Hybrid - Forced Vengeance (30 page)

Eunice slid a manila folder full of papers toward him and Erik quickly leafed through the transcripts of the three reports. He glanced up at her. “Why wasn’t there a follow up on these calls?”

“The duty officer at the time was told by a fed to delete those calls from the official records and not to investigate them.” Eunice said in a dark tone.

“What the hell! What was a fed doing at a town precinct?”

“I don’t know.” She crossed her arms, a suspicious look on her face.

“We had an agreement, Eunice,” Erik whispered clenching his fist – referring to his arrangement with the government.

She averted her gaze, and told him what she’d discovered. “I called one of the phone numbers and spoke to a woman. She was reluctant to talk to me at first but after some coaxing she agreed to talk. I can only presume the feds either paid her a visit or gave her a phone call.

“This woman provided a description of the person abducted in the parking lot of the Primary Care Building. Young female between twenty and thirty, long black hair with blue or purple highlights and wearing a leopard jacket.”

“Shanda.” Erik slumped back against the booth.

“This person claimed there were three men manhandling a young woman, forcing her into a long sleek black car, then one of them drove away in a small blue pickup truck.”

“My wife’s S-10 truck.”

Eunice also handed over several pages of handwritten notes. “These are my field notes that I took during the conversation. I don’t know if you’ll want to talk to her yourself or if you have what you need here in my transcripts.”

“Naw,” he answered. “This is perfect.”

Erik reached over and took her hand in his. “I can’t thank you enough; this would have taken me days, if not weeks to dig up on my own. Tell your source I owe him one.”

“We’re friends, Erik. You’ve been there for me more times than I can count. I hope you find Shanda and bring her home safely.”

“I will.”

“Good luck, and keep me informed. If you need anything, give me a call.” Eunice gathered her purse and headed out. Erik watched her leave, grateful that he had befriended the reporter. When this mess was over, he would show his appreciation, somehow.

The detective took a few moments to consider what he’d just read and what Eunice had told him. Based on evidence and transcripts, his wife had made her doctor’s appointment and was later abducted in plain sight.

This was definitely the work of federal agents. Only they would be so bold as to take a person in broad daylight, in front of witnesses and in such a public place. It had to be all prearranged. The presence of an agent at the police station to squelch any incoming calls was the most damning piece of evidence. Feds were behind Shanda’s kidnapping.

Why Shanda though?
She had no real Esper powers. Her telepathy was strong, but that wouldn’t account for any particular interest. Something happened at the doctor’s office and that was the missing puzzle piece.

Erik likened a mystery to an algebraic expression. A good detective had to find all the variables to solve for ‘X.’ Once all the variables were accounted for, it was only a matter of mechanics to solve the equation. The missing element of Eric’s unique equation lay with Dr. Mills. Why did Shanda go to the doctor? What would warrant her abduction? He strained to reach a conclusion but shook his head in failure. He had to look for more; once he held all of the facts, he knew the equation would solve itself.

He placed a call to Martin Denton.

“Counselor,” he began in an icy tone. “Our mutual agreement has been broken. I’ll be faxing you my proof of that shortly.”

Denton demanded an explanation.

“It’s about my wife. She didn’t die in that car accident. It was an orchestrated kidnapping – covered up. I’ll have more details later this afternoon.”

Denton swore up and down he had no knowledge and insisted on a face-to-face meeting where he could examine the original evidence.

“This evening will be fine, counselor. My office.”

Erik had one more stop to make before he returned to visit Dr. Mills. He took the evidence and Eunice’s transcript back to his office and secured them in his wall safe. He had a bad feeling in the back of his head. His dark assumption was probably true, but he refused to admit it until he had proof. Mills held that elusive proof, but he wanted the answer before he confronted the doctor. This meant a visit to a source that owed him a favor.

* * * *

Microbytes PC was owned by an ex federal officer who specialized in computer tampering. This particular store was a ‘front.’ Erik knew that the ex fed was in the business of selling information. A lot of what occurred at Microbytes involved delving into the grey areas of cyber law. Legislation had not kept pace with technology. There were several loopholes and gaps that an experienced computer specialist used to their advantage.

