The Warren Files 04: Jim and Lisa

"What's up, Oscar?" he asked. "Wasn't expecting to hear from you so soon."

"We have a slight problem, boss," I said.

"What's that?" he asked.

"Possible five-alarm," I added, giving him our code for a potential firefight. "ISP calling for local backup. Can you get feds here, ASAP?"

"I'll call it in right now," he said. "You know when this might happen?"

"If my intel is accurate, 2345 hours local time tonight," I said.

"I'll get on it right away," he said. "You be careful, hear?"

"I will, boss, promise," I said.

"I'd better go call everyone in," John said. "I'll set up a CP in my conference room." CP was short for Command Post.

"Do you have any weapons here?" I asked. He nodded his head.

"Yeah, we have a small armory," he said. "AR-15s and .45 caliber pistols along with several hundred rounds of ammunition. We had talked about giving the men firearms training, but that hasn't been approved yet. Don't forget, all of the instructors are combat veterans, so we all know how to take care of ourselves."

"I appreciate that, John," I said. "I think it would be best if your men concentrate on protecting the students and staff." He nodded his head.

"I think you're right," he said. "Dale, you go with Officer Warren and put Henderson in custody. Then I want you to go open up the armory and make sure everything is ready for issue. We'll need to double up on the gate security and make sure they're fully equipped."

"Yes, sir," Dale said. By then, Cliff returned and gave a thumbs up.

"I've been told officers are on the way, and the county sheriff has been notified," he said. "ETA about an hour."

"Thanks," I said. "When they get here, have them put their vehicles somewhere they won't be easily spotted and have them report to John's conference room if you would, please." He nodded his head.

"Will do," he said, before speaking into his radio. I motioned for Dale to follow me as I apprehended Henderson.

"Do you know where Henderson would be right now?" I asked. He nodded his head.

"His class would have finished lunch by now and should be at the hand-to-hand training site," he said.

"Lead the way," I said. I walked with Dale to the opposite end of the camp to a spot where the men were arranged in front of a raised platform. One instructor was on the platform, leading the men through their paces. Dale stepped forward and shouted out.

"Henderson," he yelled. Mark's face turned white as he turned to see Dale and I standing there. He was busted and he knew it. "Get your ass over here, NOW," Dale commanded. "You want me to take him down?" he asked me quietly as Mark came over to us.

"Nah," I said. "I got this, thanks anyway." When Mark got to us, he eyed me warily.

"Mark Henderson, I'm Officer Warren, Federal HomeFront Security Task Force," I said.

"Yeah, I know who you are, asshole," he spit.

"I'm placing you under arrest," I said. "Turn around, hands behind your back."

"What are you arresting me for?" he asked. "I ain't done shit."

"I'm arresting you for conspiracy, domestic terrorism, whatever else I can think of," I said. He assumed a weak fighting stance, his fists raised in front of him. I smiled as he threw a punch at my head. I casually blocked it and throat-punched him. He went down, gasping, holding his throat. "And now I get to add resisting arrest. Now turn over and put your hands behind your back."

He obeyed and I read him his Miranda rights as I placed him in cuffs.

"Ow," he complained. "You're cutting off my circulation."

"Good," I said. "Maybe that'll let a little more blood get to your pea brain. Now get up!" I turned to Dale. "You have someplace where we can keep this guy?"

"Yeah, we got a nice little stockade right over there," he said, pointing to a building standing by itself in an area cordoned off with a high chain link fence. I pulled on the cuffs holding Mark's hands and pushed him in the direction of the stockade.

"Move it," I told Mark. We went to the stockade and Dale opened the gate for me, then ushered us inside, where another camp employee wearing a camouflage uniform sat at a desk. A red armband read, "Security" in gold letters. I was relieved to see he was armed.

"Got a customer for ya, Bill," Dale said. "You got a nice holding cell available?" The security man smiled and stood up.

"For you, Dale, anything," he said, grabbing his keys. He opened a door made of iron bars and I took the cuffs off of Mark before pushing him inside.

"Strip," the security man told Mark, tossing him a pair of green overalls. Mark took his clothes off and the security man searched him as he removed his clothes. Once done, he put the coveralls on and sat down. I closed the iron door and looked at him. Dale spoke to Bill, giving him the information he would need for the charge sheet.

