Dragonflies: Shadow of Drones (8 page)

“What just happened?”

There was no response.

“Murnell?”

“Nothing good,” he finally said.

14

Tye awoke with a start at dawn. He’d fallen asleep on the couch again, but the one in his own apartment this time. Stretching his legs and rubbing the sleep from his eyes, he sat up and looked around at the Spartan furnishings.

He had no plans for staying here, so why add anything? Out of habit, he dropped to the floor for his morning AFPT calisthenics. As his thoughts came together about the day and the mission at hand, something wasn’t sitting right with him.

He was nervous about continuing to work with Raina–no use denying it. The idea made him uncomfortable and he tried to push it away–maybe because he felt such an attraction to her–but she was definitely keeping something from him. Something had gone on yesterday morning when she disappeared, and she had lied to him about it.

Taking down Kurn may not have been quite the same as going to war, but in many ways it wasn’t all that different, and one thing Tye knew for certain: you don’t go into battle with soldiers you don’t have faith in to watch your back. Raina had breached his trust and they needed to have a frank discussion about it.

He finished up his exercises and went in to use the bathroom and shower. His watch read six a.m. and Raina’s apartment was just across the complex. Was it too early to call? He unplugged his mobile phone from the wall where at least he’d remember to charge it the night before, scrolled to her number and punched the button.

She answered before the second ring.

“Hey.”

“Good morning, Sergeant,” she said with a hint of mocking familiarity. “How’d you sleep?”

“We need to talk.”

“I know. Big day ahead.”

“No. I mean we need to talk about what we’re doing before this whole thing goes any further.”

“Oh.” She seemed surprised. “All right. Is something wrong?”

“Yes. And I need to talk to you about it in person.”

“Okay.” She hesitated. “You eaten yet?”

“Nope.”

“Why don’t you come on over? The coffee’s on and I’ll throw together some scrambled eggs and toast.”

“Thanks. I’ll jump in the shower and throw on some clothes.”

As the hot water revived him he thought about everything that could go wrong tonight at the fraternity.

Derek Kurn might already be wise to their plan. Maybe the kid was smarter than his old man gave him credit for. Tye figured he could pass himself off well enough as just another student–after all, that’s what he still was–but when the time came to confront the younger Kurn with his crime he’d be relying on Raina’s mobile spy video to give him an edge. Take it away and the risk of something going south would be greatly amplified.

He knew he could handle himself in a fight, but Tye had no training as a detective or law enforcement officer. The bottom line was if he and Raina were going to pull this off they needed one another.

Meeting him at the door minutes later, Raina looked concerned.

“Are you okay?”

“Not really”

“Come on in. Eggs are ready.”

He followed her inside and they sat once again at her kitchen table, this time eating and drinking coffee in silence.

“All right,” she said after a couple of minutes. “I think I know what’s eating at you. This is about yesterday morning, isn’t it?”

He considered his words carefully before speaking. He took a deep breath and looked her in the eyes. “You’re lying to me.”

She looked back at him for several moments before nodding. “You’re right, and I’m sorry.”

“What’s going on?” He cupped his hands against his chin and leaned his elbows against the table.

“Listen.” Raina looked around. “Come into the bathroom.”

“What?”

She made a circular motion with her fingers, indicating he should say no more, and pushed away from the table. This was growing stranger by the moment.

Once they were both inside the small bathroom, Raina stuffed a towel into the crack in the door. He also noticed there was water in both the sink and the bathtub with the drain plugs closed.

Raina sat down on the edge of the tub. “I swept this room before you got here. We should be able to talk without being heard.”

“Are you saying we’ve been bugged?”

“I don’t know, but I’m not taking any chance. Some important people are on to at least some of what we’re doing against Kurn with Major Williamson.”

This was not good news, not good at all.

“What kind of important people?”

“Homeland Security.”

“What? Are you sure?”

She nodded. “I’ve been talking with them.”

“Homeland? You’ve been talking to Homeland? And you didn’t think you needed to share any of this with me?”

“I know. I’m sorry. But trust me, it didn’t start out by choice.”

Tye thought back to the torn label he’d found yesterday between her couch cushions.

