The Identity Mine

XXXIV

Hannah Ford walked off the Boeing 747–400 in a daze, her thoughts fuzzy as she followed the crowds by unthinking reflex through the terminal. Vaughn walked alongside her as they fought their way past the lengthy queues already forming heavy barriers between themselves and the terminal exits. A US Marshall led the way, having been on the same flight and informed of the importance of their mission.

The United red — eye out of Hong Kong had taken eighteen hours, stopping off briefly at New York, during which time Hannah had made a call to the Bureau and informed Director LeMay of what she knew. Since then there had been no contact and her cell phone was silent as she checked it for messages or missed calls.

‘Nothing,’ she informed Vaughn as they reached the security areas and passport control. It took only a couple of minutes for their identity badges to see them through the security check points, the Marshall turning back into the terminal.

‘He’s already here,’ Vaughn said as they walked out of the airport and into the morning sunshine. ‘Must be, and they’ve got their hands full searching for him.’

Hannah tried to push her lethargy away. Despite the length of the flight she had been unable to sleep, driven to distraction by the helplessness of being trapped aboard an aircraft and unable to act on her instincts and pursue the men that she knew were coming here to do harm to her country. Her eyes itched and occasional spells of dizziness swayed her as she tried to remember where they had left the pool car.

‘It’s over here,’ Vaughn said as he spotted their vehicle.

Hannah followed him across the lot and saw the blue Lincoln parked where they had left it. She yanked up the trunk and tossed in their small travel bags before she made her way to the passenger’s side.

‘You not driving?’ Vaughn asked in surprise.

‘I’ve got a call to make,’ she replied as she climbed in.

The interior of the car was warm as Vaughn drove and the sunshine beaming through the windshield lulled her into a warm lullaby of sleep. Hannah closed her eyes and sat in silence, letting the motion of the vehicle turning through the parking lot and the whisper of the engine draw her ever deeper into sleep.

The shrill warble of her cell phone snapped her back into life and she stared vacantly down at it. A number she did not recognize awaited her, the screen glowing bright blue as she answered.

‘Ford.’

‘LeMay.’

‘Sir, we need to talk.’

‘You’ve been cut out,’ LeMay replied. ‘We all have.’

‘Cut out of what?’ Hannah asked as she set the cell to speaker phone.

‘The investigation,’ LeMay snapped back, anger clear in his tones. ‘The President has handed the entire investigation over to the Defense Intelligence Agency. We’re out of the loop.’

Hannah’s addled brain struggled to focus.

‘How can the FBI be out of the loop on something like this?!’

‘I can only assume that Warner and Lopez are spreading disinformation about what’s happening. Warner has personal history with the president, who appears to be taking his advice at face value. I don’t know what he’s said as I wasn’t invited to a meeting they had at the White House yesterday afternoon.’

Hannah reeled mentally as she tried to think of something useful to say.

‘We’re sure that Abrahem Nassir is either in the country already or arriving shortly,’ she said.

‘He’s in the country all right,’ LeMay replied. ‘Homeland just reported the murder of three Coast Guard officers out near Cape May, Delaware. Their patrol boat went incognito in the early hours and their bodies were later found aboard. They’d had their throats cut.’

‘Does Homeland have a trail?’

‘They’ve identified the boat they think must have picked up Abrahem Nassir to bring him into the country, and another larger vessel that sailed up from South America yesterday for Maine. It looks like Nassir jumped ship a couple of times. His accomplices stole the boat that brought him in, but they’re in the wind and so is Nassir. Homeland’s working on it as we speak.’

‘Damn it,’ Hannah snapped as she slammed a hand down on her thigh in futility. ‘He’s got to be heading for a major target. He’s come this far, he’s not going to settle for bombing a convenience store. He’ll hit the Capitol or the White House or something.’

‘The White House is on full alert, but the President also has an open — air address this evening on the South Lawn as part of a Trans Pacific Trade agreement ceremony celebrating a new deal with China.’

Hannah’s mind stopped working for a moment as she reflected on this new piece of information. She could feel her brain ticking over but it was almost as though she could not quite control the train of her thoughts.

‘Who will be there?’ she asked impulsively.

