Sullivan Saga 1: Sullivan's War (4 page)

As Sullivan crept up the hallway, he stopped at the first room and placed a small, cone-shaped device against the door. He placed the pointed end of the cone into his ear and listened for a moment. The slightest sound would be picked up by the listening device. Inside, there was only the sound of water dripping from a faucet.

He moved up the hallway, listening at each door. He reached the halfway point and hadn’t yet heard anything that he thought sounded like Howard and his mistress. Sullivan stopped just around the corner from the elevator alcove. He could hear the faint sound of music, punctuated by cartoonish explosions. The agent was playing a game on his tablet.

Sullivan glanced at the shadow again, gauged the distance and swung around the corner. He was upon the man before he even looked up. Sullivan delivered a blow to the agent’s thorax then put his arm around the man’s neck and pulled him from the chair. He squeezed the man’s neck in the crook of his elbow and waited as he struggled, trying to reach Sullivan with his hands.

After fifteen seconds, the struggling stopped. Sullivan laid him gently on the carpet. To his relief, the agent was still breathing. Sullivan took the man’s gun, earpiece and tablet, then found his handcuffs and secured the agent’s hands behind his back.

Sullivan continued on down the hallway, pausing at each doorway as before. At the third door, he paused longer than he had at the others. The sound of heavy breathing, punctuated by an occasional moan, reached him through the listening device.

Sullivan stepped back, raised his leg and kicked the door in. As he rushed into the room the woman screamed and Howard flipped over the edge of the bed onto the floor, grabbing an empty champagne bottle from the nightstand as he went. Sullivan quickly strode up to Howard, knocked the bottle from his hands and fired a single shot. Howard fell back onto the floor as a small curl of smoke rose from the hole in his chest. The woman screamed again. Sullivan took a sheet of paper from his pocket, tossed it onto Howard’s body and left the room as quickly as he had entered.

FRANK ALLEN AND Liz Wagner stood over the body of Assemblyman Howard. Allen pulled on a latex glove and gingerly lifted the sheet of paper from the body. He turned it over in his hands and held it up to the light. It was blank.

“This is the same paper that was in Palmer’s study.”

Wagner looked at it over his shoulder. “He must have gotten Howard’s name from that letter that Palmer wrote. But why target Howard? He had just joined the pro-incorporation caucus. He had no vested interest in Edaline.”

“Nothing obvious, anyway. But more and more, I’m beginning to think that Sullivan is targeting people not just based on whether or not they support incorporation but based on some other factor.”

“So he left the paper so we would know it was the same guy? A kind of message?”

“I don’t know. He has to know that we’ve IDed him by now, and leaving behind a calling card seems a little on the nose for him.” He took a flat plastic bag from his pocket and placed the paper inside it. “This paper links Palmer, Howard and Conner. Two of those people are now dead. Do you think Sullivan is trying to let us know who his next target will be?”

Wagner looked down at the body. “Or trying to throw us off his trail, giving us a false lead. This guy was a sleaze. Just a cursory look through our files links him to half a dozen sex scandals and bribes. On Conner, there’s nothing. She’s clean.”

Allen shook his head. “Palmer was clean on paper, too, but he’s dead.”

“You’re right, Frank, there has to be something else going on here. Sullivan isn’t targeting just anyone.”

Allen called another agent in from the hallway. “Jackson, I want Assemblywoman Conner’s security detail doubled. Put Ives and Takemitsu on it.”

Jackson nodded and turned away to complete the request.

FRANK ALLEN SAT on the sofa in his living room, staring at the three-dimension image rising from the table in front of him. He wasn’t paying close attention to the football game, but having it on in the background helped him relax. He plucked a bottle of beer from the side table and took a sip.

In the next room, he could hear Liz Wagner talking to her mother on the telephone. Liz stayed over more often than not lately. The Bureau didn’t strictly forbid relationships between coworkers, but they had decided to keep it private to avoid any problems.

Allen’s earpiece began chiming on the table. He picked it up and put it in his ear as he took out his tablet to see who was calling. The call was coming from Agent Lasky’s number, but Allen knew it wasn’t Lasky. His tablet had been taken when Sullivan had attacked him and killed Assemblyman Howard.

