to find out everything I can about JCC Holdings and also C&M Investments, which is based in Mexico. I’ve searched online, but nothing comes up.”

“I’ll see what I can do, but this may require a call to the Mexican government.”

Oh hell.
“That could take too long.”

“Let’s see what I can find. Where are you, by the way?”

“The Denver airport, waiting for a connecting flight.”

“Do you have a new lead?”

She hesitated, her secretive nature kicking in. “Only the companies I just mentioned.”

“Lennard thinks you’re taking some time off.”

“I am.” She gave him a plausible line in case he was forced to reveal her whereabouts. “I enjoyed Washington State so much when I was there, I’m going back to spend a few vacation days.”

“Right. Talk to you soon.”

Bailey stood and stretched, glancing around the airport terminal. It was still the cool season, but she noticed that people west of the Rockies wore a lot more color than those back east, where airports in the winter were a sea of black coats. In her scan, she also noted Asian men, but none were Dukko. She’d thought another cab might be following hers on the way to the airport, but once they were on the freeway, it seemed to disappear behind them. Still, she’d kept a vigilant watch. The bastard had gotten a jump on her once and tied her up like a trussed turkey.
Humiliating!
That was as close as she ever came to feeling shame or regret. But it wouldn’t happen again. They both wanted to find the kidnapper, but she would beat him to it. Giving him one of the victim’s names had bought her his trust and maybe her life. If Dukko was a sociopath, which he almost had to be to carry out KJU’s directives, killing her might have been an easy choice for him. The fact that he hadn’t done it meant she was more beneficial to him alive. So he might have tried to follow her.

Bailey spotted another woman eyeing her seat near the electrical outlet, so she plopped back down. She spent a few minutes online trying to find a Northwest-based device manufacturer she could have missed in her earlier efforts. Either of the CEOs she’d questioned in Silicon Valley could have sent hired thugs to kidnap Dana Thorpe and Lee Nam, but she was more convinced than ever that it was a Washington State–based operation. Someone had to be watching and feeding the victims—if any were still alive—while Lee Nam was snatched in DC. Plus, someone had committed the pharmacy robbery in Ellensburg in the same time frame.

Her phone buzzed in her ear. It was Havi, calling back. “Sorry, but I couldn’t access anything on either of the holding companies. No website, no public corporate meetings, no SEC filings.”

“Well, damn. There has to be some paperwork filed somewhere.”

“Yes, but it’s not public. And if C&M is based in Mexico, good luck with that office.”

Unacceptable!
“Can you hack into it?”

A pause. “Yes, but no.”

That meant he had the skills but didn’t want to take the risk. She’d done a little hacking, which sometimes was as simple as sending an email with malware that copied and sent the person’s password the next time they used it. “Can you walk me through it?”

“Yes, but let’s do this on my private cell phone. I’ll call you back.”

A tremor of excitement rippled through her body, erasing the exhaustion she’d been struggling with. She loved breaking rules and going anywhere she didn’t belong. Plus she was moments away from finding out who was responsible for the kidnappings. Or hours away. Or days. Depending on what kind of hack they used. Bailey glanced at her phone. She still had plenty of time before her flight.

Havi didn’t call back for ten long minutes and sounded a little rattled when he did. “I emailed you a file with some code to embed, along with the name and address of someone at the Mexican business registry. The message is coming from a private account. You remember how to embed the code?”

“Yes.” They’d done this before. Havi was a rule breaker too. Many in law enforcement were. That was part of the draw. The power to break rules and get away with it. “Anything else I need to know?”

“When you get the password, use all caps, no matter what it looks like. Then get in and out quickly.” He talked rapidly in a barely audible whisper. “I don’t think the site has much security, but it will recognize that the user is logging in from a different computer. If you do something unexpected, the system may shut you out after a few minutes.”

“Why do you sound nervous? Is someone standing nearby?”

“The AD is on the warpath.”

“What’s going on?”

“I don’t know yet.”

“Keep me posted.”

Abruptly, Havi hung up. Bailey’s off-the-books mission now felt riskier. If she failed to find any of the victims or to arrest the unsub, she could end up getting canned. But only if she used her FBI credentials when she was supposedly off duty.
Screw that.
She would use every resource she had and not stop until she succeeded. She was too close now to give up.

