Daniel Ganninger - Icarus Investigations 01 - Flapjack (27 page)

-
Chapter 50-

“Here, turn here,” the man said from the passenger seat of the vehicle.  He flipped through pages of paper on his lap.  “Have you heard from team two?  He asked a man sitting in the back of the SUV.

“
Not yet sir,” he said looking at his mobile phone.

“
Try to get a hold of them, and when you do, give them this address.  This is the man I’m concerned with now.”  He handed the man in the back of the vehicle a single piece of paper.  “This man is former NSA.  We’re lucky we found his address at that office.  Call control and see if they can get any more information about this Alex Jubokowski.” 

The man in the back took the next piece of paper and dialed the phone, talking quietly while the vehicle drove slowly through a residential area filled with massive McMansions and curving hills.

The man in front consulted a handheld GPS unit. “Okay, stop here.”  He pointed to a curb in front of a semicircular drive.  He rolled down his window, put his arm out, and made a circular motion with his finger to another SUV following close behind.  “Ready the weapons.  We take anyone alive for questioning, but no escapes,” he said coldly. 

The vehicle screeched, bumped into the driveway, and intentionally stopped in front of a pair of garage doors,
eliminating any possible escape route.  The men in the first vehicle got out slowly and deliberately, careful to scan the area for witnesses to their intrusion.  The men from the second vehicle moved quickly, and without speaking, fanned out around the house.  They each pulled black sock masks down over their faces as they went, hiding their identities.  They were careful to conceal their weapons as they moved, but luckily for them, the property was secluded from the adjacent houses.

The man from the front car, the obvious leader of the operation,
walked slowly to the front door while the driver carried a large metal tube, a battering ram. 

“
Police, open up,” he yelled and motioned for the driver.  The driver strolled to the door with the battering ram.

H
e gave a wave with his hand and stepped aside from the door.  The husky driver threw the ram back and with one mighty hit shattered the door from its deadbolt, flinging it open in a splintering shower of wood.  Immediately a whining sound came from the house as the men streamed in. 

From around the back of the house came a shattering of glass
.  A fog began to emanate inside the house from strategically placed smoke grenades, which added to the confusion.

“
Get that alarm under control,” the leader told one of the men who pulled out a tool bag and went to work on the alarm control panel just inside the house.  After a few seconds of working on the panel the loud sound stopped.  The men moved silently from room to room while the leader coolly strolled behind them.

“
All clear,” he heard through the earpiece.  “All clear in the rear,” he heard from another team member.

The fog began to lift and he began to see the other men emerge from different parts of the house.

“Back rooms, closets, attic, all clear, Sir,” a masked man said to him.

“
Shit,” he muttered and keyed his microphone.  “Tear it apart,” he said casually.

The men moved in unison away from him, turning things over
in the room, and began to look through drawers and cabinets with a blatant disrespect for any neatness.

“
Sir, we found a computer room,” he heard through his earpiece. 

He walked over
the newly broken glass and overturned furniture.  The men went into Alex’s office, the computer room, where they met up with two other men.  The remaining two men stood guard by the front door as part of the group’s carefully choreographed routine.

The computers stood just as Alex had left them, but now they were turned off.

“We’re running out of time,” the leader told the team’s electronics expert.  “Figure out what he’s got here.”

The electronics man pulled out more equipment, readying himself for what he would find.  He turned on the computers and the screens popped to life. 
The man plugged in a laptop to one of the ports on the computer.

“
That was easy,” he announced proudly.  “This guy doesn’t even have password protection or encryption, an amateur move for a NSA guy.  I should have his entire hard drive copied in five minutes.  It’s big, though.”

“
Just do it,” the leader demanded, looking at his watch.

The other men milled about the room, looking at the various artifacts Alex had accumulated over the years during his days of questionable activity.  The laptop whirled to life, pulling off the information from Alex’s computer, or so they thought.  The electronics man continued to look at the screen until it suddenly froze, stopping mid-download.

“It stopped.  Ahh,” he grunted, “what’s the problem?”

The other men turned around.  He knelt down to the laptop and about that time heard a click.  The screens of the computers went black.  The men looked at the screens
as a message popped up on the monitors.

“
We know who you are”, it read, “and you’re bad, bad boys”.  The men stared at the screen in complete shock and surprise.  The words disappeared, and in its place a large picture of a hand appeared with the middle finger extended in the universal sign of goodwill.

Before the men could even react to the events, there was a sizzling sound and the monitors went black again.  A crack of sound exploded in the
room and electrical energy was sent rushing through all the equipment, followed by tiny electrical sparks of flashing light.  The laptop sizzled under the new electrical load.  The electronics expert tried to react by pulling the plug on the laptop, but it was already too late, it had been fried by an intense electrical surge, melting the circuit board.  Then almost simultaneously there was a whirling sound which came from the ceiling.  The men looked up to find the sound, but couldn’t localize it.  All of a sudden there was a tremendous pop and a purple liquid exploded in the room, covering everything, including the men who stood shocked at the sight of the fluid coming from the ceiling.  Smoke trails began to fill the room from the explosion, and the purple liquid began to find its way into every nook and cranny of the men and their equipment, coating them in a magnificent, deep, dark purple.  As they tried to remove the liquid from their faces and realize what had happened, another alarm sounded, even louder than the first.

