Enemy Among Us-A Jordan Wright Thriller (29 page)

He hopped over a small chain to cut across the grass.

“Excuse me sir. Get off the grass! You think that chain is there for everyone but you?”

Jordan looked back and saw a woman in a green uniform with her finger pointed at him.

“Great, busted by a Park Ranger.” Just as he was going to show her his credentials, he noticed Aziz and the oldest boys with the other group had heard the Ranger and were looking at him. If he flashed his credentials, they would know he was following them. He turned back to the Ranger.

“I’m sorry. I was just trying to catch up to my family, before they went into Liberty Hall.” Jordan shrugged and put on his best
I’m sorry
face.

“Well, you need to come back here and then walk around. Just like that nice group of school children did.”

“You’ve got to be kidding me!” Jordan said under his breath. He quickly glanced at the two groups and noticed the leaders seemed satisfied that Jordan was just an idiot and they again moved forward. Jordan jogged over to the Ranger. “I’m so sorry. It was really stupid of me.”

“Do you have any idea how much we spend to try to get grass to grow? Only to have people like you tramp it down!”

“I’m really sorry. I just want to catch up with my family.”

“I’m sure you do. Are they on the tour?”

“Yes.”

“Well, then you are out of luck. The tour departs every fifteen minutes and you can’t join a tour once it’s started. So, you can’t go in. So, you might as well just find a seat out here.”

“Great. Just great.”

Chapter Fifty-Eight

“Mustafa. I want to hear all about it,” a loud voice boomed out of nowhere.

Mustafa looked up, then across the street. “Oh, no. Just what I need.”

The others looked at him.

“My neighbor. She’ll talk my ear off, and won’t go away. You keep loading the trucks. I’ll get rid of her.” He walked away from the trucks and intercepted Belle near the end of the driveway. “Hi, Belle! Hey, but, uhh, this is a really bad time. I’ve got to get to work.”

“That’s okay. This will only take a minute.”

This woman didn’t know what a minute was, Mustafa thought.

“I just want to hear about your birthday party and how you’re enjoying your new cable hookup?”

“Belle, what are you talking about?”

“Your nieces and nephews. I saw them here the past couple of days.”

“Yes, they were here.” Mustafa was quickly growing irritated.

“They were celebrating your birthday, right?”

“No. My birthday is six months from now.”

“Oh, the cable guy must have had it wrong. Well, they got you a new big screen TV, right?”

“Why would they give me a TV? I don’t have cable!”

“Well, you’re a great Uncle to them. They wanted to show their appreciation and thank you.”

“Belle, you are making no sense. I didn’t get a new TV. Now, if you will excuse me, I’ve got to get to work.”

“Well, don’t get all snippy! I’m just telling you what the cable guy told me and I’ll tell you what, Mustafa, they were one cute group of cable guys. Mmm!”

“Belle, thanks for stopping by. I’ve got to go. I didn’t get a TV and I still don’t have cable. You shouldn’t listen to those guys when they are at your house. They’re just telling you stories so they don’t have to go to their next job.” Mustafa turned to walk away, hoping she would get the hint.

“But they weren’t at my house. They were here at yours. Besides, I only talked to the one outside. The other three were inside working the whole time.”

Mustafa stopped dead in his tracks. He quickly turned and, before Belle could react, he was in her face. “They were at my house?”

“Yes. Almost the whole day. They told me you were getting the premium service and it was a big installation job.”

“When was this? Belle, how many days ago?”

“It was last week. Either Tuesday or Wednesday. I’m not sure which.”

“How many men?”

“Four. Four of the most handsome men in the world.”

“Yeah, okay. They were in a Comcast truck?”

“Just like what’s always in the neighborhood.”

Mustafa was about ready to blow. But he couldn’t let on to Belle that something was out of the ordinary. “Well, I guess you spoiled the surprise. Maybe they are giving me the TV this weekend.”

“Oh, Mustafa. I’m so sorry! I thought for sure they had already given it to you. I feel so bad.”

“Belle, don’t worry. This will be between you and me. I’ll act as surprised as I can. They won’t know the difference, but I’ve really got to go.”

“Okay baby, I’m so sorry! But, one thing? If you have to have them come back, you let me know — because, I want to be around that day!” Belle headed back down the street.

“Okay, Belle. That’s a deal!” Mustafa turned and went back to his two employees. “We’ve got a problem. The Feds have been here. The place is probably bugged. They’re probably watching us right now. There wasn’t anything in the house that could have told them what we’re going to do. Just stick to the plan. When we leave here, we won’t be coming back. We’ll use the house in New Jersey for the rendezvous.”

The two men nodded.

One of them handed the radio to Mustafa. “It just came over the police scanner. The second procession just cleared the Philadelphia City Limits.”

Grabbing the radio, Mustafa keyed the mike, “Leaders you are to proceed. I repeat. You are to proceed.” Each leader responded in turn. Mustafa smiled and looked at the other two men. “Let us go and begin. We must move to make sure we’re in position before they close down the area.” They each got into their respective vans and drove off.

