Every Second

60

Coyote Mountains, New York

The East River dropped under Nick Varner, and skyscrapers reached up as the state police helicopter lifted off from Pier Six in Lower Manhattan.

Marv Tilden and two other investigators were also belted to their seats as the chopper thundered north to the Coyote range where two locals had found Dan Fulton.

Fulton’s condition was critical and he was not expected to live. He’d been airlifted to a trauma center in Albany where he was now undergoing surgery. If he survived, they’d need to talk to him. But first they had to get to the scene, which, by helicopter, was twenty minutes away.

The metropolis unfurled below, giving way to New Jersey, then the forests, hills and mountains of New York. Varner missed much of it because he was working on his phone, reviewing the recent progress they’d made on the case.

When the FBI had been alerted to Fulton’s discovery, Varner and Tilden had been in the process of interviewing Jerricko Blaine’s uncle Walid Sattar and his son, Omar Sattar. Alarmed by the news reports, the Sattars had come forward with information. They’d revealed that Jerricko had stayed with them in the weeks prior to the bank robbery/abduction in Queens.

“We had not seen him or his mother for years since his brother’s death, so we let him stay. It was out of respect,” Walid had said. “He’s family. But Jerricko upset everyone, always talking jihad, ranting about the evils of America and his duty to fight against it. He tried to recruit my son to his way of thinking.”

Omar had given Varner and Tilden as much information about the “big operation” as he could, and about Jerricko’s talk of action.

“He said they could use me as a chemist in an event that would make us famous forever. He didn’t tell me what it was. He was very cryptic,” Omar had said. “But I do know that he went to the public library to use the computers there, probably to talk to his friends.”

This all fit with the information they’d received from FBI agents in LA, Varner thought as he’d continued making notes.

“You see,” Walid had said, “we’re proud American citizens. We have nothing to do with Jerricko’s craziness.”

Varner knew that the Sattars had handed them a key piece of information, but it was not the only break. More information had come in around the same time.

As the chopper pushed north, Varner reviewed video footage collected from residential security cameras in the Fultons’ Roseoak Park neighborhood. It showed four male figures entering the Fulton home. There was footage of Lori and Billy being forced into a van, and later of Dan driving off with an SUV following him. It confirmed what they’d suspected from the start: Jerricko Blaine did not act alone.

They’d also learned that the bomb vest the suspects had put on Dan Fulton was nothing but a prop. Combined with the fingerprint evidence and other mistakes they had made, the suspects were untrained, inexperienced amateurs, possibly homegrown, self-radicalized extremists, and questions raced through Varner’s mind.

What was the “big operation” they were planning? Was it this-the robbery and abduction-or something bigger? Did they take the cash to get rich? Or was there another use for it? Were they acting on their own or being guided?

The FBI had moved to expedite warrants to search the Sattar home in Yonkers and the public library branch Jerricko Blaine had used. And again, Varner submitted Jerricko Blaine’s name into the Guardian database, the networks for Homeland, Justice, the State Department and several others.

He double-checked to ensure he’d also made submissions for Blaine’s mother, Nazihah Bilaal Samadyh, and brother, Malcolm Jordan Samadyh.

Pieces were coming together.

Now we’ve got to connect the dots.

The helicopter skimmed treetops as it descended, agitating branches and whipping up dirt as it put down.

Bending under the whomping rotor wash, Varner’s team hurried to meet investigators from the state and county. The State Police Crime Scene Emergency Response techs were working with the FBI’s Evidence Response Team. “Agent Varner. I’m Fred Dylan, New York State Police.” Dylan handed the newcomers shoe covers and latex gloves. “This way. Follow the red ribbon closely to protect the scene, please.”

Along the route to the cabin, Dylan updated them on Dan Fulton’s condition. Then they arrived at the SUV, which was consistent with the vehicle in the footage. Crime scene technicians were photographing it, swabbing and analyzing the interior, bagging shell casings and marking their locations.

Varner was confident evidence would surface that would bring them even closer to the suspects. He was optimistic that the fake bomb vest would yield leads. Crime scene experts were also at work down the hillside where Dan Fulton had been found and at the second vehicle, the van, which was parked near the cabin.

“It’s a rental,” Dylan said. “A man named Robert Smith paid cash to have it for a month. We suspect that’s an alias.”

The cabin’s interior was being processed, but what Varner and Tilden saw inside pushed their concerns to a higher level. In the corner were mattresses, chains and a tripod.

“We believe the family was held here,” Dylan said.

“Looks like someone left in a hurry,” Tilden said.

Varner noticed the large knife resting against the wall near the tripod and lowered himself to study it without touching it.

“Is that ceremonial, like the one they used in Northern Iraq to behead that aid worker?” Tilden asked.

As Varner nodded slowly, they heard the yip of a dog with one of the K-9 units and two-way radios crackled.

“…we might have a trail…”

What was now clear was that the suspects, and possibly Lori and Billy Fulton, were out there somewhere in the Coyote Mountains.

Now it’s a manhunt-hostage-rescue, tied to plans for an attack.

Varner studied the vast mountain forests.

And we’re running out of time.