“
What the,” was all the leader could muster before being drowned out by the screaming alarm.  “Everybody out!”  He yelled.

The electronics expert grabbed the useless laptop and slipped his way out of the room, following the other men.  The
y raced to the front door and met the guards half way, who had heard the blare of noise.  The guards stared in disbelief as the purple people looking like some sort of mythical monster, headed toward them.  The purple men pushed past them and out the front door, conveniently leaving colored footprints.

“
What the hell happened?”  One of the unaffected members exclaimed.

“
Shut up and get in the truck,” the leader said forcefully, attempting to wipe the liquid from his hands and face.  The place was covered in the now familiar liquid, staining everything in its path.

Alex had acquired the proprietary liquid months before as part of his own personal security system.  It was the same dye banks used in many money bundles that were being stored or transported.  It was designed to explode if anyone tried to steal the money, turning it all into useless currency, and in turn making the thief an easy target for the police.  In this case it had stained the intruders and dyed their skin
, making it virtually impossible to clean off until it disappeared naturally.  These men wouldn’t dare travel in public anytime soon.  It would take at least three days to wear off, regardless of how much scrubbing and showering.  In addition, it stained their rental vehicles, which opened themselves up to being easily located if someone knew what to look for.

Alex had effectively put them out of business for the time being.  The police were already on their way
to respond to his backup alarm, and they would be surprised at the sight.  The men clamored into the vehicles and quickly drove away.  As each man pulled off their soaked masks, they revealed purple masked faces where the skin had been exposed.  They looked like raccoons that had been caught pilfering trashcans.

The leader immediately dialed his phone. 
“How am I going to explain this”, he thought.

“
We have a problem,” was all he could muster as he spoke into the phone.

-
Chapter 51-

I awoke as the plane touched down in Houston and peered over at Galveston who was still busily writing on his pad of paper.  We taxied to the gate, debarked, and walked to our connecting flight. 

Galveston
bought a newspaper to pass the time.  He handed it off to me to read while he ate to see if there was any new information about the explosions in Africa.  I hadn’t even gotten the newspaper open, when I saw a new disturbing headline. “Explosions Rock Venezuelan Oil Platforms”.  I hurriedly skimmed the article.  Black Bear had done just what we predicted, but the speed at which they did it was the shocker.  I read it further.  It seemed that the rhetoric was increasing from the anti-American Venezuelan government.  They were blaming the explosions on anti-government rebels supported by no one other than the United States.

The explosions rocked two different offshore oil platforms, sending hundred
s of thousands of barrels of oil spewing into the Atlantic Ocean.  Black Bear obviously didn’t care about the environment, nor did the great Senator Eastman, I thought.  I pushed the paper toward Galveston and pointed at the headline, not saying a word.  He continued to slowly chew on a muffin he had.

“
Damn,” he said with muffin still in his mouth.  “Just like you said.  They didn’t waste any time, did they?”

“
No,” I answered.  “I didn’t think they would do it in Venezuela, but I guess it makes sense.”

“
How is that?” Galveston asked me.

“
The Venezuelan government doesn’t particularly care for us.  This ought to ramp up the oil prices worldwide quickly, especially for the U.S.  I’m going to find a TV and see what they’re saying about it.”  I left Galveston and walked to one of the overhead televisions tuned to CNN.  I strained to hear the commentators over the clatter of the terminal.  The oil prices were rising on the news of the explosions.  Oil output would be decreased worldwide due to the explosions in Africa and now Venezuela.  In addition, a blanket of fear would cover everyone’s mind about the rising prices, causing companies and people to reevaluate how they did business.  There were even calls for dipping into the United States’ strategic oil reserves.

I thought of what the Senator was doing this whole time.  He was probably sitting comfortably in his Senate office watching the news unfold on his TV, waiting for his chance to release his new life saving legislation.  I walked back to
Galveston who had finished his snack and was pouring over the news story as the announcement came on for the next leg of our flight.  It was on to Rio, and I was still curious about Galveston’s plan.  It better be good.

-Chapter 52-

Before takeoff Galveston showed me a phone text message from Alex.  It read, “Made it okay, call if you need us.  Hope you’re comfortable”.

“
Look at the picture he sent with it,” Galveston said pointing at the phone.  Up flashed a picture of Alex and Dr. Sloan, each with a goofy grin on their faces as they held up large margarita glasses.

“
Jerk,” I said. 