Charlie Gallagher had the smarts and the technology to capitalize on this market.

Erik walked into the store, and seeing no one manning the counter, he called over the counter. “Charlie, are you hiding back there?”

Erik heard heavy footsteps approaching from a back hallway.

“That sounds like ‘Secret Agent Man’ paying me another visit.” Charlie Gallagher’s voice preceded his presence at the front counter. “I was right. Erik Knight, what brings you here to my neck of the woods?” he asked, seating himself on a plush swivel chair.

“I need access to some files in a network that I don’t have authority to enter. I was hoping to avail myself of your unusual skills for this shady job.”

Gallagher gave him a cautious look. Erik then said, “You owe me one.” Gallagher sighed, nodded and asked, “What exactly are we looking for and whose privacy are we violating?”

“Franklin Primary Care. I need information pertaining to my wife’s last visit. Her doctor was less than forthcoming. I have it on good authority that he’s lying through his teeth.”

Gallagher sneered. “Really?” He then cracked his knuckles. “This is, of course, extremely confidential.”

“What is?” Erik replied deadpan.

“Exactly,” Gallagher said as he pressed a concealed switch that allowed the detective access to the back room.

Erik followed Gallagher down a windowless hallway which led to a colorful door with a formidable computerized lock. Gallagher tapped several keystrokes, and the door unlocked with a loud click. He then pulled open the door to a poorly lit stairway that led to another short hallway. They walked briefly, and were met by another locked door with a similar computerized mechanism. Gallagher unlocked the door and motioned for Erik to step in.

Erik was stunned by several banks of computers, all operating simultaneously, with dozens of monitors displaying data at a dizzying rate.

“Welcome to the information superhighway,” Gallagher announced proudly as he sat behind a 24 inch color display screen.

Erik seized a nearby chair and Gallagher explained, “This system mirrors one that I designed for the CIA three years ago, only this one is far more advanced. With this terminal and mainframe I can access any databank in the country – probably in the entire world. This system can negotiate with any host system and can break password subroutines in milliseconds.” He punched in several commands.

Erik peered at the hardware surrounding them. He estimated its dollar value was in the millions. “Uhm, Charlie, how the hell did you get all this stuff?”

“No questions, Agent Knight; remember our agreement.”

“No questions.” Erik clamped his mouth shut pondering whether he should do something about this setup. Gallagher clearly had access to data he shouldn’t have, but right now all Erik cared about was Shanda. If Gallagher could help him obtain the last piece of this puzzle, it was worth turning a blind eye on the entrepreneur – for now.

“Okay, we’re in.” Gallagher reported. “Let’s see … Can you give me your wife’s SSN?”

“014-57-4683.”

Now in hacker mode, Gallagher began typing several commands and clicking his way through multiple layers of desktop windows while he watched in silence. Nearly ten minutes went by as the operator’s fingers danced over his keyboard.

“What’s taking so long?” he asked Gallagher.

“Part of her file has been erased; I’m recovering those bits of data and piecing it back together. The algorithm is old, but effective,” Gallagher reported, never taking his eyes off the computer screen.

After another two minutes Gallagher spun around in his chair. “It’s all back now, Agent Knight. I’ll give you a few moments of privacy while you read the file.” Gallagher stood up and walked away, busying himself with another bank of computers.

Erik studied the medical report, dated the day of her abduction. He felt hot tears rolling down his cheek. Shanda, his beloved wife, was pregnant. He read the previous entry in her file. She had gone in a week before for a pregnancy test, and had then gone back to her doctor for a prescription for prenatal vitamins.

Erik pressed the ‘scroll down’ key twice to her last visit – on the day of her abduction. She had undergone a quick internal exam and had been given information on a special diet to follow. She had seen the doctor a total of three times, but all the records referring to the pregnancy had been intentionally deleted from her file.

Erik stared at the screen until a noise behind him garnered his attention.

“Charlie, can I get hardcopy of this?” he choked out, struggling to hold himself together. What he had suspected and feared had just been proven.

“Sure thing,” Gallagher answered. “I’m so sorry Erik. I don’t know what to say.”

