Free Fall

Fifty-Nine

Manhattan, New York

The boardroom windows at the FBI’s New York Field Office opened to a view of the Brooklyn Bridge and a jetliner on its approach to LaGuardia.

No one at the table was looking.

Agents were studying a one-page synopsis.

Developments were popping in the Zarathustra investigation. The credibility of a link to the Shikra Airlines crash at Heathrow and the incident with the EastCloud Flight 4990 was growing stronger with each passing moment.

Gil Morillo, assistant special agent in charge, chaired the briefing.

He made a quick roll call of those in the room and the people whose voices echoed through the speakers of the teleconference line. They included brass from the deputy director’s office and the FBI’s National Security and Criminal Cyber Response Branches at national headquarters in Washington. Nick Varner was on the line from the resident agency office in Williston, North Dakota, along with agents in offices across the country.

“Let’s get to it, people,” Morillo said. “First, we’ll be taking part in another multiagency briefing with the FAA, the NTSB, the Transportation Security Administration, Homeland Security and the US Air Force shortly after this call.”

Murmurs at the growing magnitude of the case rose around the table as Morillo continued.

“Okay, you’ve got the summaries. We’ve had some solid leads from tips called in. We’ve been expediting warrants and moving quickly. You have updated biographies on our persons of interest-Seth Simon Hagen, Robert James Cole and his daughter, Veyda Charlotte Cole, aka Veyda Hyde. Nick, can you update us regarding Clear River?”

“We’re still processing the evidence found at Cole’s residence, all of it related to flight systems. We’ve determined he boarded a flight at Bismarck to Minneapolis ending in Washington, DC.”

“What’s the status from the Washington office on locating him?” Morillo asked.

“Negative so far,” Agent Harold Davenport responded. “He flew to Washington before becoming a subject. We’ve talked to American Airlines and the TSA. We’re working with local agencies here to locate him or determine if he’s taken another flight or mode of transportation.”

“Baltimore,” Morillo said, “what do you have?”

“We’ve executed warrants on the Hyattsville residence and on Hagen and Hyde,” Agent Allyson Meeson said. “We’re still assessing evidence from the house, which includes documents concerning flight operations and systems. We’ve just determined that our subjects flew from National in DC to Denver International. We’ve alerted the Denver office. Mitch, over to you.”

“Right,” said Agent Mitchell Butler in Denver. “Our subjects rented a Ford Escape at the airport. The rental agency confirms two people at the counter. We’re now in the process of obtaining warrants to track the rental vehicle’s location through its GPS and other devices.”

“Okay,” Morillo said. “Nick, can you get on a plane to Denver ASAP and support the office in locating Hagen and Cole?”

“Will do.”

“Gil, it’s Mary Ritter with the deputy director’s office at headquarters.”

“Go ahead, Mary.”

“A few questions before I brief the deputy, who’ll be briefing the director. Have we determined if a clear threat exists on a specific aircraft or flight?”

“Not at this time,” Morillo said.

“And what is the FBI’s assessment of a threat at this time?”

“Given events, the facts and evidence known so far, and the expertise of the people involved, we feel a very credible threat is evolving. Our priority is to locate and question the three people we’ve identified as potential suspects.”

“Thanks, Gil,” Ritter said. “This will top the director’s agenda before he heads into his daily national security meeting with the White House.”