“
I’m going to tell him they need to be in Rio tomorrow, just to tick him off,” Galveston said laughing.

“
Beautiful,” I added.

Jane found her seat next to us and she patted me on the knee as she sat down.  I had been fully forgiven for my gasoline gaffe.
  Galveston pulled out his papers and moved through them scribbling notes. 

I decided to focus on Jane and know her better again since
now we were rested and on more amicable terms.  I was excited to have some make believe alone time with her.  Jane reached her arm under mine and put her head on my shoulder.  We both fell asleep in a glorious, comfortable slumber.

I slept hard until I felt a prodding in my ribs. 
Galveston was watching the extremely bad in-flight movie while drinking a soda.  He was poking me with his finger while he watched and drank.

“
What are you doing?”  I asked groggily with one eye open.

“
Oh, you’re awake,” he said, faking surprise.  “Well since you’re awake, let me fill you in on what we’re going to do.”

“
Okay,” I said, wiping my eyes.  I gently moved Jane’s head to the window.  “Let me hear it,” I said to Galveston flatly.

“
Good.  Okay, here’s the plan,” he spoke quietly, almost covertly.  “When we finally make it to Sao Paulo we’ll find Ecomax and hopefully locate Dr. Patelo.  Depending on what we find, we infiltrate the facility, sabotage the production, and then get out.” 

I waited for more.
  “You’re kidding, right?”

“
No, that’s about it.”

“
So in all this time, this is what you’ve come up with?  What the hell were you writing over there for so long?” 

“
Oh, this,” he said, holding up his papers.  “Sudoku.  This crap is addictive.”

“
Sudoku?” I questioned flatly.  “A game?  You’ve been doing a game this whole time?”

“
No, this is no game, it’s a mental exercise.” 

I could only roll my eyes.
  “What in the world would grand plan accomplish?”  I inquired.

“
If they can’t release the product, then they can’t keep going with their plan.”

“
Right,” I answered.

“
So if they don’t have one that works, then they’re sunk.”

“
True,” I said, “but that’s not the point.  Just the idea could be enough to get things rolling.”

“
Well, what’s your plan?”  Galveston asked. 

I thought a second and then a minute.  It was obvious
he needed my help to come up with a more coherent plan.  “I think we need to manipulate the market, or in this case, the potential market for the battery.”

“
Go on,” he prodded me.

“
The way I see it, Black Bear or Ecomax releases a battery that is good, but doesn’t have near the capability of Dr. Sloan’s battery.  If we could somehow manipulate the timing around of the introduction of the battery into the market with an alternative that is better, than demand for their ‘so-called invention’ would be non-existent.” 

“
I see,” Galveston nodded his head slowly and shuffled his papers.  “We could break Black Bear, Ecomax, and the Senator, all at once. I see where you’re going.  I’ve got it, I’ve got a plan,” he said holding up a finger.

“
Do tell,” I said shifting in my seat.

“
Just as you said before, there needs to be an alternative, and our alternative will be the guy we’ve had the whole time, Dr. Sloan.” 

I gave
Galveston a confused look.  “You lost me,” I told him.

“
Dr. Sloan has the final prototype version.  We do just what I said before.  We get into Ecomax.  I know we can do this because we have Elizabeth and the resources of MI6 on our side.  There are agents on the ground in Sao Paulo already, and one of those agents has a contact at Ecomax.  She said she can get us in, but that’s it.  They can’t risk anymore than that.  Our first step is to sabotage their operation.  Dr. Sloan can educate us on the best way to do this.  The second part is even more out of the box.  Dr. Sloan doesn’t know it yet, but he’s going to get to do his long awaited Memphis presentation about his invention.  He’s going to do it as the President of our new technology company.”  Galveston hung the words out so I could absorb them.  A tiny flicker lit in my brain.  I understood where he was going with this.

“
We beat them to the punch then,” I answered.

“
Exactly.  We put the fear in them and watch them squirm,” Galveston said confidently.  “After that, we expose them for the entire world to see.”

The plan was daring, stupid, and had so many variables that must be met that it was bound to work.  We had made it this far, so why not?  In a nutshell, we would release Dr. Sloan’s prototype before Ecomax and Black Bear could release their prototype.  But they
would have a huge problem.  They would have a product that didn’t work as well as ours.  By our thinking, Senator Eastman would be pushing his legislation a few days before or after Ecomax’s big announcement, but it would turn out to be useless because we would be first to the table and we would be located in sunny Southern California U.S.A., and not some foreign company.

“
You know a lot of things have to fall into place for this to work,” I said with much apprehension.

“
I know,” Galveston answered.  “It looks virtually impossible on paper, but so has everything else we’ve done.”  Galveston reached beneath the seat in front of him and pulled out an envelope.  He pointed to the address on the front.  “We have to find Dr. Patelo, find out what he knows, and tell him about Espinosa.”  We didn’t know that would be impossible.