"Who are you working for?" I asked Mark. He looked at me with hate in his eyes.

"Fuck you," he said. I pulled out the phone we found, still in the evidence bag.

"Who's on the other end of this?" I asked. "Is it Mona Larsen?"

"Eat shit and die, pig," Mark spat.

"How many people are going to attack us tonight and from where?" I asked. He looked at me, shocked. He didn't see the text. He shrugged his shoulders.

"I don't know," he said. "And even if I did, I wouldn't tell you."

"What does MMAS want with Mr. Adams?" I asked.

"You should be more concerned with what Mona has in store for you, asshole," he said. "Do you know she plans to personally fuck you in the ass with an electric cattle prod? Trust me, by the time she's done with you, you'll be begging her to kill you."

"Damn, he really doesn't like you much, does he?" Dale asked. I chuckled at that.

"Nope, I guess not," I said. "But he did confirm one thing for me, though. I know who, exactly, is behind this. Just curious, do you know who's paying for his stay here?"

"Not personally," Dale said. "All the billing stuff is handled at corporate headquarters. We can find out, though, if you want."

"Please do," I said. "That may give us another clue." I turned to Bill, who was doing his paperwork on Mark. "Keep an eye on him," I said. "We'll be turning him over to the FBI when things settle down." Bill nodded his head.

"Got it," he said, tossing me a mock salute. Dale and I left the stockade and headed back to the main administration building. On the way, I got a call and saw it was from Bill.

"Give me the good news, boss," I said.

"There's a team from the FBI heading your way now," he said. "They're also proving aerial surveillance and are trying to get satellite coverage as well. They've been instructed that you're the agent in charge of this operation."

"Thanks," I said. "What's their ETA?"

"They said the team will be there by 1600 hours your time," Bill said.

"Okay," I said. "We've also got ISP troopers and deputies from the county sheriff on their way. Advise them no lights or sirens. I don't want to tip the world off as to what's going on here."

"You got it, Oscar," Bill said. "Take care of yourself. Give me a sitrep as soon as you can, got it?"

"Will do, boss," I said. We ended the call just as Dale and I reached the main admin building, where several ISP and county vehicles had already gathered. "Place is turning into a damn parking lot," I told Dale. "You think we can do something about all these cars? If we can't get them out of sight, maybe we can position them so they can give more cover for the students."

"Yeah, I think we can do something," Dale said. We went inside and Dale addressed the receptionist.

"Joni, have you contacted everyone already?" he asked her.

"I have, Dale, and they're all on their way in," she said.

"Good," Dale said. "Look, it's going to get crazy here, so why don't you go ahead and run home, look after that husband of yours tonight?" She shook her pretty head.

"No can do, Dale," she said. "You forget, I spent four years in the Marines. Where you guys go, I go. Now if you don't mind, I'm going to get into my cammies and 782 gear. Would you be a dear and get me some body armor? And I'll need to check out my pistol." Dale laughed as he nodded his head.

"Alright, Joni," he said. "Go get dressed, it's going to be a long night." We headed into the conference room that John had turned into his command post. A map of the local area covered the large table and John had red x's marked on it. He was discussing placement of the troopers with the officers already there.

"Any word?" John asked as he looked up at me.

"Feds will be here at 1600," I said. "With aerial and possibly satellite surveillance. We need to do something about all the cars out front. We don't want to tip our hand. Right now, we have the element of surprise and I'd like to keep it that way."

"You're right," he said. "They're not expecting a battalion of law enforcement officers. Let's put the vehicles between the barracks to give the students extra cover."

"I think that's the best option," I said.

"Then let's get it done," John said. "We have about an hour before the feds arrive."

"But what if my car gets damaged?" one of the deputies asked.

"Then file a claim with the feds," I said. "If need be, I'll approve it myself."

"Alright," he said. "That's a brand new cruiser, you know."

"Your cruiser can be fixed or replaced," I said. "A dead student can't. They're our first priority." He nodded his assent and left the building to move his car. The other officers followed suit. After they left, Dale came into the room.

"I called corporate about Henderson," he said. "According to the billing office, his tuition was pre-paid by an unknown private party."

"Interesting," I said.

"I thought so, too," he said. "That's a lot of money to put out for something like this. I get the feeling they know a lot more than we think."