“They drugged you,” he said.

She looked at the floor and nodded again.

“You sure these people are from Homeland?”

Her eyes turned to meet his gaze. “That’s what they said, and from what I’ve seen so far, they’ve got all the resources and tools to back it up.”

Tye took a deep breath. If their activities were running afoul of Homeland then they really were pushing out on a limb. Did Williamson know? Was he a part of it?

“How much do they know about Kurn?”

“I can’t say for certain. But they must have a fair amount of information about something. Why else would they come after me and know exactly where to find me? They’ve also been making vague references to what we’ve been doing. Nothing too specific, but enough to make me worry.”

“Yet they let you go.”

“Yes.”

Something still wasn’t making sense.

“And they came after you and not after me,” he said.

She pursed her lips and let out a deep breath, locking eyes with him before she spoke. “They’re trying to recruit me.”

“Recruit you? For what?”

“Another job.”

“What kind of job?”

Raina tented her fingers on top of her lap. “It kind of defies description. I really can’t tell you any more than that. There’s no need for you to get dragged into this any more than you have to.”

“Are you kidding? I’m already dragged into it whatever you’re talking about. We both are. We’re trying to take down one of the biggest media honchos in the country and we’re sitting here in a tiny bathroom with towels stuffed under the door. How do you know Kurn didn’t get wind of our plan and sic these people on you?”

“I don’t. But if he did, then he’s got a lot more pull than we even imagined.”

Tye leaned back against the edge of the sink, shaking his head. “I can’t believe this.”

He wasn’t surprised Homeland, if they knew anything at all about what he and Raina had been up to, might have a keen interest in what they were doing. It explained a lot. Raina was probably telling him the truth–most of it, at least.

“We need to talk to Williamson,” he said.

“Okay. But wait...”

“What?”

“Are you so sure we can trust him?”

He looked at her for a moment. “I’m not so sure I can trust anybody. What about you?”

“Listen, Tye. You can trust me. I didn’t have to tell you everything I just told you about what’s going on between Homeland and me. I’m playing it straight with you.”

“And also withholding information.”

“I didn’t have to tell you that either. But I did.”

He nodded. They were still in the fight together. At least for now.

“We still have to talk to Williamson. He’s the one who set us up with all of this equipment and your little miniaturized Air Force.”

“You think the phones he gave us are still secure?”

“I noticed they didn’t take yours yesterday when you disappeared. But still...we’ll use mine.”

He pulled the device from his pocket and dialed the number.

Williamson answered right away. Tye put him on the phone’s speaker, explained where they were and that he and Raina had been having a discussion.

“What do you need?” the major asked.

“We’ve got a problem,” Tye told him, looking at Raina.

“Okay. What’s going on?”

“Question, Major. Are you playing us?”

“Say again?”

“Are you playing us?”

“Playing you? What? No. Why would I do that?”

Raina gave Williamson the same basic rundown of her encounter with Homeland Security she’d given Tye. Williamson grew increasingly quiet the more she told him. The major waited until she was finished speaking before saying anything else. It was difficult to read his reaction over the phone.

“Is that it?” the man said finally.

“Yes,” Raina said. “That’s what happened.”

“You said the individual with whom you spoke seemed to be aware of your activities with Mr. Palmer and the mini UAVs.”

“Yes.”

“Did he offer any details?”

“No.”

“Did
you
offer him any details?”

“No. I wouldn’t.”

“Good. And you don’t know where you stand now with him?”

“No. Like I said, something happened.”

“But you said they were trying to recruit you for something.”

“Yes. I don’t know. Maybe I didn’t make the cut. What is he after?”

“He was fishing. I think I’m acquainted with the individual you’re referring to.”

“What do you mean?” Raina asked. “You know him?”

“We’ve never met, but I know who he is.”

Tye interrupted. “What’s this all about, Williamson? Are you and whoever else we’re supposed to be working with on the up-and-up or not?”

Williamson was silent for a moment. “That depends on what you mean by on the up-and-up,” he said finally.

“Great. That’s comforting.”

“I’m sorry I can’t give you more right now, but look, when I first came to you with the tip about Kurn and everything that happened...You know about our mission and you know about the risks”

“Yeah. But if Homeland is snooping around then we might all be compromised.”