Chapter Fifty-Nine

Kate watched as Belle turned and walked away from Mustafa. He looked both irritated and surprised by the conversation. He seemed quite animated as he talked to the two men and, with uncharacteristic hurriedness, they scrambled into their vans and started out of the neighborhood.

“Jordan?” Kate called over the radio as she put her car in gear and followed the vans from an appropriate. “I think we’ve got a problem.”

“Say again, Kate.”

“Belle and Mustafa just had a conversation outside of his house and, when it was over, Musfa and his pals left in a big hurry.”

“Okay, but who’s Belle?”

“She’s the woman who talked up Reggie when we were installing the audio and video in Mustafa’s house. She’s the nosey neighbor, sort of like the neighbor in the old “Bewitched” re-runs.”

“You’re kidding.”

“I wish I was. I think she told him about the cable guys being there and he’s figured out it was us. They are high tailing back to you, it looks like.”

“All right. This could really throw a wrench into our plans. The children seem to be moving into position for something. Where are Stan and Max?”

“They’re right behind me. We’ve got Mustafa and his guys in sight. They seem to be following their same route from earlier.”

“Kate, I think you should go pick up Akmed. If Mustafa’s figured out what happened at his house, he might put it together that Akmed talked to us. Stan, Max. can you keep up the surveillance?”

“We’ve got them — unless they split up again.”

“Okay, but I agree with Kate,” Jordan told them. “More than likely, they’re going to be coming back here to the Mall.”

Kate turned and headed down a side street, to get to Akmed’s store. Stan and Max continued along Third Street. Eventually, the vans did the same maneuver as before and turned down various side streets, which left Mustafa’s van for Stan and Max to follow.

Mustafa didn’t turn where he had before, but continued on. Max glanced at Stan, saying, “Looks like he might be going somewhere else.”

“Maybe. But, he could turn at any of the next few streets and still come out at the Mall.”

The van finally turned right on Race Street, instead of left, as it would have if it were returning to the Mall. As Stan also turned right, he and Max saw the van turn left into a parking lot. Stan drove past as Max identified the company. “City of Brotherly Love Cleaning Service.” Looks like he’s a good employee and showed up for work.”

Stan pulled a U-turn at the end of the street and slowly headed back. A block before the cleaning service’s building, he pulled over. “Well, let’s see if he pulls a complete shift.”

Chapter Sixty

Mustafa couldn’t tell for sure, but felt it was a possibility that whoever was in his house had also watched him and had probably followed him. It hadn’t been his plan to come to the office. He’d wanted to head to the target; but, he thought he might be able to throw off his tail by coming to work. They would know this was where he worked and it shouldn’t seem odd for him to be there. He also knew that, if they stayed out on Race Street, they would never realize the company had a dock area on Query Street, on the other side of the building. He could walk out the back, jump in one of the other company trucks and be on his way. But first, he needed to make a call.

“Hey, Mustafa! I didn’t expect to see you here today. I thought you took the day off to be with you nieces and nephews.” the receptionist looked up as he entered the office. She was always nice to Mustafa and, when he’d first started, had helped him around the office.

“I forgot to drop some things off for one of the crews at the Mall. And, my truck is acting up. Could you have Carlos take a look, Judy? And, I’ll need to borrow a truck. Is anything available?”

“Well, Mustafa, you are in luck! We just got two new vans in yesterday and they’re sitting out back. Carlos just got temporary tags for them, but they don’t go to the paint shop until next Monday. Have some keys.” She tossed the keys to Mustafa.

He smiled. “Judy, you saved me once again. I’ll be back in the next hour or so.” Mustafa knew he would never be back to the offices of the City of Brotherly Love Cleaning Service, but how fortunate to get a new van with a temporary tag and no signage on the sides. A plain white van in Philadelphia. How many could there be?

He moved through the building and into the warehouse at the rear. The phone on the back wall wasn’t in use, so he walked over and picked up the handset. He dialed the number, hoping the person to whom he needed to talk would answer.

“Hello, South Philly Hardware. How can I help you?” It was the voice he wanted.

“Without saying my name, do you know who this is?” Mustafa asked.

“I do. What do you need?”

“I need you to take care of the problem we discussed. It is time. It must be done quickly! By doing this for me, you will have what you want. Do you understand?”

“Yes. I’ll take care of it.”

“You are a good man. You deserve this reward for your support of our efforts.”

“Thank you,” the voice responded. There was the click of the connection severing.

Mustafa hung up the phone. It was good to tie up loose ends as soon as possible. He walked out onto the dock and saw the two vans parked along the fence. Fortunately, Judy had given him the keys to the one in front. He hopped in, adjusted the seat and mirrors, laughing to himself that he was still following the company’s guidelines for vehicle safety. He placed the gearshift in Drive and started out the lot. He knew he would arrive at his destination within five minutes and the real work would begin.