Kill The President's Women (Joe The Magic Man Series Book 2) (13 page)

“Maybe they thought because a week had passed, it wouldn’t be too fresh on the minds of the local cops. Let’s look at it from their angle. The terrorist cell knew they had two suicide bombers coming here weeks in advance. So they would have gotten organized in advance. We know they stole the car in Pennsylvania and they took a risk when they gave it to Kahn to drive here in Cisco. We also know they used Kahn to pay the deposit two days before the suspects arrived here...”

“We can forget about him coming back to pick up the deposit.” Campbell added grimly.

Burrows nodded. “We’ve got to assume that everything is going according to plan for them, other than their need to take out poor Kahn.”

Campbell stopped the car at Alice’s hotel to drop her off. Burrows said as she got out, “Alice, I think you’ll be better off here, I got a feeling we’ll be sent up to Pennsylvania and you’ll be sent home until something crops up.”

“That’s okay, I understand and thank you for letting me tag along. It’s been very interesting,” Alice said graciously.

She had truly enjoyed listening to them trying to work things out and she felt a little bad as she watched them drive away. She wished she could go with them to see the next line of action.

As soon as Campbell and Burrows walked in the control room, they were given an update. The BMW that the two suspects were transferred to had been stolen in the locality. Kahn and the two suspects either didn’t know about the cameras or they didn’t care; the footage showed everything in detail.

“Have you run this back to see how long that car had been waiting there?” Campbell asked the agent who showed them the footage.

“Yes sir. Twenty minutes. And nobody got out the car the whole time. We’re doing our best to try and take the blackness out of the windows, so far it looks like just the driver in there and we’re working on his face recognition.”

“Good, let me know as soon as you get anything.”

“Agent Campbell,” one of the other detectives shouted, “call on line one for you.”

“I’ll take it in the office.”

Campbell guessed it would be Frank Brubaker. He was right.

Campbell didn’t have to make a report because the control room back in the FBI and Homeland offices in Washington D.C had a video link to their San Francisco office, and Frank had seen Agent Campbell and Agent Burrows come in to the room.”

“Sir,” he said, taking the call.

“Agent Campbell, I think it’s safe to assume our two suspects are heading up here.”

“Any specific orders, sir?”

“Traffic cameras spotted that BMW at practically every intersection and flyover from Nevada through Nebraska until Kansas. Looks as if the car took that turning and then disappeared. More than likely, they changed cars again, got back on the freeway and are hiding out somewhere up here. I want you up in Kansas. The only lead we’ve got is that car; find it. I don’t care if you have to check every small town there. Use the local police and see if anybody up there has seen anything.”

“Right sir, I’ll do it straight away.”

“Now put Agent Burrows on, I want a word with her.”

“Yes sir.”

Burrows had been watching him through the glass partition. Campbell motioned with his hand for her to come in. He handed her the phone as she got in.

“Yes, Mr. Deputy Director.” Burrows said, trying to sound calm.

“Just ‘sir’ will do,” Brubaker said, smiling to himself. “I want you to tell Mrs. Timberlake to go home and to be on standby. I don’t know when we’ll need them next, but I’m sure we will, soon.”

“Yes sir.”

“I think our two suspects are up here already and whatever terrorist cell is hiding them is going to use them in D.C.”

“Have you got any leads on that, sir?”

“No, just a gut feeling. These boys are here to kill congresswomen in their father’s name, right? I think if they want to make a statement, what better location than Washington D.C? Plus, any terrorist cell involved with them is going to view their plan as a golden opportunity and they’ll place them where they’ll wreak the most havoc.”

“Right sir, I’ll arrange for Mrs. Timberlake to go home and I’ll tell her to study the cold case file I gave her while being on standby to come to D.C.”

“Hang on... That cold case, isn’t it up here?”

“It’s in West Virginia, sir.”

“Then you and her start on that. If we need your help, you’ll both be close by. It might be a few days before a concrete lead concerning the boys turns up so ain’t no need wasting away.”

“Right, sir.”

Campbell had been standing beside her, unabashedly eavesdropping and he had managed to hear every word of the conversation.

“Looks like you’ll be going up to West Virginia,” he said.

