“So when you turned down a pass from OPR if you’d give up the ASAC, you weren’t just being loyal?”
Vail turned to Kate. “I suppose Kent Wilson is an SAC somewhere by now.”
“San Diego.”
“Ah. At least they sent him to someplace with bad weather.” He turned back to the director. “Let’s just say I had other priorities.”
“Like not letting a cop killer go free?”
Vail looked surprised, and Kate felt a small twinge of pleasure at uncovering something about Vail that he apparently hadn’t wanted revealed. “I assumed that this command performance would be for some sort of more immediate problem.”
“Sorry. Around here, constantly checking motives is necessary for survival. In that vein—while I know it’s not necessary to say this to you—I have to ask that what you’re about to hear not leave the room.” Vail nodded. “You’ve heard about the ‘Enemies of the FBI’ murders.”
“As much as I try to avoid the news, it’d be hard not to.”
“Then I’m sure you know that a group calling itself the Rubaco Pentad is claiming credit for the killings. While they appear to be some sort of domestic terrorism group on a crusade, they have actually made large monetary demands to stop the murders.”
“Who were they demanding it from?”
“The FBI.”
“Not lacking confidence, are they? And you’re not letting the public know about it because…”
“One of their demands is that if we do, they’ll kill another prominent person. It’s an ingenious tactic. Since we can’t reveal their motives, it looks like we’re the ones with the hidden agenda, as if it’s just a matter of time before some vast governmental conspiracy is exposed. We’re really handcuffed.”
“I could see how you would be,” Vail said. “Since I’m here, I assume things didn’t go well at the drop.”
“They turned it into a deadly obstacle course. It seemed like they didn’t really want us to deliver the money. The agent making the delivery was shot to death.”
“I assume the entire million wasn’t in the money package?”
“Just a thousand dollars, and they left that at the scene.”
“A warning that they’d be back,” Vail said.
“Yes, it certainly was.”
“Any decent leads come out of it?”
The director said, “Don, you’ve been handling that.”
Kaulcrick said, “There was some scuba equipment used we’re trying to trace, but it’s almost impossible. And the prison was on a secure naval base, so we’re in the process of finding out who’s had access to it the last couple of months. It’s literally thousands of people, so it could take forever.”
“Sounds like somebody knows how to get you to burn manpower.”
“Are you suggesting it’s a waste of time?” Kaulcrick asked.
“Not at all. You never know what lead is going to be productive. But it sounds like they picked the base because the bigger and more complicated the location, the more time it takes to investigate. It seems that their major weapon is distraction. Leads like that need a lot of manpower but tend to never go anywhere.”
“There’s no question they know how to manipulate the investigation,” Lasker said.
“So what happened at the second drop?” Vail said.
“Who said anything about a second drop?” Kaulcrick asked abruptly, glancing at Kate.
“The second and third murders did,” Vail said. “Don, I’m here because I’m on your side.”
“I have to apologize for everyone, Steve,” Lasker said. “I’ve been so insistent that this not leak out, everyone has become paranoid about it. You’ve given your word and that’s certainly good enough. What I’m about to tell you is even more sensitive.” He then described the second demand letter along with its instruction for Bertok’s role in the delivery of money. He detailed the route and the Bureau’s inability to follow at an effective distance, and finally the disappearance of the agent and the two million dollars.
“So you want me to find Bertok.”
“Yes. And should you recover the money, we wouldn’t object.”
“It couldn’t have been an easy decision letting the full two million drive away.”
“When you got the press holding you hostage twenty-four hours a day with the possibility of not stopping the next murder, it was a surprisingly easy call.”
Vail became lost in thought. Kate waited a few seconds and then said, “I’m sure you’ve got a million questions.”
“Nothing I need to waste everyone’s time with right now. You haven’t got the next demand letter yet, have you?”
“Not yet,” Lasker said.
“Chances are the price will be going up. Do you think the delivery will be as difficult?”
“We hope not,” the director said. “But I wouldn’t bet on it.”
Kaulcrick said, “We were hoping to identify them first.”
“Any promising leads?”
Neither Kate nor Kaulcrick answered. Finally Lasker said, “Not really.”
“That’s too bad, but I guess it won’t affect me finding Bertok, which, by the way, is not going to be easy.”
Everyone was silent for a few seconds before the director said, “Actually the two problems may overlap. All three victims, and the agent at the drop, were killed with the same gun, a Glock model 22. That’s the same model Bertok carried.”
“There are thousands of those guns out there,” Vail said. “Why would you think he could be involved?”
