Off the Grid (A Gerrit O'Rourke Novel) (29 page)

Joe had placed Gerrit in charge of this operation. It felt like he was back in the military, preparing to go behind enemy lines once again. But now he was leading a group of civilians who seemed to have no training for this kind of challenge.

He hoped they’d make it back alive.

Joe watched his team board the jet bound for Albuquerque. As the stairs retracted, he pulled out his cell phone and dialed a preprogrammed number. A moment later Beck Malloy’s voice came on the line.

“Beck, they’re just leaving for the lab in New Mexico. I am on my way to check out the jackal’s den in Harrogate. I’ll keep in touch.”

“You going solo?” Concern crept into Beck’s voice. “At least let me set up a contact to cover your backside overseas.”

“I’ll be okay. And I have a contact there if I run into trouble. I’m more worried about our boy and the crew heading for New Mexico. The target had to have heard Gerrit’s conversation with the senator. I would bet he already put a hit team together to intercept them once they land.”

“That’s a high probability, Joe. Our agents found wiretaps in the senator’s house. What do you want to do about it?”

A jet roared overhead, drowning out any conversation. Joe waited until the aircraft passed and its blast abated. “Contact our guy at SOCOM. Tell him his favorite Marine is heading into trouble. He and his crew need eyes on their backs without raising any flags with the brass. Keep this covert. Can’t let the public know the military is involved.”

“Communications will be a one-way street with our contact, Joe. Gerrit cannot be given access to military data. His security clearance with Special Operations Command became inactive when he decommissioned.”

“Yeah, but his clearance can be reactivated quickly by the Bureau if people like yourself push it. Besides, our contact would never let a security clearance get in the way of protecting Gerrit. They go way back.”

Beck hesitated. “With Gerrit being a person of interest in connection to the Seattle murders and now the senator’s death, I couldn’t get that through the Bureau even with the president’s help. At least not without raising a lot of eyebrows.”

“Okay. Then let our friend with Special Ops handle it from his end like all the others.”

“Off the grid?”

“Exactly. It’s the safest way for all of us to function right now.”

“Consider it done.”

Joe killed the connection and tossed the phone after making sure its memory had been wiped clean. Time to pack a bag and visit the enemy’s lair.

Richard Kane heard the backblast of jet engines as Collette came on the phone line. “You in Albuquerque?”

“Just arrived, Richard. Any updates?”

“I just learned that the team split up. Joe O’Rourke has designated Gerrit to take the rest of the team to your location and find the lab.”

“And Joe?”

“He’ll be heading to my location in Harrogate. I’ll handle him on my end. You just find and kill that team. I don’t want them getting anywhere near that lab. Do I make myself clear?”

“Perfectly,” Collette said with confidence. “They won’t leave the city.”

He cut the connection. His informant came through again. And if Collette failed, he had a backup. The informant would kill everyone on the team.

Albuquerque, New Mexico

D
ry winds and high altitude cleared Gerrit’s head as the team exited the plane. A burly man hailed him from across the tarmac.
Officer Geronimo Sanchez
. Joe’s description of Geronimo was dead on. Alena, Willy, and Redneck hung back near the plane while Gerrit approached the cop.

Gerrit stuck out a hand. Geronimo, leaning against his car, arms folded, seemed to ignore the gesture.

“Thought you guys would never get here. You ready?”

Taken aback, Gerrit nodded and motioned for the others to join.

Geronimo reached into his car and popped open the trunk. “Throw your things in the back and let’s get a move on.” The man was all business. “I’ve set up everything, just the way Joe asked.”

Willy was the first to arrive. “So, Geronimo, how did you get that name?”

Gerrit hunched his shoulders. “Leave the man alone, Willy. He’s trying to help us.”

Geronimo whirled around to face Gerrit. “Stop right there, partner.” The cop held up a hand. “No names. Understood? What I don’t know, I can’t be expected to give up. I’m doing a favor for an old friend. No questions asked. Let’s just leave it at that.”

