Missing (24 page)

“
Of course not. You should know better than that. But, this is a major operation, for both of us. The contract we signed is for both of our protection. Mine so I know I can trust you, and you to show faith in me. We have never worked together before, but, if this turns out the way I hope, you have my word that you will be protected.”

There was a long pause. “Alright. I have put them on your computer. Look here. There are three links on the main screen. One is for the six screens. This next one is the file with the codes. The last one is for a system I set up. When you are ready to leave, just key in the code in the box and it will erase any indication that anything came from this location. Any computer that has logged onto the internet will show this location. Yours too. When you put in the code, it will erase both of us. It will not show any connection came from this house. Do I have your word that you will do this?”

A short pause. “Of course. You are right; we do not want anyone to know we were here. What is the code?”

“
I have it written on this piece of paper.”

“
Okay. What about the other information I requested to be put on?”

“
You mean the one that will show who did this?”

“
Yes.”

“
It’s in all of them. You gave me his e-mail address, so as far as anyone knows, he set this all up from his office.”

Maggie sucked her breath in. Who was she dealing with here? She knew James Fitzpatrick’s boss was looking for him. He had disappeared after a tumultuous meeting with his boss. What had gone on in the meeting? Did it have anything to do with the trip Fitzpatrick took to Texas? She remembered hearing FEMA’s administrator saying everything he had been doing after the hurricane hit. But, because Fitzpatrick stressed all that the team had been doing, did this mean he was planning to retaliate against his boss? The report she had seen must have ticked off Fitzpatrick’s boss. But, what happened during the meeting to cause him to do something like this?

Maggie wanted to get in there and stop everyone, but now wasn’t the time. There were too many people inside the room. And, she wasn’t sure how many guns were in there either. She knew about one, but what she didn’t know was how many more there were. No, she will have to wait and see what happens next. One thing was for sure, she needed to get that computer. And Fitzpatrick.

She hoped the FBI would get here soon. They need to know about the two o’clock deadline. She remembered the power outage they were talking about. It was in Ohio, maybe a year or so ago. If this was the same guy, then what he was doing here was worse. Power grids, nuclear plants and a hydro plant? A lot of people are going to be in jeopardy. And Fitzpatrick was behind it. How can she get out of here and call Palmer again?

Just then, the door of the room opened completely. Maggie ducked down as low as she could go. She peeked through the edge of the loveseat. A man and a woman came to the door. The man was tall, in his early thirties and had long light brown hair, pulled back in a low ponytail. He looked like a computer geek. The woman was a head shorter and blonde. What was it with people putting earrings in their eyebrows? They stopped just outside the door. Two other people came out, going around the couple. One was the same young man she had seen in the kitchen. The woman was lean and looked like she worked out. Her hair was dark blonde and pulled back in a ponytail. And she had a gun belt on. Maggie couldn’t see the gun, but the demeanor of the woman made her look like a cop. She wondered what the roles of the last two were. Although she was sure the geeky looking man was the one doing the hacking, maybe the last couple was just keeping him company. Or, watching his back.

“
There is just one more thing to take care of, Mr. Fitzpatrick,” the younger man said.

“
Yes, I know.”

Fitzpatrick walked out of the room. He bent over the loveseat and opened his briefcase. A moment later, he closed it. Maggie had a view of the geeky looking man and saw him take an envelope.

“
The amount we agreed on?”

“
Of course. So, what are you going to do now?”

“
Did you get us a car?”

“
Yes. There is a black Lincoln outside for you. The keys are inside the car.”

“
Okay, good. We are going to take off. We will be heading back to Buffalo. We will dump the car at the airport there and then take the bus back into Canada and head west. We’ll stay lost there for a while, and then go back overseas.”

“
Where this time?”

“
I think we will go into France or Italy.”

“
Okay.” There was a pause. “I do have just one question. I heard there were two bodies found on the plane. Why did you kill those two men?”

“
They got in the way. Every time we moved, they found us.”

“
Were they CIA?”

“
I think so. They found us the night before the flight. We didn’t want to have to hide somewhere else again before the flight, so we had to get rid of them.”

“
How did you get them on the plane?”

The younger man laughed. “That was the easy part. We know one of the baggage handlers. We stuffed them into two larger boxes and had him put them on the plane, along with a few boxes. After the plane landed, we took them out of the boxes, and then hid them under the empty boxes. We figured they would find them sooner or later.”

“
Well, I’m glad that worked out. But, you know that once they are identified, they are going to look harder into who the passengers were.”

“
Yeah, but by the time they figure it all out, we will be long gone. Besides, they will have more important things to worry about.”

The man laughed. “That’s for sure. Okay. I appreciate what you have done. I knew you were the best and I’m glad I found you.”

“
So are we. But, we do need to get going. I figure we have an eight-hour window to play it safe. We should be well on our way into Canada by then.”

The two men shook hands. Then the man and woman picked up their luggage and walked away. A few moments later, the back door opened, and Maggie heard them laughing just before the door closed. What was that about? Two minutes later, a car started and then pulled out, driving around the house. Okay, she thought, now there are only two men in the house. If she was going to get out, now is the time.