Bailey checked her little-used dummy Yahoo account and found the email with Havi’s code. She couldn’t use her own laptop, so she left her spot by the window and backtracked through the airport to an alcove where two public computers were available. A young woman using one of them ignored her until Bailey flashed her badge and asked her to vacate. The girl wasn’t happy about it but she complied.

Bailey shoved her luggage against the wall and sat down at the little desk. She opened her Yahoo account and created an email addressed to the manager in the Mexican government’s business registry. Embedding the malware took a few tries, because she hadn’t done it in a while. After reading over the message a few times and double-checking her work, Bailey clicked Send.
Please let the woman be working today and open her email.
Once Bailey discovered who owned C&M or JCC, she could locate every property he or she was connected to. The one closest to the pharmacy would be the first place she would search.

C
HAPTER
34

Monday, March 23, 8:05 a.m., Seattle, Washington

Garrett woke suddenly and checked his phone on the nightstand. He hadn’t overslept, and there was no message or text from Bailey. Was she stuck on the tarmac somewhere? Or maybe just busy working the case. Still, he’d expected her to call back after getting his voice mail about the pharmacy in Ellensburg. Maybe she hadn’t received it. Should he call again? He didn’t want to seem obsessive. A terrifying thought hit him. What if the kidnappers had tried to kill Bailey again? A surge of panic drove him out of bed. Because she was traveling, she was probably safe, he reasoned. They couldn’t get to her unless she came back to Seattle, to this house. Maybe when she finally returned, they should both go stay in a hotel.

He headed for the shower, thinking about the day ahead. Maybe it was time to get his life back to some kind of normalcy. Bailey had encouraged him to keep up with his university assignments. But it felt so wrong to just go about his life with his mother missing. Yet, as a university professor, she would want him to attend class, rather than sit at home worrying. But he couldn’t go to campus yet. Even though he wasn’t ready to focus on his studies, he had another obligation he could meet if he got moving right now.

Garrett dressed, stuffed his phone and wallet into his pockets, and headed out. He had just enough time to make his Monday morning shift at the St. Paul Kitchen where he volunteered, usually peeling vegetables or loading canned goods into boxes. Two hours a week wasn’t much, but he’d been doing volunteer work since he was a kid, and would feel better if he didn’t miss his shift.

The drive over took only ten minutes, and the woman who ran the kitchen greeted him with a hug. “Any word on your mom?”

“Not yet.” They walked back to the food-prep area.

“You don’t have to be here, but I’m glad you are.” She patted his shoulder.

“If I get a call, I may have to leave early.”

“No problem. A high school group will be here in an hour, so you can take off then.”

Relieved for the short shift, he picked up a plastic apron and got to work.

On the way home, he bought coffee and a bagel, and checked his phone again. His father had left a voice mail: “Want to join us for dinner tonight? It would be good for you to get out of the house.” He hated when his dad announced what was good for him, but still, the offer made him smile.

Garrett pulled into the driveway and parked on the far right out of habit. His mother kept her car in the garage, and she needed to be able to back out past his. There was room for both vehicles inside, but he never parked in there. Even with the covered walkway between the buildings, it was too much hassle. His mother’s little car was just sitting in there, waiting for her to come home. He hurried up the wide front steps, picked up the newspaper from the porch, and went inside.

The faint smell of cigarette smoke surprised him. A rush of movement from the living area made him spin left. A stocky man in a ski mask shoved a hand in his face. Garrett ducked and swung wildly, clipping the attacker on the chin. The contact hurt, but it was nothing like the blow to his own nose that followed. The pain vibrated into his eye sockets, and he shouted a curse. Someone gripped his elbows from behind as blood ran from his nostrils. The first man shoved a rag over his mouth, and the medicinal smell made him gag. Dizziness overcame him, and his body went limp.

C
HAPTER
35

The young man collapsed like dead weight, and Shawn couldn’t hold him up. Now Garrett was sprawled on the floor.

“Not the plan!” Rocky squatted, obviously irritated. “You only had to keep him upright for a few seconds while I got into place.”

Shawn squatted too. “Let’s just do this quickly.” He put both hands under one of Garrett’s armpits.