“That’s okay, Charlie; you gave me the final variable I needed to figure this out.”

Gallagher printed out the entire medical record, including doctor’s comments and notes, case history and medical date stamps that proved the veracity of the file. He gathered all the hardcopies and dropped them in a file before handing it to Erik.

“Here is everything that would be of interest to you. Paperwork is date stamped from Franklin Primary’s own server ID number. There can be no doubt that the records did exist and this provides proof that they were deleted intentionally.”

“Thanks, Charlie. It’s my turn to owe you one.”

* * * *

Erik sat behind the wheel of his car and wept for his wife and child. Shanda was kidnapped because she was carrying his child – a hybrid child. The evidence of a cover-up was overwhelming, right down to the federal agent who squelched the police reports. His sorrow turned to anger. He fired up his car, raced the engine, squealed the front tires, and sped off toward Franklin Primary Care – and Dr. Mills.

His black Monte Carlo SS screeched to a halt directly in front of the Franklin Primary Care building. A police officer was about to order him to move his car but was stopped short when the enraged agent flashed his government shield. Erik put his fist through the heavy wooden door and stormed into the waiting room. The remnants of the splintered door and fell around him. He flashed his badge at the same receptionist who had been difficult earlier in the morning.

“Page Dr. Mills.”

As the receptionist nervously followed his instruction, Erik paced like a caged tiger.

Dr. Mills entered the waiting room, taken aback by the sight of him.

“I told you I’d be back,” Erik said, closing in on the doctor.

Before the doctor could say anything, Erik landed a massive right cross that catapulted the physician ten feet in the air. Mills landed on top of a table full of magazines, crashing it into pieces then he slid to the floor. Patients muttered in panic as he advanced on his target.

“You lied to me, Mills. My wife saw you three times last month. You gave her a pregnancy test, didn’t you? You son of a bitch!” He lifted the doctor like a rag doll with one arm and brought him nose to nose with him, then tossed the helpless physician.

The doctor screamed as he landed in a heap on the waiting room floor.

Two security officers appeared, and attempted to apprehend Erik but he drew his pistols with lightening speed. “You take one more step, and I’ll drop you both where you stand!” He locked his Wilsons on the hearts of each officer. “Back off before you both get hurt.”

The officers put their hands up in defeat and slowly retreated while Agent Knight turned his attention back to the doctor.

“They made me lie. Please, stop,” Dr. Mills begged.

“Who made you lie?”Erik demanded.

“If I say anything, I’m a dead man.”

Erik grabbed a handful of the doctor’s lab coat with his left hand and held him off the ground. His eyes were burning with fury. “You’ve got a problem then, because I’ll kill you right now if you don’t.” He threw the hapless physician into a nearby couch – the force of the impact knocked the couch over. The sound of breaking bone was audible.

“My arm, you’ve broken my arm,” the doctor cried out in agony while he supported the site of the break.

“Good thing you’re a doctor then,” Erik spat bitterly as he pulled the man up by the collar. “Spill it Mills. I’m losing my patience with you. I’ll break every bone in your body if I have to, doctor.”

“All right, all right,” he shrieked.

“Fine.” Erik placed the doctor on the floor. “Talk.”

Mills cradled his broken arm as he began his story. “About a year and a half ago, two men came into my office and flashed badges similar to yours. They didn’t give me their names, and I wasn’t about to ask. They knew I was your wife’s physician and they wanted to be informed if she ever got pregnant – as well as when her medical appointments were, following the diagnosis. When her pregnancy test came back positive I called them, and I informed them each time she had a follow-up appointment.”

“Give me the phone number,” Erik said flatly.

Mills went to the receptionist’s desk and trembled as he wrote the number on a scrap piece of paper with his good hand. Erik took the paper and shoved it in his pocket. He still wanted to tear the doctor apart limb from limb, but causing the doctor further injury wouldn’t undo the damage already done.

He had his answers; now he had to put the puzzle together. The records he obtained from Charlie Gallagher, Mills’s confession, along with the police transcripts made a damning case against the government. But the bureaucracy was monolithic.