Just then, Fitzpatrick walked back into the room. Maggie wiggled herself backwards out from behind the loveseat. She saw the briefcase lying on the seat. Quietly blowing out her breath, she was glad he hadn’t seen her. She stood up, made sure the two men in the room couldn’t see her, and then started towards the kitchen. Suddenly, she stopped and looked back towards the room. Four people left. Everything seemed to be set up and ready to go. Would Fitzpatrick and the other man leave too? She couldn’t let that happen. With the license plate number of the Lincoln, the FBI would be able to find the car. But, what about Fitzpatrick? He would head for Washington again, sit back, and watch the disasters take place. No, she had to stop him. Besides, she was sure the FBI was on the way.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

Inside the room, the man stood with his back to the door. He was tall, almost six feet, has black hair and was dressed in a pair of black slacks and a white dress shirt. His suit coat hung over one of the chairs behind the desk. He looked like he had just come from work, which if Maggie understood the situation right, he had. Left from FEMA and came down here. Now she knew why.

Another man sat behind the desk. He was a bit on the heavy side, just as Captain Murphy had described him. There is a bald spot on the top of his head, over which he had tried to comb the rest of his thin light brown hair. Sitting on top of the desk was one laptop computer and several empty Pepsi cans.

Fitzpatrick was standing in front of the desk, bent over to see the computer. The heavier man was behind the desk. The laptop was sitting at an angle. While she couldn’t see what was on the screen, Maggie was sure they were looking at the six screens she had heard about.

“
What do you think Walter?” Fitzpatrick asked.

“
I think it is almost over.”

Fitzpatrick nodded, standing up straight. “Then, maybe we should get going. I have to be back in Washington by eight o’clock tomorrow morning. I am sure things will be hitting the fan by then. Maybe Harper won’t say anything.”

“
You’re dreaming. Washington could be under siege and he would still be cutting you down.”

“
Yeah, probably. What about our guests?”

“
Don’t you remember? They are going to be set free in the morning.”

“
Oh yes, with all this going on, I had forgotten. Is Jack going to do it?”

Jack? Maggie stiffened when she heard the name.

“
Yes. It is all set. They will get breakfast and then all the doors will be unlocked. Once they realize they can leave, he will be long gone.”

Fitzpatrick nodded. “Okay, that’s good. Then, let’s get that code in and get out of here.”

“
Gladly, but are you sure that’s what the code is for?”

“
Why would you ask? Did you hear something?”

“
Not specifically. You know I don’t know computer talk. They were both huddled together last night. Couldn’t hear what they were talking about, but whatever it was they thought was funny. There was just something about the guy I didn’t trust.”

“
I know. But, he is the best and that was what I needed.”

Walter nodded. “Okay.”

Maggie stepped inside the room. The room measured about fourteen feet square. An older, well-used large oak desk sat in the middle of the room. Both men were still intently looking at whatever was on the screen. They weren’t talking. She glanced around the room. A large six-foot couch was up against the left wall. To her right, another couch of the same size was against the other wall. A map was on the wall. Pushpins marked sites she couldn’t see. Turning her focus back to the two men, she pulled up her gun.

“
If I were you, I would listen to Walter. No hacker can be trusted,” Maggie said.

Fitzpatrick turned and looked at her, a look of panic coming over his face. Yes, it was same man whose picture she had seen on the television. The missing man from FEMA. There was no way she was going to let him get out of this one. Walter stood up.

“
Sit down,” Maggie demanded, pointing the gun at him. He sat down. Captain Murphy said he had a gun tucked into his slacks whenever he came in to deliver the food, but she didn’t notice one when he stood up. Maybe it was in his pants pocket.

“
Who are you?” she asked the man behind the desk.

“
Walter.”

“
Walter who?”

“
Walter Perkins.”

Maggie nodded, and then looked back at Fitzpatrick.

“
How did you get in here?” Fitzpatrick asked.

“
Through the back door. You really should have kept the door locked whenever someone leaves. You never know who might come in. Isn’t that right, Mr. Fitzpatrick?”

He narrowed his eyes at her. “You know my name?”

She nodded. “Yes. Seems your boss is looking for you. He’s put the word out that you are missing.”

“
The guy is a jerk.”

Well, now she knew whose e-mail address he had given the man to enter into the shell codes.

“
What do you want?” Fitzpatrick demanded.

“
I wanted to see what you were doing in here. Looks to me like this room is the only one with any activity. So what’s going on?” She already knew what was going on, but she wanted him to admit it to her, for the record.

“
You’ll find out later.”

“
How much later?”

He looked at his watch. “Oh, I’d say within the next six hours.”

“
Really? Six hours. Let’s see, that would make it about, what? Two o’clock in the morning? So, what’s going to happen then?”

Fitzpatrick laughed, sitting down on the edge of the desk. “Guess you’ll have to wait and see.”

For a man who had seemed to be doing what he could to help people, he was now acting like a jerk. Maggie glanced over at the map again, and then stepped forward until she could see it more clearly. It was a United States map. There were six red pushpins noting various points. West Virginia, New Orleans, Cincinnati, central Illinois, Kentucky, and Houston. Her mind raced. What was nearby? Suddenly, it hit her. She turned back and looked at the man.

“
Now I understand. You are with FEMA. I don’t remember which department, but it seems you are in a position to help people in a time of disaster. So, what’s the problem? The season for disasters running down? Did you decide to make your own? Or, does it have to do with your boss? I saw the news coverage of you in Texas. Guess that must have gone over well with your boss, who I remember in other reports, said he was doing the same thing.”

Fitzpatrick nodded. “Yeah, he stole my ideas.”

She shook her head. “Looks like everyone is on the lookout for you.”

He shrugged. “Yeah, so what?”

“
Does that mean you are planning on going back to Washington and watching the show from there?”

“
Yes, I’m going back to Washington. What about it?”

“
It’s going to be hard to explain why you took off from your office. Your secretary said you were upset when you left.”