Blood Line (8 page)

“Right, and he told us whatever Porter and his partner want, they thought they could get it by kidnapping Leecy. So what does that tell us?”

“Whatever Porter and his partner are after involves INESCO.”

“Yep, no other reason to go after Leecy. Smart if you think about it. Your brothers and father would give away the company to save Leecy,” I said.

“They wouldn’t hesitate. But that doesn’t tell us what Porter and his mystery partner are after. I’d need to access the computers at INESCO to figure that one out.”

“Okay, so if we hear from Wakefield, maybe she can help us figure out who the mystery partner is and what they want. With all the cell phone and email data being collected and analyzed by government agencies, I wouldn’t be surprised if there’s some chatter about this somewhere. With a few keyword searches, I bet Wakefield could tell us the answers to our questions.”

Valerie looked at her watch. “It’s after 8 o’clock, let’s try and sleep. We’ve been up since four this morning. I’ll sleep till midnight if you’ll take the first watch.”

“Happy to do it,” I said and then added, “I’m sorry your birthday plans didn’t work out the way we wanted them to.”

Val turned and kissed me full on the lips.

“I love you. Don’t apologize for something that’s not your fault. We can always celebrate my birthday later. I just want to keep Leecy safe.”

I held her and kissed her again.

“I love you, too. We’ll keep her safe. There’s nowhere she could be safer than with us. Now get some sleep.”

Valerie gently closed the door to room 121. I walked over to the Oldsmobile and climbed inside. The car was backed into a parking space at the end of the row of motel rooms. I had an unobstructed view of the parking lot and entrance to the motel. In the distance I could see the interstate, and beyond that, the glow of the busiest airport in the world. I settled in behind the wheel and remembered my CIA training for situations just like this. The trick wasn’t just to stay awake, but to remain alert. I was taught the best way to do that was to focus on the details.

I started the process by counting the cars in the parking lot. I moved from doing that to the windows of the adjacent motels and counted the number of rooms with lights shining behind pulled curtains. From there, I moved to cars exiting the interstate and then planes taking off from and landing at the airport. I would circle back to the cars in the parking lot eventually and begin the process all over again.

I was on the third round of my mind game when the phone in my pocket began to vibrate. I pulled the phone from my pocket. I was confident it could only be one person, because only one person had the number for the phone, and without taking my eyes off the black SUV exiting the interstate I said, “Granger. ID number 63682416, code Robert Earl Davenport.”

“Well, I’ll be damned,” the voice of Agent Tammy Daniel Wakefield said, “I never thought I’d hear from you again as long as I lived, and here you are calling in a code RED, operator in distress. What in the hell are you into?”

“It’s nice to hear your voice, Tammy, but I’ve got a little problem down here in Georgia,” I said.

The SUV I was watching turned left after exciting the interstate and drove along the highway access road toward the row of the three motels, one of which was ours. I could see it making a right turn into the parking lot of the first one, where it disappeared from view.

I relaxed a little and said to Agent Wakefield, “I was hoping to enlist the help of my old agency.”

“If you mean you want me to help you with the All Points Bulletin you and your wife and daughter have on your heads, that’s a big ask, Ron. I don’t know what you think I can do about that.”

“If you’ll hear me out, I think you’ll find that the situation is not what it seems to be. There’s more to the story.”

“There always was where you were concerned. At least that hasn’t changed. Before you enlighten me, answer this one question.”

“Go ahead.”

“What’s in it for me?” Agent Wakefield asked.

I can’t say I was shocked by the question, but I was surprised. The quid pro quo usually came after the favor had been granted, but I couldn’t argue the point. I didn’t have much to offer in return, but I had an idea of what she wanted.

“Dealer’s choice.”

“Well, all right then. Let’s hear your tale, but be forewarned that this conversation is being recorded.”

I smiled. This felt all too familiar.

I started at the beginning and told her everything that happened since the morning’s break-in and attempted kidnapping. She listened only. She never spoke, never asked a question. I knew from prior experience that this kind of attention was a good sign. Her silence meant she believed me.