“Well, he was designated by name to make the drop, and whoever is doing this has a good knowledge of extortions, which Bertok worked. Plus he did disappear along with the money. I certainly hope he’s not involved, but to be perfectly honest, we don’t know.”
“If it’s him, why this last murder?”
Kaulcrick said, “In theory, he could be looking down the road for a defense. Why would he kill again if he already had the money? He’s in law enforcement. He’s used to seeing people getting caught when they thought they couldn’t be. It’s cheap insurance. Three murders or four, they can only give him the needle once.”
“I guess it’s possible, although that would take someone who is extremely cold—but I suppose two million dollars can get you to a lot of warm places,” Vail said.
Lasker said, “So, Steve, will you help us?”
“If I agree, I have a couple of conditions.”
“I’m certain we can work them out.” The director opened a drawer, took out a black case with a gold FBI shield pinned to the outside, and slid it across the desk.
Vail opened the credentials and looked at his photo, which had been taken during new agents’ training. “It’s hard to believe I was ever that…on board.” He closed the case and put it in his jacket pocket.
“Whether you find Bertok or not, I can make that permanent, with all the seniority, including the time you’ve been out of government service.”
“I appreciate the offer, but it may be premature. I’m not here to find out if I can now be a good soldier. I know I can’t. What you want me to do is difficult, which means, because of the methods I may find necessary, it’s likely just a matter of time until you’ll regret bringing me into this.”
“Right now that’s a chance I’m willing to take.”
Vail smiled. “That’s exactly what my last ASAC said to me.”
The director forced a short laugh. “Okay, but if you don’t want your job back, we’ll have to pay you something. How about a percentage of any money recovered, or a flat amount for finding Bertok?”
“Which brings us back to the conditions. Two items. First, I’m sure at some point I’ll have to get assistance from FBI field offices. Unless SACs have changed, they’re not going to like taking orders from some imported street hump. So I’m going to need someone with enough capital letters in front of his—or her—name to make those guys nervous.”
“Like Deputy Assistant Director Bannon?” Lasker said.
Vail looked at her. “How about it, Kate, think you can make the right men tremble?”
She felt herself starting to blush, but extinguished it with a sarcastic smirk. “Looks like I’m going to be the one taking orders from some imported street hump.”
“And second?” the director asked.
“That I not be paid.”
Confusion narrowed the director’s eyes. “That doesn’t make any sense.”
Vail smiled. “If I’m being paid, sooner or later someone will consider me an employee and start giving me orders. We all know how that’ll end. No, my payment is to not have to take orders from anyone. Maybe when we’re done—if I’m successful—I’ll add up my hours and you can pay me the hourly rate for a bricklayer.”
“Then what’s to prevent you from becoming a loose cannon?” Kaulcrick asked.
“Hopefully nothing.”
“I have to tell you, I voted against bringing you into this,” Kaulcrick said. “I’m sorry. There’s enough confusion.”
“If you keep being that honest, Don, you and I will survive. Even through the confusion.”
Lasker said, “If you don’t want anything more than a pittance, why would you take on something like this?”
Vail looked over at Kate. “Apparently, because I can.”
SEVEN
VAIL SAT AT THE DESK IN HIS D.C. HOTEL ROOM READING FROM THE from the Rubaco Pentad case, including crime-scene photos, lab reports, and surveillance logs, had been downloaded into it. For such a clandestine operation, an incredible amount of material had been reduced to writing. As he took another bite of the cold room-service hamburger, there was a knock at the door.
It was Kate. Although holding a briefcase with both hands in front of her, indicating her visit was official, she had changed clothes and was wearing a dress and heels. “Hi,” she said, and walked in, looking around. “How’s the room?”
“You’ve seen my apartment, how good does it have to be?”
“Good, good,” she said distractedly. “Is there anything else you need?”
“What are you offering?” he said in a playful voice.
“Equipment, bricklayer, equipment. Like an agent’s handbook or a pair of brass knuckles.”
“I’m not the kind of person who thinks about his obituary, but I’d hate for it to read, ‘He died because he brought a laptop to a gunfight.’”
“Okay, I’ll get you a weapon,” she said. “We’ll need to get you to a firearms range to qualify.”
“Do you really think there’s time for that?”
“It’s pretty much an unbreakable rule. You know, lawsuits.”
“Isn’t it my job to break rules?”
After a moment, she said, “Okay, I’ll have it for you tomorrow. I’ve ordered up a Bureau plane. I assume we’ll be flying to Las Vegas to try to pick up Bertok’s trail.”
“I was thinking more like L.A.”
“Why L.A.?”