“Don’t be so sure.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Raina asked.

“Just that the federal government and our national security apparatus are complex. I don’t need to tell either of you that. And groups with competing interests can sometimes collide with one another. Sometimes worse.”

“Worse? How worse?”

“All I can tell you for certain is that a lot’s going right now, and there are forces at play with differing agendas.”

“Will the mission with Kurn have an impact on that?”

Williamson seemed to hesitate. “Quite possibly.”

“I checked out the guy who’s been talking to me. He definitely works for Homeland.”

“I’ve no doubt he does. At least nominally. But you and I both know how things look on a piece of paper or in official department records usually varies quite a bit from the reality on the ground.”

“Are you saying we may be caught up in some kind of turf war and that’s why they’re trying to recruit me?”

“I’ve got a feeling this is about something much bigger than just that,” the major said.

“Like what?”

“I don’t know. But I’m going to find out.”

15

Frum University was a top-ranked, private liberal arts school with Division I athletics and hundreds of millions of dollars in federal research grants, among many other things. It didn’t hurt that the campus was situated within a stone’s throw of the nation’s capital beltway.

The sun angled lower in the sky as Tye walked across the University Commons in the waning afternoon light. He stopped for a moment to watch a gaggle of Smurfs, Angry Birds, and princesses–kids in their costumes–working some of the dorms for early trick or treating.

Tye wasn’t that familiar with the school. He probably never could have gained admission, let alone have afforded the tuition. He wondered if undergraduates giving out candy had become a Halloween tradition. Regardless, the college’s administration must have supported it. Such gestures must have made for good “town-and-gown” relations–the students, from mostly wealthy backgrounds and from out-of-state, connecting with the locals in a way that made up for noisy wee hours partying that no doubt created problems with their neighbors.

The weather was especially nice for trick-or-treaters this year, too, with the temperature hovering near the sixty-five degree mark, warm for the end of October. Judging by the number of kids in evidence, parents must have liked bringing their kids on campus for the annual candy orgy too, maybe because they could get the bulk of their night’s work done all in one place and before dark.

“Did you bring your bag for treats?” Raina teased him through his hidden earphone.

“Wish I did,” he said.

He wondered what the parents with their trick-or-treaters would think if they knew a nearly invisible watch bird was keeping an eye on their every move overhead. Raina was camped out a block from campus with her computers and joysticks in a different van they’d rented thanks to Williamson’s seemingly unlimited budget. They were still waiting to hear back from Williamson about Raina’s encounters with Homeland. According to Raina, there’d been no more contacts from her incongruously benevolent Homeland captors either, so they were still all systems go with their plan.

It had taken the better part of the day to set things up. Raina never complained, even when helping as best she could with the grunt work of moving the computers. What made her so beautiful, Tye realized, wasn’t just her figure or face, attractive as they were despite the scars. It was something else–deep, dark, and dangerous, burning within her soul. Tye wished he could identify its source. He was afraid he might never get near it, let alone understand it. She’d pitched right in and pulled her weight when it came to setting up the van and all of her equipment.

Tye was on his way to try to meet Derek Kurn face-to face before the party. Since the younger Kurn was the current president of his fraternity chapter, Tye wanted Derek to feel comfortable with him so no suspicions would be raised later. The idea of setting someone up for a takedown made Tye uncomfortable, but he realized he better get used to it if he were going to be effective at this line of work.

“Should I wear a costume for the party later?” he asked Raina through his hidden mike.

“Probably. Something minimal. Although you look scary enough as it is.”

He smiled before pushing off again. He had seen a poster on the student union bulletin board about the Halloween party at Zeta Phi. It was bound to be a big blowout since the date this year fell on a Thursday, which most of the students treated as the start of a long weekend. One of the things that amazed him in going back to college was how few students actually attended class on a regular basis anymore, especially in the big lecture courses. Unless you were an engineering geek or pre-med, a lot of students considered their Friday classes mostly optional. They’d pick up whatever information they needed or catch the lecture online.

