The Black Bullet

CHAPTER SIXTY-THREE

Lauren Miles had agreed to meet O’Brien at a place called Hell’s Kitchen, a hole-in-the-wall diner on Daytona Beach that served breakfast only. They sat on a tiny balcony overlooking the Sunglow Pier, the smell of sea salt and wet sand blowing up from below them. “Thanks for meeting me,” O’Brien said.

Lauren looked across the ocean. “You don’t know how good it feels to get away from the command center if for only an hour. The whole place seems like a funeral parlor. Ron Bridges’ wife had to be sedated when she heard. The other agents that died were from our profile division in Quantico. It’s hard to plan four funerals, concentrate on finding the terrorists, try to secure the HEU, and get Jason Canfield out safe.”

“Maybe they’ll use him as a bargaining chip.”

“Their website has a simple graphic that says the auction begins Sunday at four Eastern Time. We don’t know what they have planned. We have some new intel, and now we believe a Russian, Yuri Volkow, ambushed our team and stole the uranium. We think Mohammed Sharif and his group will either try to out bid for the uranium, or simply take it by force if they can find the Russians. We’re trying to come up with a plan to catch both groups at the same time, maybe under the same roof, if we can pull it off.”

“Do you know where Volkow may be hiding?”

“No. We believe it could be somewhere in the Jacksonville area. The firewall he’s using on the site won’t allow geographic penetration or tracing. But if we could lead Sharif to the water, so to speak, we may close the gate on the bastards, Russian and jihad terrorists.”

“We’ve only got 32 hours left to try to save Jason, if they haven’t killed him already. O’Brien was silent, eyes scanning the ocean to a smudge of a mauve rain cloud perched on the horizon.

Lauren said, “We’re doing all we can to make sure Jason doesn’t become another causality in this never-ending war on our own soil.”

“Maybe some of what Billy Lawson was up against when he first saw the Germans and Japanese get off that sub and bury the canisters on the beach.”

“Now it’s not the Germans and Japanese. It’s the Russians and a consortium of radical Muslims, tied to al Qaeda and ostensibly Hezbollah, that are here.”

“The Russians were here in 1945, too.”

“Well, I guess, after the big war ended the cold war began to get colder.”

“Check into the FBI’s declassified files. See what you can find on an agent by the name of Robert Miller. See if you can find a report he filed, probably May of ’45 on the Billy Lawson case.”

“Robert Miller. I’ve heard the name. One of those old legends, he did it all, tackled everything from the mob to spies. He’s been retired for twenty-five years, at least. Maybe he’s dead. Still run across his name tied to some ancient case from time to time.”

“He could be tied to a current case.”

“What?”

“Don’t know for sure.”

“Sean, I’ve seen that look on your face before. Want to tell me what you’re thinking?”

“How’d Yuri Volkow know Nick and I found the remaining U-235 canisters? How’d he know the FBI was transporting it somewhere?”

“We assumed they’d had a tail on you. One that you couldn’t spot.”

“There were some fishermen on the beach that night … but ….”

“What do you think?”

“I think you’ve got a mole. Someone smart enough to work the Russians and al Qaeda.”

“Don’t even say that-”

“Listen, Lauren. This mess we’re in now, I think it began the moment Billy Lawson saw that sub on the horizon and the Germans rowing to shore. His widow told me she distinctly heard three shots coming through the phone that night. Yet she insists that the FBI, and for that matter, the local sheriff, reported one shot from a.38.”

“Why would the bureau cover up the killing of a young man still on active duty with the Army as the war was winding down?”

“Good question.” O’Brien took out a pen and began writing on a napkin. He handed the napkin to Lauren. “Guy’s name is Ethan Lyons. He did a couple of decades in a federal house for selling nuclear secrets, straight out of Los Alamos, to the Russians. He attended Harvard same time Robert Miller was there. Years later, Miller is the go-between, buying atomic secrets from Lyons and supposedly setting up the Russians.”

“Wouldn’t time be better served if we focused on Mohammed Sharif and today’s Russian counterpart, Yuri Volkow?”

“This might focus on them, at least on Volkow.”

“I don’t follow you.”

“When Volkow’s goons first nabbed Jason, we heard Volkow say the U-235 was his, or they were the rightful owners. Does he mean Russia or him personally?”

“It could be a metaphor for the motherland.”

“Maybe.” O’Brien watched a sea gull land on the banister less than ten feet behind Lauren. “Could be something else. What do you know about Yuri Volkow other than what you’ve already told me?”

“Not a lot. Mike Gates is the pro in that area on our end, Paul Thompson, too. Mike says Volkow was deep KGB before the KGB morphed. Volkow did the odd jobs, if you will, for the Kremlin. Now he’s a shadowy arms broker.”

“How many aliases does Volkow have?”

“I don’t know. Why?”

“Check. Check with someone you can trust in the Agency or whoever might know. Far back as you can go.” O’Brien sipped his coffee.

“You’re on to something, aren’t you?”

“Maybe.”

Lauren watched the breakers, a breeze teasing her hair. “But you aren’t going to get specific until you have something. I know you.” She sighed. “Sean, why’d you stop calling me?”

“Your work is down in Miami. I’m here. Most of my days are on the river. The rest of my time I’m at the marina learning a new profession. It’s not you, Lauren, it’s what you do … something I did for thirteen years with Miami-Dade PD.”

She reached across the small table and touched his hand. “I can’t apologize for my career. I’ve worked too hard. It’s what I do, not who I am.”

“I know that, and I’m happy you can separate them. I couldn’t after a while.”

The gull behind Lauren flew from the banister. “We had a good time on your boat. You, Max and me. I miss that … and I miss you. Maybe after this thing ends … maybe we could take some time together. Promise, no shop talk.” She smiled.

O’Brien nodded and smiled back.

“I need to get back. Where will you be?” Lauren asked.

“In a cemetery. They are pulling Billy Lawson out of the grave in an hour.”