Rocky did the same. “Ready? Lift!”

They stood up together, then scrambled to get their arms around the young man’s shoulders and waist—before they dropped him again. Garrett’s head lolled sideways on Shawn’s shoulder, blood dripping from his nose.

“Why did you punch him?” Shawn said. “I’ve got his blood on my jacket now.”

“Reflex. He hit me first.” Rocky steered through the archway and into the kitchen.

They were headed out to the garage, where their van was parked. So far, the abduction was going more smoothly than Shawn had expected. They’d watched Garrett drive away earlier and discussed following him. Rocky had wanted to see where the kid was going and watch for a more secluded spot to make the grab. But Shawn had felt certain Garrett wouldn’t be gone long and that their original plan was still the safest. Rocky’s universal remote had opened the garage, and they’d driven in and closed it again. The neighbors’ line of sight was blocked by tall hedges on either side of the property, and the park directly across the street was empty this early on a Monday morning, so it seemed likely no one had seen them enter. Shawn had bought the used vehicle that morning with cash, so it wasn’t registered to him, and he could easily abandon it if things went badly. He would dump it after the mission anyway.

Inside the house, they had simply waited for the young man to return, then chloroformed him when he walked in. Now they had to get him into the van and secure him before he regained consciousness. Then get the hell out of the garage before anyone else showed up. Max’s informant at the bureau had assured him the local field agents had left the Thorpes’ home days before and that Agent Bailey had returned to DC. So they should be fine. Still, he was eager to be outside the city and on the road east.

Rocky opened the side door, and they lifted their cargo as far into the space as they could reach. Shawn climbed in over the unconscious man and dragged him the rest of the way in. Rocky wrapped rope around Garrett’s legs and a bandanna around his eyes, while Shawn tied their captive’s hands behind his back and duct-taped his mouth, looping it around his head to be sure.

Seeing the young man trussed like that overwhelmed him for a moment. Disgust with the victim for being so easily overpowered. Disgust with himself for participating in such lowlife activities. Then a brief moment of pity for Garrett, who would be terrified when he woke up. But still, he was proud of himself for having the courage to pull it off. He’d come a long way from the timid, nerdy kid who’d been picked on in grade school. He’d proved to himself he wasn’t too effeminate for the dirty work. Too bad he couldn’t brag about it to the people who’d doubted his toughness over the years, especially his cousins who’d laughed when he’d run from dogs and school bullies.

“Do we need to tie a rope between his ankles and hands?” Shawn asked.

“I don’t think so. Let’s go.”

Shawn scooted into the driver’s seat, and Rocky came around the van and got into the passenger’s side. Shawn clicked the universal door opener. Nothing happened. “What the hell?” He clicked it again with the same result.

“It should open manually too.” Rocky looked back at the closed garage door.

“Go find out. And look in the other car for the owner’s door opener.” The setback was annoying, but would be temporary. If necessary, he would gun the engine and bust right through the wooden door.

As Rocky searched for a manual lever, Shawn kept clicking. Suddenly, the door began to rise. Rocky rushed back and jumped into the passenger’s seat. Shawn put the van in reverse and pressed the gas, almost hitting the car parked in the driveway behind him. “Shit!” He slammed on the brakes and took a moment to collect himself. He hoped no neighbors had heard the squeal.

He backed around the Jeep and into the street. No one was watching them, and no police cars were coming their way. He pulled off his ski mask and drove out of the neighborhood, making turns every two blocks to cover his tracks. A few minutes later, he hit the main artery and headed out of town.

On the drive east, Rocky asked, “What happens to the kid when it’s over?”

Shawn had given it some thought. “After I use him to motivate his mother, I’ll let him go. As long as he never sees any of our faces or knows where he is, this shouldn’t come back to bite us.”

“I don’t know about that.” Rocky gave a slow shake of his head. “I think he’ll be trouble. More so than the woman. You might want to rethink leaving any of them as loose ends.”

Shawn knew he was right but couldn’t face that. More important, the pilot had just given him permission to do this ugly but necessary thing. He would apply Rocky’s advice to Rocky first. “I’ll think about it.”

“What about the woman? Is she going to produce the material?”

“I think so.”