He moved beyond the Commons dormitories and along a sidewalk between a pair of newer academic buildings. The sun was less intense here and a chill swept through him. He was glad he’d worn a hooded sweatshirt and jeans, which didn’t include the hockey jersey and goalie’s glove he was hoping to pass off as a costume later for the party. It would turn quickly colder as darkness approached. At the end of the long, tree-lined walkway, he started down a stairwell that led to a broad avenue that cut through the center of the small college town. He passed a harried mother leading two young children up the stairs in the direction of the candy gorging fray on the Commons, one dressed as a bumblebee, the other, slightly older, as a ninja.

The ninja reminded him of a woman wearing a
burka
he’d encountered on a street during his first Iraqi deployment. Most Iraqi women wore
abayas
instead of
burkas
.
Abayas
at least allowed for the entirety of the face to be seen. But the woman Tye had encountered that afternoon was dressed in full
burka
, and he couldn’t help but feel alarmed at the sight of her. Suicide bombers wearing
burkas
to disguise their deadly cargo had only recently attacked a mosque in the region, and Tye was momentarily separated from his patrol and feeling vulnerable.

He had reflexively disengaged the safety on his M4 Carbine. He tried to read the woman’s eyes as they neared one another, but she quickly averted her gaze. Out of fear? Out of anger or hatred?

He could never say for sure.

In any event, he’d moved safely past the woman that day without incident. He never would’ve thought something as innocuous as a child’s play mask could dredge up such a memory years later and thousands of miles away, but there it was.

At the bottom of the stairs, he almost bumped into a couple of coeds starting to head up the steps with their backpacks. One blonde, one brunette. They had to be at least six or seven years his junior, with lithe bodies, made-up eyes, and dressed to attract. They smiled at him in turn, before moving on up the stairs.

“Let’s stay focused here, Palmer,” Raina chided him.

“I’m focused. I’m focused,” he whispered.

The Zeta Phi house was perched on a corner lot at the end of an otherwise quiet street dotted with only a couple of other fraternities and sororities. The site was a couple of blocks from the center of campus, close enough to be part of the school but also standing independent, an entity unto itself.

Preparations for the party seemed to be in full swing. Three or four guys kicked and tossed a football to one another on the lawn, testing out a makeshift set of goalposts consisting of a clothesline draped between a couple of trees, while a couple of others were attempting to “slack-line” or walk across the same flimsy rope in the latest college fad.

Another group was busy setting up a ping-pong table, sawhorses with long tables holding steel kegs of beer, and huge stereo speakers draped with ghoulish decorations on the patio. From his online photo and what he’d seen in the video, Tye recognized Derek Kurn among the students next to the house. He approached the group.

“Excuse me. Is this Zeta Phi?”

“Yeah.” One of Kurn’s companions answered.

“Heard you’re having a big Halloween party tonight.”

“Yeah. Starts at ten.”

“I’m a transfer student. Was hoping I could crash the party and maybe check out the fraternity.”

“You a Zeta Phi?”

“Not yet.”

They stared at him for a moment.

Derek Kurn,
el Presidente
himself, stepped forward. He was shorter than Tye but in better physical shape. Biceps bulged from the sleeves of his Polo shirt. “You look a little old for college.” Derek said. In person, he not only looked but sounded like a younger version of his father.

Tye paused for a moment. “I was in the Army, Iraq and Afghanistan,” he said.

Derek nodded. His jaw jutted out to show he was impressed, as did those of several of the others who had stopped whatever they were doing to look. “Cool, man. C’mon ahead then later. We’ll show you around.”

“Sounds good. Thank you.”

“Sweet. See you later then.”

The group went back to their preparations as Tye moved back down the walkway. Mission accomplished; he was no longer a stranger to them.

“That was easy,” Raina said.

Maybe too easy. Derek Kurn might check into his story about being a transfer student, but he was banking on the hope it wouldn’t happen right away. All the really desirable pledges, the new varsity jocks and guys who handled themselves with the right amount of moxie and lack of posing, were no doubt already on Derek’s and his fraternity brothers’ radar screens. What was one more potential pledge coming to a party? Plus, Derek seemed like he had a lot of other things on his mind at the moment. Whether that included another foray into date rape at tonight’s party remained to be seen.