‘Most of the administration, at least three former Presidents and First Ladies and Senators from fifteen states, along with the President of the People’s Republic of China.’

‘That’s a lot of big wheels in one place,’ Vaughn observed as he drove. ‘He might try to hit them all at once.’

Hannah shook her head to clear it as she replied.

‘He can’t have travelled with any kind of incendiary device, so he’ll have to make contact with somebody here. He has a network, finance, people supporting him and helping him on his way. If we can pin them down it might lead us to Abrahem before he can strike.’

‘I already have teams on it,’ LeMay said. ‘We’ll be arresting known Islamist sympathizers and already have half a dozen in custody. We’re hoping that we can break Nassir’s chain of support sufficiently that he cannot carry out his attack, but it’s a long shot.’

‘Too long,’ Hannah agreed. ‘We can’t take the chance that he’ll not have something already prepared, something or somebody here ready to go. This whole thing is about revenge on the United States, and given the way that he’s travelled he must have planned this for months, perhaps even years.’

‘Everything must have been laid out in advance,’ Vaughn said, ‘he must have flown from Africa to South America to get here so fast. That means huge financial power behind him. The money trail’s our best bet.’

‘Agreed,’ LeMay replied. ‘Right now we’re looking into the financials of several companies, including the one that hired a private jet out of Kenya for The Dominican Republic yesterday and is likely the route that Nassir took. I’ll pass on the address of the company to you both.’

Hannah nodded. ‘What about Mitchell?’

‘What about him?’

‘He turned up in Hong Kong, had a Chinese operative by the name of Jin Chen tied to a tree and was torturing him for information. It was he who left me for dead at the hands of the Chinese, and his presence at the scene of Jin Chen’s murder is the only thing that will prevent us from being arrested for the homicide. Mitchell means business and he’s clearly as involved with this operation as he was with the death of Stanley Meyer. What’s his connection, sir?’

‘I don’t know, but he’s not the priority right now Agent Ford. Your priority is locating Abrahem Nassir and apprehending him before he can initiate a national tragedy. I don’t want another nine — eleven on our hands because we dropped the ball here.’

‘We haven’t dropped the ball,’ Hannah shot back, ‘it’s been taken from us and we’re being hunted because of that.’

‘That’s not the way the media will see it if the White House lawns look like a scene from a horror movie tonight,’ LeMay replied. ‘I can’t get any closer to this operation than I already am without attracting the attention of the DIA. As far as they’re aware, you two are still pinned down in Hong Kong and are wanted fugitives — law enforcement will be looking for you if I pass on the information I received from our Hong Kong office and I can only hang onto it for so long. You’re the only ones who can get close to this now and if you want to clear your names there’s only one way to do it. Find Nassir and report back to me.’

‘Yes sir,’ Hannah replied, and the line went dead.

She looked across at Vaughn, who raised an eyebrow.

‘I don’t believe this is happening,’ he said finally. ‘He wants us to go rogue and finish this on our own?’

Hannah nodded, fatigue weighing heavily on her shoulders as she looked in the rear view mirror and saw her reflection. She looked like crap, her nose still swollen and her eyes bloodshot and bleary.

‘We’re not exactly in the best of shape right now,’ Vaughn added, as if noticing the direction of her gaze.

Vaughn’s face was also puffy from the blows he’d received at the hands of the Chinese, and he looked as though he were some kind of street thug recovering from a particularly rough night out.

‘At least for once we don’t look like federal agents,’ she pointed out. ‘Maybe we can get closer to Nassir and his people this way.’

Vaughn thought for a moment.

‘Do we have an address for the company that financed the private jet flight out of Africa?’

Hannah looked down vaguely at her cell phone and realized that LeMay had already sent a series of files to her. She opened one and scanned the contents.

‘It’s registered to an address on 8th Street South East,’ she replied, ‘Vantage Aviation Hire.’

Vaughn switched lanes as they crossed the Rochambreau Memorial Bridge over the Potomac.

‘Let’s get down there and figure this out.’

The Bombadier Global 6000 private jet touched down on Dulles’ runway, Aaron Mitchell watching the terminals and taxiways race past as the aircraft engaged its reverse thrust system and the pilots applied the brakes. The large, sleek jet slowed dramatically before it turned off the runway and began taxiing to the executive terminal.

