Blowback

FIFTY-EIGHT

It had been a long time since Gary Lawlor had conducted a black-bag job. With FBI surveillance teams keeping an eye on Brian Turner, he knew he’d have plenty of time to get out of the man’s apartment if need be.

Entering the extravagant Gothic Revival lobby and passing the grand piano on the way to the elevators, Lawlor remarked that either Brian Turner had a hidden trust fund no one knew about, or the young CIA employee was living way above his pay grade.

On the third floor, Lawlor exited the elevator and turned right, down the long carpeted hallway. At Apartment 324, he set down his briefcase and removed a lockpick gun from his suit pocket. Seconds later, he was inside. The former deputy director of the FBI had not lost his touch.

A by-the-book guy, Lawlor had gone over the warrant one final time before getting out of his car. He knew exactly what he was allowed to look for and what he wasn’t — which didn’t amount to much, considering the Department of Homeland Security had secured the warrant under the Patriot Act and had, with Neal Monroe’s reluctant testimony, been able to make a very compelling case that national security interests were at stake.

Setting his briefcase on the kitchen counter, Lawlor popped it open and marveled at how technology had changed over the years. A product of the Cold War, he was amazed at how much smaller everything was. Gone were the days of complicated installations that all but the most inexperienced observer could detect with enough effort. These days, covert listening and viewing devices were near impossible to spot. Not only that, but the DHS was working with the world’s most cutting-edge technology. Even the CIA, and that meant people like Brian Turner, hadn’t seen this type of gear.

Once everything was in place, Lawlor used a handheld short-distance radar emission unit to scan the apartment for any place Turner could have secreted documents clandestinely removed from CIA headquarters. The search came up empty, and after verifying all of his covert video and audio feeds, Lawlor backed out of the apartment, making sure he left no trace of his visit.