Enemy Among Us-A Jordan Wright Thriller (13 page)

FBI SAFE HOUSE

As Max went up the stairs she was trying to get her thoughts together as to how to present this to Akmed. They hadn’t told him they were putting Aziz under surveillance. They hadn’t told him they were going to bug the store and the apartment. He was a reasonable guy, but anything at this point could put him over the edge and make him shut down completely. She would have to be at her best to convince him they still had his and his son’s best interests at heart in the action they needed to take.

She knocked on the door and slowly pushed it open. Akmed was seated at the table and William was over by the window, staring out into the surrounding woods. They were discussing baseball. Akmed seemed to be a genuine fan, with a strong knowledge of the game and rabid support of the Phillies. Max was glad William had found some common ground for their conversations. Akmed seemed relaxed and open with William but, Max couldn’t waste the time to pull William out and brief him, so she would just need to start and hope William would pick up where she was going and be able to jump in with support.

“Well, if I could interrupt your conversation about the Boys of Summer, I’ve got some things we need to update and discuss.” Max noticed Akmed’s confusion as she spoke.

“Boys of Summer? I don’t know that, what does it mean?” He had a puzzled look on his face.

William chuckled. “It’s a term for baseball players. It’s Max’s way of trying to fit in with our conversation, but she knows nothing about baseball, Akmed. She couldn’t even tell you in what city the Philadelphia Phillies play!” He shot a “gotcha” look at Max.

Akmed laughed. “Just like my wife. She could never understand the game. The Boys of Summer. I like that and I’ll have to remember it — Boys of Summer.”

“Okay, you two; you’ve had your fun. Let me know when you’re ready to listen.”

William came over to the table and sat down. Akmed nodded to Max.

“Alright Akmed, we believe Aziz is worried about you. He seems quite concerned you haven’t returned home yet. We have your store and apartment under surveillance.”

“Do you have it bugged? How do you know this?”

“Yes, we do have listening devices in both places.”

“You did not tell me this, I did not give you permission!” Akmed showed hostility for the first time.

William put his arm on Akmed’s shoulder. “Akmed, we got a warrant from the court. It allows us to protect Aziz while you are with us. We also need to find out as much as we can about the mission and its timetable. We need to find Mustafa and isolate him. For now, the only physical location we have is yours and that’s why we’re there.”

Akmed began to relax. He looked at Max. “So, what are you saying about my son.”

“He’s a strong boy, but he’s worried. He went to school today, feeling you would be home when he returned. When he got home and you weren’t there, his demeanor changed. He’s frightened. Benny has been very good and supportive. When he closes the store this afternoon, he is going to go up and visit with Aziz.”

“He’s not planning on closing early is he? We usually do a nice business this part of the week in the last half hour or so,” Akmed interrupted.

“Ah! Spoken like a true American Capitalist.” William slapped Akmed on the back as he paid him the compliment. Akmed turned to William with a smile.

“I’m sorry. I don’t mean to minimize Aziz’s feelings. I worked hard to build my business and my customers count on me.”

Max was smiling. “Akmed, we have no reason to believe Benny is closing early. We’re certain he is going to go up after the regular closing time. We would like you to call the apartment during the time Benny is there and talk with Aziz. Reassure him you are well and just needed time for yourself. We can work up talking points for you, but it’s critical what ever you say sounds normal and won’t seem funny or cause further alarm in Aziz. He spoke of calling Mustafa to tell him. Frankly, at some point, we might want that to happen, but, at the present time, we’re not ready for that to occur. Can you help us?”

“Yes. Yes, you are correct. Regardless of the situation, I need to let Aziz know I’m all right. I can and should make the call.”

“That’s great, Akmed. Let’s do this, you and I’ll practice the call.” William got up and went to sit across from Akmed.

“Well, then — I’ll leave you two alone and come back when it’s time to make the call.” Max smiled at them both and turned to walk out.

After the door closed, Akmed looked at William. “William, were you kidding about her not knowing where the Phillies played?”

“Only a little bit, Akmed. She’s a smart woman, but baseball is not her strongest area.”

They both laughed, and then began to practice the call.

Chapter Twenty-Two

SOUTH PHILADELPHIA

“Hello Aziz, it’s me, your father. How are you?”

“Father, where are you!” Aziz was surprised it was his father. The caller ID was blocked and he almost hadn’t answered. Benny had just come up from closing the store for the day and Aziz had just gotten him a soda and they were seated at the kitchen table. “I didn’t know where you went.”

“I’m sorry, my son. I needed to get away. I’m far from being over your mother’s death. I miss her terribly.”

“As do I, my father, but I need you, also.”

“I understand and I love you, Aziz. Please don’t be worried about me. I’ll be home tomorrow.”

“Why tomorrow? Why not now?”

“I need time. When I come back to you, I want to be able to support you and help you. I’m of no help to you with the way I have been. It is best not to say anything to anyone about this.”

”Well…. I did talk to Benny. He’s here with me now.”

“Benny is fine. I trust him, but nothing should be said to anyone else. I’m glad Benny is with you. Let him know I’ll be back tomorrow and I know I owe him a couple of days off.”

“Oh, father, always thinking of everyone but yourself. We’re going to have dinner together. He said he would stay until I go to bed.”