I was ending the story when the black SUV I’d seen earlier came into sight. I watched it cruise through the parking lot of the motel next door. The SUV moved directly across from my position in the car, so I could see clearly that it had a damaged front right quarter panel. I slid down in my seat in an effort to hide behind the steering wheel. I was able to kick my legs over the center hump into the passenger side foot well and get my head below the steering wheel height. I knew without question the SUV was looking for us, but what I didn’t know was how anyone could’ve found us.

I had finished the story and hadn’t spoken for a minute, watching the SUV, when Agent Wakefield responded.

“The Westin downtown. Be here tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. I’m in suite 2211.” She paused a minute and then added, “It’ll be good to see you again.”

“One more thing,” I asked, “have you been tracking the number I gave you?”

“No. Why?”

“Is it possible to trace a prepaid cell phone?”

“Better pull the battery from your phone now,” she said quickly, and hung up.

I flipped the phone over, popped the battery out and removed the SIM card. I returned the dismantled phone to my pocket and was about to open the driver’s side door but stopped, because the black SUV had also stopped. If I opened the door, the interior dome light would come on and most certainly be noticed by whoever was watching.

I had to turn off the dome light. I had to get to the room where Valerie and Leecy were sleeping. It was only a matter of time before they made their way to the Motel 6 parking lot. I had to act.

I peered over the steering wheel. The width of the Motel 6 parking lot and a thin grass divider was all that lay between them and the Oldsmobile. The distance was about two hundred feet. I couldn’t risk opening the door. I couldn’t risk reaching for the dome light. I had to assume the occupants had night vision gear and were actively using it. All I could do was wait.

I heard an engine revving and peered over the steering wheel in time to see the black SUV moving again. I watched it drive the length of the parking lot next door before turning toward the parking lot’s exit. I popped the plastic cap off of the interior dome light and removed the light bulb with my right hand, opening the door with my left. I checked the SUV’s position as I silently closed the car door, and saw its taillights illuminated as it stopped briefly before continuing to turn right. I’d be out of sight of the van for a few seconds. I ran to the room. Inserting the old fashioned key into the lock, I turned the doorknob and stepped inside to find the girls awake and staring out the window.

“We saw you talking on the phone. Agent Wakefield called. She’s going to meet with us, but we owe her, right?” Valerie said, still looking out the window with Leecy.

“That’s right, my dear. We meet tomorrow morning at the Westin in downtown Atlanta in suite 2211, but right now we need to decide what we’re going to do about the SUV,” I said, and then because it just occurred to me, I asked, “How long have you two been watching me through the window?”

“Ten minutes,” Leecy said. “Mom spotted the SUV when it exited the highway. I don’t think we have anything to worry about just yet. We need to sit tight. You did remove the battery from your phone, right Dad?”

“Yes,” I answered, “Better late than never.”

“They can’t pinpoint our location without the phones. There are hundreds of rooms on this street. I wonder if they were listening to the call as well?”

“I didn’t think prepaid cellphones could be traced.” I said, “But now I do, and that makes me wonder if they heard everything.”

“Don’t you read the papers, Dad, or watch the news?” Leecy asked. “The secrets are out. The NSA scandal blew the lid off the government’s cellphone, smartphone tracking and data collection techniques months ago. The old-fashioned trace-and-track gave agencies a location based on cellphone towers, but with smartphone technology the trace-and-track is more exact. Most of the applications on the iPhone generate a location pulse. This constant location signal sent by a smartphone, or map or application to the satellite, pinpoints the exact location of the user, but the cellphones we have don’t have that feature.”

“Forgive me, I’ve been out of the spy game for a while. The last time I was tasked with a mission was 2007. You’re a lot more up on this than I am, honey.”

“You’re forgiven. The guys in the SUV are tracing us the old-fashioned way and have a general location for our phones, but not an exact location. That’s why they’re driving around. They’re trying to pinpoint our location. Now that our phones are powered off they might as well be looking for a needle in a haystack. There’s only one way to track a prepaid cellphone like the ones we have. The person or agency doing the tracking must have the phone numbers. That means your contact at the CIA gave you up, the number was obtained from her without her knowledge, or, most likely, the store where we got the phones gave Agent Porter a list of the ones we bought.”