Gerrit nodded and the others piled into the car.

Geronimo waited until everyone was settled, then punched the accelerator. He wheeled around a terminal and shot away from the airport as if he could not wait to get rid of them. A five-minute ride found them in a large public parking lot. “Here’s your new ride.” He screeched to a stop alongside a white van with tinted windows.

Willy groaned as they piled out of the car. A magnetized decal slapped on the side of the van read
Phil’s Plumbing: Let us flush your problems away—Cheap and Fast
.

“You gotta be kidding,” Willy said. “We’re going to run around town pretending to be a bunch of plumbers? This is sooo uncool. Fly in on a fancy business jet and drive out in a plumbing rig that promises to flush our problems away. Give me a break. The ad sucks.”

“Well, excuse me, pal.” Geronimo glowered at Willy before turning to Gerrit. “It was the only undercover I could snag at a moment’s notice. Only the hookers working our hotels know about this vehicle. We used it for a sting operation a few weeks back. I suspect your targets are a step above hookers, so this ride should work.”

Geronimo leaned out the driver’s window. “Give me a call when you’re ready to blow town. Park it right here, and leave the keys in the ignition.” He handed Gerrit a sealed business envelope. Gerrit grasped it and felt metal objects inside.

“Keys to a safe house and the address are inside.” Geronimo started to roll up the window, then stopped. “You’ve got my number. Give me a jingle if you run into any trouble. Otherwise—we never met.”

With that, Geronimo drove away.

Willy reached down and picked up his bag. “And I was just getting ready to unleash my Geronimo jokes. That would have been a waste of time. I don’t think that guy’s cracked a smile since Custer’s Last Stand.”

Gerrit opened the van’s driver-side door. “Get over it, Willy. Climb inside and start working your magic.”

Still muttering, Willy opened the side door and climbed into the van and began to gag. “Phew. Someone left garbage in here. It smells like ol’ Phil forgot to flush.” Holding his nose, he pulled out his laptop and started to work.

The others climbed in, Alena sitting up front on the passenger side, and Redneck following Willy into the belly of the van. Gerrit turned in the driver’s seat and pulled aside a blackout curtain so he could see the two men. “Okay, give us an update.”

Willy set his computer on his lap and opened up programs. “I had our home-based computer system begin a search before we took off from Maryland last night. Searching all calls and communications linked to Kane that had any connection to the greater Albuquerque area.”

Gerrit nodded. “Doesn’t he run an encryption on his system to block such searches?”

“J and W Enterprises will not be trifled with, my man.”

Alena caught Gerrit’s puzzled look. “Joe and Willy Enterprises. Wasn’t Willy exceptionally creative when he came up with that name?”

“Almost as creative as Phil’s plumbing business.” Gerrit grinned. “Actually, Phil may have been a tad more creative.”

Willy scowled at Alena, ignoring Gerrit. “The name is simple and to the point, Al. Don’t need more than that in my business.” He turned the computer so the others could read it. “Kane did make a bunch of calls here to this unlisted number.” He moved the cursor over the number.

“So we don’t have the location identified?” Gerrit scanned the computer’s display.

“Oh ye of little faith.” Willy clicked on the number and dragged it to another screen. “The moron with this unlisted phone number uses a computer-based phone system. I backtracked the IP address with my own magic and traced it to a business just south of here.”

“Where is this place located?”

An aerial view from a satellite emerged on Willy’s screen. “Way ahead of you, Mr. G. Just got this live feed from one of Joe’s friends.”

Gerrit eyed him. “Who?”

“Mr. J always says, ‘don’t ask.’ How do I know?”

Irritated, Gerrit glared back. “This is serious, Willy. Whoever’s feeding this to you knows right where we are. They can track us.”