Burrows waited for him to finish and when it became clear that he simply wanted to confirm what he had heard, she simply said, “Yes.”

“While I’m being sent to Kansas to check out all the small towns.”

She could almost swear there was a note of jealousy in Campbell’s thick voice but she didn’t give him the satisfaction of acknowledging it.

She said, “Yes, I have to tell Alice the news: that she and Joe have got a night off. And we are back on the cold case file tomorrow.”

There was a brief holding of glances between her and Campbell. He had intended to spoil her mood but it hadn’t worked and as she turned and walked triumphantly away, he glowered at her in frustration.

Alice passed the message on to Joe that they wouldn’t be working that night. Joe didn’t mind; if the FBI didn’t want him to work his magic for a few nights, at least Beauty Queen Jean was desperate for him to work his magic in her dreams. He smiled at the prospect of helping her become a soldier-wife. It would be magical.

*

Jean and Steve had just climbed into bed and Jean was trying to read her book. Steve, as always, was going on and on about work.

“John and Alice won’t be going bowling with us this week,” he said, with a drawn-out yawn.

“Oh, why’s that?” Jean asked.

“Alice has gone up to Cisco to report on something; John said it was a hot tip.”

“Well that’s her job,” Jean pointed out.

“Yeah... but it won’t be the same bowling without them.”

“Steve, we only met them a few weeks ago.”

“Yeah babe, but John is my best friend already.”

She smiled warmly to him, Steve was enjoying his new job as a Correction Officer, or as she called him, a prison guard. “Go to sleep, dear. You've got to get up quite early in the morning.”

“Perhaps John will come and play without Alice?” he asked, as if Jean had some supernatural way of knowing.

“Go to sleep.” She had to urge him on or he’d talk all night.

“Yeah, goodnight love.” He sat up and kissed her.

“I’ll just read another chapter before I turn in.”

“Is that book any good?”

“Yes... Now go to sleep and let me read in peace.”

Jean couldn’t wait for him go to sleep so she could see if she could conjure up her dream lover for another night of exotic sexual adventures.

“What’s the book about?” his voice boomed from under the covers.

Jean wanted to hit him with the book; he could be so annoying at times. “Steve... You can read it after me; I even think you might like it but for now, shut up.”

Jean smiled as she remembered her character from her dreams: the naivety of the girl, and her gorgeous appearance which included very long, shiny, raven-black hair. It was something she had always wished she had and she was glad that in her dreams, at least, she had such features.

Steve gave a little snort and she knew he’d be fast asleep in no time. She put the book down, turned the lights out and lay on her back. She took a deep breath and whispered to herself,
Joe, are you there, my love?

Joe didn’t reply; he simply zoomed into Jean’s mind, causing her to fall asleep.

*

“Here we are Jean! It’s not too late to change our minds, you know?”

Jean was holding Steve-e-Joe’s hand and they both stood in front of a huge gate in front of a large field which had been converted into a campsite. There were many tents of different sizes scattered about with the odd camp fire blazing in front of a few of them.

“Wow, it looks like King Henry’s whole army is camped here,” Jean said in excitement.

“Don’t be daft! There can’t be more than a hundred men here,” came the reply.

“Oh well, I’ve never seen a hundred men in the same place before.”

They both giggled at her joke and Jean remarked, “There are more tents here than there are homes in our village.”

“You’re right... But look! That seems like the place to sign up.” Joe said, pointing to a tent that wasn’t too far away. An old man was seated lazily behind a table placed in front of the tent.

“Let’s go see,” Jean said and they walked down the makeshift road towards the man, who on seeing them, began to smile.

“And what have we got here?” the man asked. He only took a slight glance at Joe because his eyes were fixed on Jean as he took her in from her toes up to her bright, smiling eyes.

“Come to see your brother join up have you, love?”

“She’s not my sister, she’s my wife, sir,” Joe said, as respectfully as possible.

“I’m not your bloody sir, I’m Sergeant Brown!” the man said in irritation. Without taking his eyes off Jean, he asked, “So what are you two doing here?”

“We’ve come to join up, sergeant,” Joe said, addressing him by rank.