I was standing near the door to the room peering through the curtains. I listened to my daughter explain the situation and was just about to ask her another question when the SUV entered my field of vision. I froze. They were driving straight for us. I brought my finger to my mouth signaling for quiet. The big black SUV rolled by our room and kept moving. I shifted my feet and turned my body to allow my eyes to follow it. I watched as it stopped in front of the Oldsmobile, which was parked at the end of the parking lot ten doors away from our room.

I looked down at Valerie. She was seated with her back to me in a chair at the small table in front of the window. I saw the 9mm Glock in Valerie’s right hand, and bent down to Leecy’s ear.

“Move as quietly as you can to the bathroom and close the door.” Leecy did as I asked. I moved from the door to the wall behind Valerie. I had a better view from that angle. I watched the doors open from over Valerie’s shoulders. I flinched the slightest bit as two familiar faces and frames exited the vehicle and walked to either side of the Oldsmobile. The white bandages on the face of Agent Briggs Smith gave him away, and I wondered if I’d made a terrible mistake allowing him to live.

Agent Travis Smith opened the front passenger side of the Oldsmobile, and we watched as he did a double take. Must be reacting to the dome light not working. Then they took out their flashlights and inspected the vehicle and the dome light.

I tapped Valerie on the shoulder and motioned her toward the bathroom. We grabbed the Go bags and moved as quietly as we could through the small dark room. We didn’t talk till we were inside the bathroom behind the closed door.

“It’s safe to assume,” I started saying, “they now know we’re here. I screwed up on the dome light. I should’ve replaced the plastic cover. They’ll more than likely use their FBI credentials to get a look at the guest registry.”

“Yep,” Valerie said, “and as soon as they realize the car is parked in front of a vacant room they’ll know where we are. We have about fifteen minutes before they come for us.”

“I’m sorry. I screwed up. I guess I’m a little rusty.”

“No need for apologies.”

“Okay, so now what?” Leecy asked and then said, “we can’t stay in this bathroom forever.”

“We run,” I said.

“Let’s go,” Valerie said.

I followed Leecy and Valerie out of the bathroom and we all shouldered our packs before reaching the door. Valerie looked through the peephole and then the curtains before opening the door to the room. She had her Glock in her right hand, and she opened the door with her left.

“All clear. Stay close to me,” she said before she opened the door all the way and sprinted across the parking lot toward the adjacent hotel.

I closed the door to the room and ran to catch up to the girls, who were already crossing the thin grass divider, when the sound of a car’s engine roaring to life caused me to hesitate. I looked toward the sound and then in the direction of the girls, who dropped down and were crouching behind a Ford pickup truck parked in a spot close to the motel building next door. I removed my pack, shoved it under a car, and was crawling after it as the black SUV came into view.

From my hiding place beneath the car, I watched Travis and Briggs walk toward the room we’d vacated moments before. Using a key they must’ve gotten from the night manager, they walked right into the room. The lights came on for about fifteen seconds and then off again. I watched the Smith boys come out and close the door. Agent Briggs Smith pulled a phone from his pocket. He was walking toward me as he dialed. I could hear his half of the conversation.

“We found them, but they aren’t here. We’ve got the car, but we lost the cellphone signal.

“No, I mean we found where they were, but they’ve moved on.

“How could they have made us?

“Yes sir.

“He wants us to report back and wait for further instructions,” Agent Briggs Smith said to Travis Smith, and then he added, “If I ever get my hands on the old man again, I’m going to kill him. Porter keeps riding my ass about what happened at the Granger house.”

“Well, you did let a forty-six-year-old kick your ass,” Travis said with a laugh, and turned for the driver side of the SUV.

“Yeah, well, Porter’s partner is looking into the dude’s file. What do you want to bet that everything I told you the old man said turns out to be true?” Briggs Smith asked.

“Whatever. He’s forty-six years old,” Travis said, and closed his door before driving away.