A gleam of amusement shone from Willy’s eyes. “You may have been
Captain America
in the Marines, but in our operation you’re still a rookie.” He glanced at Alena before continuing. “With Mr. J’s help, I’ve accessed a web of servers worldwide. Anyone tries to track one of my incoming signals is gonna have one heck of a headache. They may wind up sniffing around places like Singapore or New Guinea, thinking they will find me there. Don’t worry, Mr. G. We is well protected.”

“We
are
well protected, Willy,” Gerrit said, smiling.

“Yeah suh, Master G. Yeah suh.” Willy shot a grin Alena’s way.

She just laughed. “You have just been Willyized, Gerrit. Since we met, Willy earned a bachelor’s degree in literature after his computer classes, and he is working on a doctorate online. He has a better grasp of language than most of us.” She gave him a look that meant Gerrit had been played. “You just heard his
Uncle Tom’s Cabin
rendition. If you try to correct him, his language just gets worse.”

A broad grin met Gerrit’s stare when he turned toward Willy. “Okay, smart guy. Give me the intel on this place.”

The smile slipped away as Willy focused on the computer. “We’re here.” He slid the cursor over so it blinked on top of the Albuquerque airport. He zoomed in until their van emerged on the screen, shifting the angle so the
Phil’s Plumbing
logo became vividly clear.

“That’s great, Willy,” Gerrit said, “but where’s our target area?”

“Man, Joe was right. You are very impatient.” Willy shrugged and began shifting images with a few command strokes. “Here we are above the lab. I’ll just move us in closer.” Fingers sped across the keyboard as Willy entered more commands. A large, single-story building emerged, its structure spread across barren land. He narrowed the picture until they could read the company’s sign—Millennium Technologies, Inc.

Willy laughed. “I guess this company thinks they are going to be around for a while.”

“Actually, I think they are a bit arrogant using that name,” Alena said. “Remember, we are searching for evidence of Project Megiddo. For the unenlightened,
Megiddo
is the Hebrew word for the site where the forces of good and evil converge during end times. In fact, I could take you to that site today, if anyone’s interested.” No one responded, so she continued. “After that battle, Christ will set up His kingdom here on earth where He will reign for a millennium. Somehow, I don’t think Millennium Technologies will still be around when that happens.”

Gerrit pointed at the screen, trying to ignore Alena’s lecture. “Willy, can you zoom in on the building’s features?”

“Can a cop find a donut shop?” Willy glanced up with a challenging smirk. “Oh, sorry, Detective. Just joking.” He shifted his gaze back to the screen. “Here you go.”

Gerrit whistled as the image cleared. “This place looks like Fort Knox.” A high cyclone fence, crowned with thorny concertina wire, stretched the perimeter of the complex. It looked like a prison. Only one break in the wire where a single roadway led past a guard shack, the road broadening to create a small parking lot. All vehicular traffic could easily be searched coming and going from the only access point.

“There,” Gerrit said. “Show me the area between the guard shack and what appears to be the front entryway.” He pointed to the front of the complex.

Again, Willy’s fingers worked the keyboard. The view shifted to reveal a small parking lot in front of the entryway, with an interior cyclone fence standing between the parking lot and the rest of the complex. It appeared passengers must leave their vehicles and pass through a second sentry gate before reaching the building.

“Man, that is tight security.” Redneck leaned over Willy for a better look.

“Do you mind moving back, Hillbilly?” Willy glared up at him. “Your breath smells like a garlic factory.”

Redneck moved in closer. “Oh, come on, Mr. Geek. Let me plant one on you.”

Willy pushed him back. “I’m serious,
No Neck
. Give me some space.”

Gerrit grimaced. “Come on, guys. Let’s focus on the target. You two lovebirds can take this up some other time.”

Irritated, Willy peered at the scene and entered more code commands. “Okay, I’ll scan the perimeter so we can see what we’re up against.” He drew the image back so they could see the area between the inner fence and the building’s exterior.

Gerrit pointed at the upper right of the screen. “Get me a clear view of that pole. They’ve ringed the building with a series of concrete poles. I need to see what’s on them.”