"You're probably right," I said.

"Well, I have to change and go open the armory," he said. "If you see any instructors come in, have them come see me."

"Will do," I said. Joni came into the room, having changed into her camouflage uniform. John looked at her and smiled.

"I thought Dale told you to go home, Joni," he said. "It's going to be dangerous here tonight. I don't want you to get hurt."

"Nonsense, Colonel," she said. "I spent time eating dirt in Iraq just like you. If you can handle a few domestic terrorists, then by God, so can I. I'm staying and there's not a damn thing you can do about it." He smiled and nodded his head.

"Yes, ma'am," he said.

"You're not upset with me, are you, John?" she asked. He shook his head.

"Not at all, Joni," he said. "I'm proud. Damn proud." She smiled widely and turned to her duties.

"That's quite a receptionist you have there," I told John.

"The best," he said. "Her and her husband both served in the Marines. They met in Iraq, if you can believe that. Don't let that cute face fool you. She's tough as nails."

It wasn't long before a large van and several black SUVs pulled into the camp and parked in front of the administration building. Quite a few federal agents dressed in full combat gear and armed to the teeth piled out of the vehicles and invaded the building.

"Is Oscar Warren here?" I heard a man ask over the din. I looked and saw a man wearing a dark jacket over a shirt and a tie.

"I'm Warren," I said. He came over and introduced himself.

"Special Agent Smith, FBI," he said. "I was told you're the agent in charge here?"

"I am," I told him. "Is anyone else coming?"

"No, we're it," he said. I nodded my head and signaled for Deputy Raskin to lay the spike strips across the main road as he suggested to me earlier. He gave a thumbs up and headed out with another deputy. "What was that all about?" Smith asked.

"A couple of the local sheriff's deputies are laying spike strips at different points across the road coming into the camp," I said. "We wanted to make sure there weren't any more vehicles coming in."

"Good idea," he said. "So, what's your sitrep?" he asked. I briefed him on the case then turned everything over to John, who briefed the FBI agents on the lay of the land. Smith looked the map over carefully before speaking.

"That's pretty rugged terrain," he said. "You seriously think they'll come in from the north like that? After dark?"

"Yes, I do," he said. "We do a lot of training in that area. You're right, it's very rugged, and it's all uphill for them, but there's a lot of paths that have been beaten down over the years in there. Even with night vision goggles, they're pretty easy to follow. I figure they'd probably come in behind the barracks rather than trying to climb the rocks on the south side and charge over an open grinder. I've mapped out what I believe are the best locations for an effective defense, providing for overlapping fields of fire." Smith nodded his head as he took in what John had to say.

"That makes sense," he said. "Any idea what size of force we're talking about here?" he asked, looking at me.

"No idea," I said. "And I don't know where they're coming in from. For all I know they could already be out there in the woods just waiting to move in. Remember, I just got wind of this a few hours ago."

"Yeah, that's what I understand," Smith said. "Looks like you did a good job putting together a defense given the short amount of time you had." He looked back at John. "What about your personnel? What's their status?"

"Most of the support staff has already left," John said. "The medics, security team and Joni have stayed behind."

"Joni?" Smith asked. Joni came up behind Smith before speaking.

"That's me," she said. "I'm John's receptionist. Formerly a corporal in the U.S. Marine Corps."

"I see," Smith said. "And the students -- what are you doing about them?"

"The students will train as normal, eat as scheduled and return to their barracks where they'll shelter in place with their instructors until the all-clear is given," John said.

"What kind of men are your instructors?" Smith asked.

"All combat veterans," John said. "And former drill instructors or drill sergeants. They're also armed with AR-15s and .45 caliber pistols and can handle any situation." Smith nodded his head.

"What about media?" Smith asked.

"No media," I said.

"If there's a firefight here, someone's going to hear it," Smith said. I looked at John.

"Can Joni do a press release?" I asked. John nodded his head.

"Yes," he said.

"Good," I responded. "Have her do a press release saying your students were involved in a training exercise with federal officers. We won't issue it unless someone asks."

"Sounds good to me," Smith said. John agreed and Joni went to her desk to produce the release.

"What about aerial surveillance and satellite capability?" I asked.