“Ah, Benny is always there for us. Tell him I appreciate everything he is doing.”

“You will be here tomorrow?” Aziz needed confirmation.

“Yes. By the time you get home from school, I’ll be at the store.”

“I can’t wait to see you.”

“And me you, my son.” Akmed concluded the call, saying, “I love you Aziz.”

Aziz, being in high school and not wanting to express affection in front of someone other than his family, said his final words. ”I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“That sounded like it went well.” Max crossed the room and went to Akmed’s side.

“Yes, I think it did. He really wanted to know where I was, but I think when he found out I would be home tomorrow, where I was, isn’t so important.” Akmed turned to look at the man staring out the window. “Thank you, William. You did know how Aziz would respond.”

“I’ve got a teenager at home and, in my line of work, I usually can’t tell my family where I am but, when I can tell them I’ll be home, nothing else seems to matter. You did great, Akmed. I can tell you love Aziz, regardless of whether he is truly your son.”

Akmed nodded. “What do we need to do next?”

“We want to talk with you more about the possible target and the overall mission. We realize you haven’t ever been told but, maybe, if we go through the things you have done with Aziz and the others, we might find something of interest or a pattern.” Max smiled at Akmed, knowing this would be a slow and challenging process.

“I’ll tell you whatever I can.”

The door flew open with a bang and, Stan, out of breath from coming up the stairs, looked like the worst that could happen just occured. “I need you both downstairs, now!” He turned and walked out as quickly as he came in.

Max and William just looked at each other. If Stan was worked up, then something was happening and it wasn’t good.

William turned to Akmed. “We should be right back. I’ll send someone up to be with you. If you are hungry or need anything, he can get it for you.”

“I’ll be fine.” Akmed realized they were gone before he’d even spoken.

Max and William flew down the stairs and into the situation room, which was remodeled out of the former home’s family room. Filled with computers and sophisticated radio and satellite communications systems, along with a state of the art audio/video system, they found the room to be in state of organized chaos. Radio communication crackled over the speakers. She could recognize the voice belonging to Frank, but wasn’t close enough to make out the actual words. It was obvious something was happening at Akmed’s house in Philadelphia.

Stan saw them and waved them over to a video monitor. Neither Max nor William had been able to spend time in the situation room and weren’t sure what they were seeing. Her facial expression caused Stan to speak in a low voice, so they could still hear the radio communication.

“This is a video feed from our command post across the street from Akmed’s apartment and store. The van you see belongs to Mustafa. We think it’s pure coincidence, but he pulled up just as Aziz was hanging up the phone.”

“Could he have a bug in there?” William commented as he was bending over to take a closer look at the video.

“When we placed our devices in the apartment and store we did a sweep and nothing showed up. We’ve monitored from the command post and couldn’t find a remote device being used. They either have really sophisticated equipment, or it’s just happened to work out this way.”

Max stared at the screen, trying to orient herself to what was going on so she could be of assistance. “It looks like he is still in the car?”

“He is and we don’t know why. He’s not on his cell. Aziz and Benny don’t know he is here. Infrared shows he is the only one in the vehicle.”

“Has he been in the neighborhood?”

“No, he didn’t drive around back. The teams in the neighborhood tracked him directly here. Thank God we saw the van earlier.”

“Maybe thank Allah.” William smirked, he didn’t take his eyes off the screen to see Stan’s or Max’s reaction.

Max stood up. “I guess we wait and see. The ball is in Uncle Mustafa’s court.”

“Someone needs to get to Jordan and get him up to speed. He could be walking into something different than what he expected.”

“We’ve tried his cell. I sent a text to him to call in.” Agent Lutz had turned back toward Max to answer her question.

The radio came alive with Frank’s voice. “The driver’s door to the van is opening and it looks like he is getting out.”

Mustafa stepped out of the van and walked toward its rear. He looked up and seemed to stare right into the camera, which caused everyone to jerk back a little bit.

“That’s really weird,” Max blurted as she looked up at Stan.

“Frank? Anyway you are compromised?”

“No way! He can’t see in and we’ve got all of our jammers in place and operational. Let’s all relax. We haven’t been made.”

“Okay, let’s see what happens.” Stan had become calm, which was his trademark when things were getting stressful for no reason. “Do we have an extraction team ready if this goes bad?”

“In position Stan,” was the quick reply from the radio. Stan knew Frank had it under control. He was by the book. He’d hoped Jordan would be there by now. While Frank would have everything in place and the team working efficiently, Jordan had the out of the box thinking needed when the best laid plans went awry. He wasn’t much value in transit.

Chapter Twenty-Three

Mustafa walked around to the rear of the van. He opened the back and took out a package. He had hoped to get there before the store closed. Most evenings, Akmed would stay open past his posted closing time if people were around, but it seemed tonight he closed right on time. Mustafa stayed in the van and looked into the store to see if he could see either Akmed or Benny working with the hope he could just knock on the door of the store. He debated about whether he should go up to the apartment. He’d always tried to allow the people he was responsible for to feel where they lived were their own homes and not to feel like he could show up at anytime. On occasion, when he needed to visit, he would always call ahead. Though he’d never been denied a visit, and never considered he would be; but he didn’t want to just show up. He really needed to get this package to Akmed and he knew if he didn’t deliver it today, it would be next week before he would get back to the store.