Allen waited for a moment, cleared his throat and tapped the earpiece to answer the call. “Allen.”

“Hello, Agent Allen.”

“Richard Sullivan?”

“Please, call me Rick.”

Allen got up from the sofa and went to the bedroom. He mouthed the word “Sullivan” to Wagner. Her eyes widened, and she quickly and quietly ended the call to her mother. As soon as her mother was off the line, Wagner made another call. “I need a trace on Agent Allen’s line,” she said as Allen went back to the living room.

“So Rick,” said Allen slowly. “What can I do for you?”

“You can stop stalling, first of all. I’ve taken measures to ensure that this call can’t be traced. I know you’ve already tried unsuccessfully to locate Agent Lasky’s tablet. I know how to remove tracking devices, and I know how to scramble the source of the signal.”

“Fair enough.”

“Put me on speaker so Agent Wagner can hear.”

Allen shot a glance at Wagner, who had come to stand in the doorway.

“What makes you think I’m with Wagner, Rick?”

He heard an exhalation of breath. “Will you
please
stop insulting me, Allen? I don’t want to play games with you, I just want you to listen. Put me on speaker.”

“All right, Rick. Just calm down.” Allen tapped on his tablet to engage the device’s built-in speakers. He took the earpiece from his ear. “Rick? Agent Wagner and I can both hear you now.”

“Thank you. First of all, I want you to know that I’m not a monster. I’m not doing anything that doesn’t need to be done, that hasn’t been deserved.”

“I know, Rick. Palmer and Howard were dirty, weren’t they?”

“Of course they were. They’re politicians. But that’s not why I killed them.”

“Why, then?”

“I’m going to give you some information, but first I want you to promise me that the Bureau will follow up on what I have to say.”

“I can’t guarantee that. I have to take orders from the director.”

“Then promise that you’ll look into it yourself. Gather enough evidence to make the Bureau take an interest.”

“Rick, I’m a bit busy trying to find you.”

“Then we can come to an agreement. I’ll give you the time to investigate. I won’t kill any more assembly members, and I’ll leave Earth. I won’t cause you any more trouble.”

“All right, Rick. I can, unofficially and tentatively, make that agreement. Now what is it you have to say?”

“Did you ever wonder why an assemblyman from Virdis was so interested in incorporating Edaline into the SA?”

“Actually, I did. His associates tell me he was an idealist, that he wanted all planets to receive the protection and benefits afforded by SA membership.”

“Right. I have to tell you, I’ve been following Palmer’s actions for over two years now. I’ve been doing some investigation of my own. There was a quid pro quo in place.”

“Between Palmer and who?”

“Men in Edaline’s government. The deal was this: Palmer, using his substantial influence in the SA, would push for Edaline’s admittance into the Assembly. In return, Palmer and anyone else he had to bribe would get extensive landholdings on Edaline along with unrestricted development rights.”

“I get it. Under Assembly law, no individual of an SA planet is allowed to do business with the government of a non-SA planet.”

“Right. Only private transactions are permitted, and any large transaction, such as the transfer of land titles, would draw scrutiny from the trade commission. So if Palmer and his cronies wanted to get rich investing in Edaline, Edaline would have to join the Assembly. Can you imagine the boom in development that would occur if Edaline joined the SA and all the trade and legal restrictions were lifted?”

“Of course. We’ve seen it happen with Desiren, with Tacita. But why do you care about this? If you object to Edaline’s government, why kill assemblymen from other planets?”

There was a brief silence at the other end of the line. “I’ve done good work on Edaline already.”

“So those assassinations last year… those were yours?”

“Yes.”

“I have to give you credit, Rick, you’re good at what you do.”

“Thank you. But to answer your question, joining the SA would only entrench the butchers in Edaline’s government even further. If they gain the protection that comes from being part of the Assembly, they would become too powerful to overthrow. As it is, they suffer from trade sanctions because of their brutality toward their own people. If someone as influential as Palmer hadn’t been championing their cause, the Assembly never would have gotten this close to passing the resolution. So you see why he had to be eliminated.”

“And Howard?”

“He was in on it, too.”

“And what do you know about Conner? Is she part of this scheme?”