“We!” he nearly fell off his chair. “You’d take this lovely young girl to war?”

“That’s what we both want, Sergeant. We’ve been married for only three days and my wife wishes to come with me; she thinks it will be a big adventure.” Steve-e-Joe spoke in a nervous tone and added, “She thinks it’s something we should do before we settle down to have kids.”

He gave Jean’s hand a squeeze and she agreed, “Yes, it’ll be a big adventure for us.”

The story about the kids was news to Jean and she smiled into his embarrassed face. Old Sergeant seemed shocked at both of them and he asked, “Adventure, eh?”

He got up, walked around the table and stood in front of Joe, placing one hand on his shoulder. “Look lad, I don’t think you want to take a pretty young wife on an adventure with this lot.” He pointed his thumb over his shoulder towards the tents and soldiers. “There are some hard men here and you don’t look like much of a fighter... when these hard men see a pretty girl they just go after her, if you know what I mean.”

“We know that, sergeant,” Jean said smiling nervously, “but I still want to go with my husband, I want to see other villages and towns. York too! For York isn’t a town but a city.”

“Oh, you’ll see all that,” he said, and to himself, he added,
You’ll even see a lot more.

Stepping back, Old Sergeant said to them, “We’ll be camped here for another two weeks signing in new recruits. Men are coming from all over Devon and Cornwall to join Lord Bedford, there will be ten times as many men here eventually.”

“Oh my God, that many men? That’s a very big army.”

Jean could see the sergeant looking directly at her chest.

“Oh yeah, that’s just part of it,” he said. “We’ll be marching up soon to Redditch Town to meet up with another camp just like this.”

“Where is Redditch Town?” Jean asked.

“Haven’t got a bloody clue,” Old Sergeant said, not to her but directly to her cleavage. “But I know King Henry has hired a hundred Welsh archers, and we are to meet up with them there.”

“I hear the Welsh are the best archers in the world,” Steve-e- Joe said with a smile. He would be mighty glad to meet him some Welsh archers.

“Aye, you’re right there lad. You’ve only got to ask the French.”

“Our minds are made up sergeant,” Jean said, straightening her back and sticking her chest out. “We are coming with you.”

“Well then, you crazy lovebirds, so be it!” He took Jean and Joe by the elbows and gently walked them away from his tent and table, back up the road to the gate. “Just in case I didn’t make myself very clear the first time, I got to tell you in plain language. There are going to be men that will want to bed your wife, and if you are the jealous type then you are going to have a hammering every time you try to stop them.”

“I’m not a jealous husband and I’m sure Jean can look after herself,” Steve-e-Joe said.

A big, incredulous smile crossed Sergeant Brown’s wrinkled face. “You’re not the jealous type now, are you? That’s mighty hard to believe but I’ll ask you both one more time. Are you very sure about this?”

Jean answered him. “It’s our dream to travel and this is the only way we’ll be able to do it.”

“Well let me think now...” He turned and shouted back to an unseen man inside his tent. “Sergeant Morris, look after the signings for me.”

Joe and Jean turned to see a man who must have been catching some sleep in the tent poke his head out and reply Old Sergeant gruffly.

Old Sergeant continued to lead them, and when they had walked a few more paces and exited the camp through the gate, he turned specifically to Joe. “Now listen, young man, what you’ll need throughout this war is a protector to fend off the unwanted attention your wife is going to get.” Sergeant Brown said it as cheerfully and as naturally as he could manage.

“A protector?” Joe asked, a little baffled. “Like a club, you mean?”

“I don’t think a club would do your wife much good. I mean a man. A great, fighting man. I really wish Buster was around at this time; he’d be a good protector for your wife.”

“Buster? Who is Buster and how can he help me?” Jean asked excitedly.

“Well let me tell you a story about Buster, and why he was a bloody good protector... Buster was a big, tall man who could fight any two men at the same time; he was in this regiment when I was a young man. The story goes that one day, Buster unexplainably had a nasty fall and broke his ankle. As he was hobbling about, Lord Bedford commented that his ankle would take a long time to heal and so he sent him home to heal until he could carry out his duties properly. Lord Bedford even trusted Buster enough to lend him one of his horses.”