“How long?”

“Three more days.” Shawn felt confident Dana would soon hand over a usable sample and formula that his engineers could replicate and scale up. Just knowing he had Garrett and might hurt him would motivate her. When it was over, he would drop Dana and her kid off at the edge of Seattle somewhere, leaving them blindfolded.

They were on I-90, surrounded by fields that turned to forests in the distance. Shawn watched for a side road to turn down.

“What happens with the North Korean?” Rocky asked.

Shawn laughed. “I’ll think I’ll adopt him.”

He was keeping Nam in a separate basement room, because the coder didn’t need any lab equipment and Shawn didn’t want him to know about the others. Nam didn’t seem to mind his predicament and had offered to trade his skills for new identification and a real job somewhere. He wanted to defect and start over in the United States. Once the others were gone, Shawn would work something out with Lee Nam.

The road climbed slowly, and the fields disappeared entirely. An occasional orchard appeared between thickets of oak and pine, then the fruit trees phased out. Garrett had woken up in the back, so they’d had to stop talking. Rocky put on earphones to listen to music, and Shawn was glad for that. He needed some emotional distance to get this done. He’d already been through the guilt phase, then Rocky had given him permission, so Shawn felt calm and ready. He glanced over his shoulder at their passenger. He’d shifted positions again, but didn’t seem to be making any moves to free himself.

Shawn spotted a turnoff, then passed it, because it had sign markers indicating camping spots. Five miles later, another side road appeared. He slowed and made the exit.

“Piss stop?” Rocky asked.

“Yep.” After a short uphill drive, Shawn pulled off onto a dirt road and coasted a hundred yards into the woods. He turned off the engine and touched the gun under his jacket. He’d never fired it at a person before. He climbed out and looked over at Rocky. “You coming?”

“I’m good.”

Shawn walked up the road a few feet into the trees and relieved himself. It was even better to shoot Rocky in the car. He wanted his blood on the seat so Harlan would believe that he’d carried Rocky to the car after the kid had shot him during the kidnapping. He had his story all worked out. He would say he planned to drive Rocky to a hospital, but then he died very quickly. Then he’d wanted to bring him back to the property near the mine so they could have a service and bury him, but the risk had been too great. What if they got stopped? Or one of the miners spotted the grave? No, he’d had to dump him in the woods, and it broke his heart. Harlan would buy that. He would tell Jia something else entirely.

Shawn zipped his pants and walked back to the van. As he neared, he moved toward Rocky’s side, smiling as if he had something funny to share. When he was near parallel with the door, he slid the gun out and clicked off the safety, keeping his movements below Rocky’s line of sight through the truck window. With his free hand, Shawn gestured for him to step out of the truck. “Hey, you’ve got to see this.” Would Rocky see how hard his heart was pounding?

Shawn hesitated. He hadn’t known Rocky long and didn’t have a real emotional connection to him. But still, to shoot a man at close range. He had no choice. His financier thought it was necessary to protect them all. Rocky would understand that.

The pilot looked annoyed, but opened the door and started to climb out. “What is it?”

He hadn’t thought that through. “Some kind of animal bones. Maybe a mountain lion.” Shawn nodded toward the trees where he’d just been and took a step back, hoping to keep the blood off his clothes.

Rocky closed the truck door. “I’ve seen it all, but I decided to piss anyway.” He looked up at Shawn, noticing the gun.

Shawn swung it into position and fired two shots into Rocky’s chest. His mouth opened to speak, but only blood came out. Rocky staggered forward two steps, then collapsed.

Good god.
He’d just taken a man’s life. Before he could get overwhelmed, Shawn locked his emotions away, sending them deep into the vault. It was all for the best. Rocky didn’t want to end up in jail, and Shawn’s own plans were too important to sacrifice. He looked past the dead man at Garrett in the back of the van. The kid had rolled up against the side and was shaking. At least he would take him seriously now and make his mother do her job.

Shawn knew he should drag the body into the woods, but he couldn’t bring himself to do it. With one hand, he smeared some of Rocky’s blood on the passenger seat so Harlan would see it. After that, he would clean it up, then dump the vehicle somewhere. Before leaving, Shawn bent down and closed the man’s eyes, relieved it was over.