“I’m not exactly sure. Call it a hunch. And don’t think that the Cubs having three games with the Dodgers this week has anything to do with it.”
Kate studied Vail’s face and found the same unreadable expression he presented when asked about anything he didn’t want to answer. She was sure of one thing: his decision to start in Los Angeles had nothing to do with baseball or intuition. He had found some way to track Bertok that no one else had thought of. “You know this is going to be a lot easier if we don’t keep secrets from each other.”
“Cosmo says that a little mystery can keep a relationship from getting stale.”
“There are only a few things in life that are unquestionable. That you’ve never read Cosmopolitan magazine is one of the most certain. Why L.A.?”
“First of all, it’s about as far away from your boss as we can get. I know his type and I know my type. We’ve all seen how that movie ends.”
“And second of all?”
“Simple math. How many times have each of the following locations come up in the case: New Hampshire, Pittsburgh, Utah, Arizona, and Las Vegas?”
“Once each.”
“And Los Angeles?”
“I don’t know, a half dozen?”
“Everything from the first victim to the postmarks on both demand letters to Bertok. Besides, I want to search his apartment again.”
“Why?”
“The biggest mistake agents make is believing that because something was done once, it was done right.” Kate nodded in agreement. “Now, what do we know about Stanley Bertok’s personal life?” he asked.
“We’ve interviewed his supervisor. He described him as suffering from what he calls ‘the dysfunctional twos.’”
“What’s that?”
“Too much booze, too little money, and two ex-wives. He thinks Bertok may have seen an opportunity to downsize his problems and taken it.”
“And psychologically?”
“Intelligent but brooding. No friends and not the world’s most dedicated agent.”
“But nothing to explain why our little band of terrorists picked him to make the drop. If they knew him well enough to ask for him, wouldn’t they have to assume he was a risk to take off with the money?”
“Which leads us right back to him and the Pentad being one and the same, or at least being in it together.”
“For something so well planned, this has some conspicuously dangling loose ends.”
“Haven’t you heard, there’s no such thing as a perfect crime.”
“Unfortunately, it doesn’t have to be perfect to get away with it.”
EXPLAINING TO KATE that he had been up the entire night reading the contents of the Rubaco Pentad file, Vail slept during the entire flight to Los Angeles. After they landed at one of the secure runways used by government planes coming into LAX, Kate had to wake him. As Vail stepped off the plane and into the blinding white light of the Southern California sun, he couldn’t help but stretch himself against its silky warmth. The sky was a different blue than that of Chicago or even Washington. A thin band of gray-orange haze at the horizon separated it from the earth.
Parked a hundred feet away was a dark green sedan. A seemingly stoic man in his thirties wearing a tailored summer-weight suit was walking toward their plane. He had the practiced expression of someone whose first priority was that of confident congeniality, suggesting he was part of the office management team. He came up to Kate and offered his hand. “Allen Sabine,” he said. Kate took his hand and introduced him to Vail. The two men shook hands. Sabine’s dark hair had been carefully cut, and he stood with a practiced slouch that angled his face away to mask a long, sharp nose. He tried to take her bag, but she smiled graciously and said she needed the exercise. Sabine pointed at the sedan. “This is the vehicle we rented for you while you’re here. It has the GPS navigational system you requested. We also put in a complete set of maps for most of Southern California. The SAC is available to meet with you anytime this morning.”
“Okay,” Kate said, “let’s get it over with.” She said to Vail, “The SAC is Mark Hildebrand. Ever run into him?”
“I don’t think so.”
“He seems okay, a little territorial on the phone when I told him we were coming out.”
“Territorial’s not all bad. Maybe he actually cares about what happens in his division.”
“You’re irritatingly positive after your nap.”
“Sorry. Give me a few minutes with him, and I’m sure I’ll be as good as new.”
They got in the car, Kate in the front and Vail in the back. She handed him a Glock model 22 encased in a holster, with two extra clips. Then with just enough ceremony to be sarcastic, she handed him an operation manual for the weapon. “I thought you should at least know how to load it.”
“You could have given me this before we took off.”
“You were asleep. Plus, I was curious whether you’d ask for it, and since you haven’t been checked out, I didn’t want you practicing your quick draw on the plane and accidentally shooting me or the pilot.”
“I would have been careful not to shoot you. I can imagine the paperwork involved.” She handed him a credit card and then a cell phone. “Speaking of paperwork, don’t I need to sign for all this?”
She lowered her voice. “After your little speech to the director about it being just a matter of time until you ran amok, I thought it would be better if none of these items were traceable to you, or more important, us.”