There was another brief pause. “I don’t think so. I think she’s just a misled idealist.”

“So you won’t hurt her?”

“I already told you I won’t kill any more assembly members.”

“So you did. I appreciate that, Rick.”

Wagner’s tablet buzzed. She made eye contact with Allen then went into the bedroom to answer the call. A moment later, she stepped into the living room and handed Allen her tablet. She had typed a message: “Sullivan’s scrambler must have malfunctioned. We have a trace.”

Allen cleared his throat. “So, Rick. Tell me about how you came to be a freedom fighter.”

“Agent Allen, your voice sounds different. You’re trying to keep me on the line for some reason.”

“I’m just curious about you, Rick.”

There was a noise of fumbling on the other end. “I see. My scrambler died. I have to go, Agent Allen.”

“Rick, wait, I can get you leniency.”

There was no reply. Allen looked at his tablet; the call had been cut off. “Damn it! What’s happening, Liz?”

“Agents are en route to his location.”

“How close?”

Wagner put her tablet on speaker. They listened as the agents approached the location, a narrow alleyway between two buildings.

“All clear,” said one of the agents. “Found Lasky’s tablet. Spreading out to search the area.”

Allen returned to the couch and took his shoes out from under the table. Wagner went to him and put her hand on his shoulder. “You going over there?”

“No. I’m going to Assemblywoman Conner’s.”

“Why? He said he wouldn’t hurt her. You don’t believe him?”

“I do, actually. But I think he’ll want her to know the truth about the Edaline issue. I think he’s leaving the planet soon, that’s why he’s getting his side of the story out.”

Wagner put on her coat. “Hang on, I’ll go with you.”

As he waited for Wagner to get ready, Allen made a call to the agents assigned to protect Conner. “Takemitsu, it’s Allen. Where is Assemblywoman Conner?”

“She’s in her apartment.”

“Check on her, would you?”

“Sure thing.”

“Where’s Ives?”

“He’s patrolling the perimeter of the building.”

“And the other two agents?”

“Patrolling the other floors.”

“All right, let them know that I think Sullivan may try to get to Conner. Be on your guard and call for backup. I’ll be there in ten minutes.”

5

KAREN CONNER SAT staring at her computer screen. There were documents she needed to review, but she couldn’t focus. Scott Howard’s murder had rattled her. She was thankful for the Bureau’s protection, but she still felt vulnerable, exposed. She kept checking and rechecking the locks on her windows and peering through the peephole on her front door to make sure Agent Takemitsu was still standing guard. She had checked only a moment ago and was startled when she heard a knock.

She returned to the door and looked out. “Yes?”

“It’s Agent Takemitsu, Miss Conner. I’d like to make a check of the apartment.”

She opened the door and let him in. He locked it behind him then went around, checking all the windows and looking out onto the patio before returning to the living room.

“Everything’s secure,” he said. “Agent Ives or I will be right outside until three a.m. Do you want us to let you know when our replacements arrive?”

“At three? No, that’s all right. Thank you anyway.”

“Not a problem, Miss Conner. Let me know if you need anything.”

“Thank you.”

Takemitsu unlocked the door and reached for the handle. As he put his hand on it, he felt it turn in his palm. Before he could react, the door was pushed in, throwing him to the ground. He tried to look up at his assailant, but a hand caught him under the chin and pushed his head back. Another hand wrapped around his neck and began to squeeze.

Takemitsu managed to lift his knee and make contact with his assailant’s stomach, but the blow was too weak to throw him off. Black blotches appeared at the corners of his eyes, grew in size then completely obscured his vision as the lack of oxygen forced him into unconsciousness.

Conner ran for the door but was stopped by a hand on her arm. Rick Sullivan closed the door, locked it and stood in front of it, facing Conner.

She dropped to her knees. “I’m sorry… please, whatever I did, I didn’t mean to hurt you or anyone.”

“I know,” said Sullivan. “And I don’t mean to hurt you. But I can tell you already know why I’m here.”

“The Edaline resolution?”

“Yes. It cannot pass.”

“It won’t pass. With Palmer and Howard dead, everyone else is too scared to vote for it.”

“And you won’t open the resolution again?”