Mitchell pushed away the fatigue aching through his bones as saw a pair of glossy black limousines awaiting him near the aircraft parking area. He knew that Majestic Twelve were keen to obtain the technology that the Chinese had developed, although he still had no idea himself precisely what they intended to do with it. The constant lack of information was both troubling and frustrating for him: frustrating because he could not effectively apply what he didn’t know to the search he was conducting, and troubling because he could not be sure of the group’s motives on this occasion.

The jet came to a stop near the terminals and Mitchell stood and stalked to the jet’s door. A stewardess opened it and Mitchell stepped out into the fresh morning air and descended the jet’s steps. He strode across to the waiting vehicles, and was directed by a suited agent toward the limousine on the right.

The door opened and Mitchell climbed in and slammed it shut behind him.

‘What news?’

Victor Wilms sat inside the vehicle, his gray eyes settling on Mitchell’s. Opposite him sat FBI Director LeMay.

‘The Chinese were behind the abduction of four NSA agents in Kowloon in 1997,’ Mitchell replied, ‘as we presumed. They have further developed technology stolen from the NSA agents that allows them to control human minds, and have managed to implant members of the United States military during the Iraq conflict. They used Iraqi citizens to implant the technology during normal surgical procedures, one of whom, an Abrahem Nassir, is now on the warpath here in the United States.’

Victor nodded slowly.

‘This is what we feared. The use by the Chinese of unreliable runners to transport such sensitive technology through a war zone was always fraught with the danger of betrayal. Now the technology could be used against us at any moment.’

Director LeMay rubbed his chin thoughtfully.

‘The DIA has taken the lead in the investigation and the FBI are out of the loop,’ he said.

‘Does the administration suspect something?’ Victor asked with interest. ‘Do you still have their trust?’

‘I’m working on that,’ LeMay replied, ‘but it’s worth considering the possibility that the president has been made aware of Majestic Twelve and its work. The DIA’s Director Nellis has made something of a mission in hunting us down, and now they’re taking things to the next level.’

Mitchell frowned.

‘MJ–12 is secure, but the President is not. It could take weeks to find a thorough way to test all of his staff for implants and then implement that test. Nassir is likely to strike within the next forty eight hours and I don’t think that escape is part of his plan. He’ll finish what he’s started or die trying.’

LeMay looked at Victor, who was staring thoughtfully out of the limousine’s window.

‘Do you have instructions?’ LeMay asked the old man. ‘On how best to protect the president?’

Victor thought for a moment before he replied.

‘Yes,’ he said finally. ‘We don’t protect the president. We prioritize recovering the technology for future use.’

Mitchell stared at Victor for a moment, his brain struggling to digest what he had heard. ‘Say that again?’

‘We don’t need to protect the president,’ Victor repeated. ‘The FBI are out of the loop and Majestic Twelve has been looking forward to the president’s second term coming to an end. If that should occur sooner, then so be it.’

LeMay’s face paled slightly. ‘You’re talking about treason and murder.’

‘Oh come now!’ Victor chuckled. ‘It’s a bit late to be getting a conscience, Gordon.’

Mitchell said nothing as he watched Victor formulate his plan.

‘You have agents on the ground, as promised?’ Victor demanded of LeMay.

‘Two of them,’ LeMay confirmed. ‘They’re working directly for me and don’t know anything about Majestic Twelve.’

‘Good,’ Victor said. ‘Use them as your patsies, while Aaron here simply follows the DIA until they are able to obtain the technology that either Nassir or the Chinese have brought to the country. He will take that technology from them, but we must leave Nassir’s players in place.’

LeMay’s eyes narrowed. ‘Why take such a risk?’

Victor turned to Mitchell, ignoring the Director’s question.

‘You will ensure that Abrahem Nassir achieves his goal,’ Victor said. ‘I will obtain you direct access to the target, once we know for sure who it is. The assassination of our President will both clear the path for a presidency more in line with the objectives of Majestic Twelve, and will generate suitable public outrage to justify both a new president with an active war — footing policy and further military intervention in rogue states and other overseas interests. Agreed?’

Mitchell said nothing, staring at LeMay as the limousine pulled out of the airport toward Washington DC.