"There's a helicopter set to land in a field just west of the main road," Smith said. "He'll remain there until about 2330, then he'll take off and begin his surveillance. I don't know what strings you people pulled, but we were able to get satellite access between 11:40 pm tonight and 12:15 am. The satellite will be out of range by then. I understand you captured an infiltrator, is that right?"

"Yes," I said. "He's in the stockade under armed guard at the moment."

"Get anything out of him?" Smith asked. I shook my head.

"No, nothing," I said.

"Why don't you let me have a crack at him?" he asked.

"Sure, why not?" I said in response.

"Would you and your men care for something to eat?" John asked. Smith shook his head.

"No," he said. "I'd rather they spent some time getting familiar with the terrain on the north side before it gets too dark. Do you have copies of this map?" Joni handed him a stack of papers -- copies she had made for them.

"I thought you might want them, so I ran off a bunch of copies for you," she said.

"Good thinking," he said, handing the reduced copies to his team leaders. "Get these distributed to everyone, and go claim your spots." The team leaders affirmed his instructions and left the building, their charges in tow. He looked at me before speaking again.

"You ready to go visit your suspect?" he asked. I nodded my head and grabbed the burner phone and battery we confiscated earlier.

"Yes," I said. "Let me just check something first." I put on a pair of latex gloves, inserted the battery, turned the phone on and unlocked it. I saw a new message had come through within the last few minutes: "Your services R no longer required."

"Shit," I said. "We'd better get over there, fast." Dale and Smith looked at me, surprised.

"What's wrong?" Smith asked. I showed him the message. "What does that mean?" he asked me.

"That's the same message sent to Pat Witherspoon right before she died," I said. "C'mon, let's go." We left the building and went to the stockade as fast as we could. When we got there, Bill, the security man on duty, looked up at us as he knelt before Mark's body.

"What happened?" Dale asked.

"I don't know," he said. "He just started shaking all over, then fell down. I haven't been able to get any response. I called the infirmary and they're sending someone over with a gurney." I looked at Mark and could tell he was already dead. I shook my head.

"Damn! Damn, damn, damn," I exclaimed.

"What's going on?" Smith demanded.

"MMAS got what they wanted from him, so they eliminated him," I said. "It's how they operate. I've seen it before."

"But how could they do that?" he asked.

"In this case, it was either remotely done or timed to coincide with the planned attack to distract us," I said. By then, two medics and a female doctor entered the stockade and were examining Mark's body. The doctor shook her head.

"I don't see anything that might explain what happened here," she said.

"Are you equipped to do an autopsy?" I asked. She shook her head.

"No, we're not," she said. "We handle emergency cases but everything else has to be handled off-site."

"Can you at least keep him overnight?" I asked. She nodded her head.

"Yes, we do have a small morgue," she said. "We can bag and tag him, then keep him there for a short while until the coroner gets here tomorrow."

"Do it, then," I said. I handed her my card. "Expedite his autopsy then get the results to me ASAP." Just then, my phone rang. I saw it was Bill, so I answered.

"Oscar, just wanted you to know we got clearance for you to be briefed on the work Adams is doing," Bill said.

"Thanks, boss," I said.

"How are things going there?" he asked me.

"The feds have arrived, along with ISP troopers and sheriff's deputies," I said. "We've put together a defensive plan and it's being implemented now. Henderson, or whoever he really is, just died, the same way Pat did."

"Crap," Bill said. "Well, I won't keep you too long. I know you're busy. I'll email you the authorization. Keep me informed."

"I will, thanks," I said before ending the call. I looked at Dale.

"Where's Jim right now?" I asked. He looked at his watch.

"He would be at the mess hall right now, eating dinner," Dale said.

"Let's go," I said. "He's got some explaining to do." We went to the mess hall and I could see Jim eating with the rest of his class. We walked over to him and motioned for him to come outside with us. After we got outside, I pushed him against the wall of the building and got as close to him as I could. He looked at me, scared.

"Alright," I said. "I want answers and I want them right fucking now. Your buddy Henderson is dead and there may well be more before this night is over. What are you working on that's so important?"

"I told you earlier, Officer Warren, I can't divulge that," he said. I pulled up my phone so he could see the PDF file of the authorization letter I got from Bill.

"I've been given clearance," I said. "Now, talk to me, goddammit."

"Okay," he said. "But I can't say anything with them here," he added, looking at Dale and Smith.