Enemy Among Us-A Jordan Wright Thriller (37 page)

“Looks like the hostages are getting out. Make sure we have people there to direct them to safety.” Choufani commanded.

“Yes, sir. Units are moving in from the East and North.”

“Sir, we’ve got something happening in the Parking Garage.” The screen flickered and divided into fourths, adding a screen that showed the inside of a parking facility.

“Where is this?” Stan looked at Choufani.

“This is directly underneath the Visitor’s Center.”

The screen showed an individual who moved out of a doorway and cautiously moved into the garage, bent over, they used the cars as cover.

“Do we have anyone down there?”

“Yes, sir. We had a tactical team in the stairwell leading up to the Center. It’s the same stairwell they are coming down. Our team was able to overhear a discussion about some of the kids leaving and that they were going to go through the garage. Our people moved out and redeployed to the garage.”

“Good. How many men?”

“It’s a team of three.”

“Okay. Let’s get some help over there as quickly as we can. Are they able to communicate?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Tell them to take a position that will deny the children exit from the garage.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Sir?” Another officer looked at Choufani. “We have a report of gunfire coming from the Visitor’s Center.”

“Shit! Are there still hostages in there?”

“We aren’t sure, but there can’t be many. The hostages had stopped coming out and then there was a shot.”

“Just one?”

“Yes, sir, single discharge.” The Officer looked back at his screen. “Commander, look at the entrance.”

A white piece of fabric was being waved from the doorway. “Tell our guys to approach with caution,” Choufani directed. The tech repeated the order. Two Officers approached the door. Even with no audio, it was clear the Officers were demanding that whoever was waving the “flag” should exit the Center and come out onto the Mall. Two kids — one probably eleven and the other perhaps fifteen — walked out. They fell to the ground. The Officers ran up and patted both of them down and placed handcuffs on them. Another team approached the doorway, and then proceeded inside.

Within a minute, word came on the radio. “We have one person inside with a gunshot wound to the head. Looks like a suicide.”

“Tell them to secure the building and particularly the access doors to the garage. I don’t want those kids to go back upstairs. As soon as that’s done, I want all of our resources deployed to the south of the Mall. We need to end this and end it now.” Choufani knew this could go two ways and one way was really bad. “Stan I need your advice.”

Chapter Seventy-Five

“Captain Patterson, I’m Jordan Wright and this is Kate Woolrich. Thank you for allowing us to enter during your lock down and take a look around.”

“Not a problem. When Commander Choufani needs something, I try to help,” Patterson remarked, perfunctorily as he examined their credentials. “He and I worked some cases together a long time ago.” Kate and Jordan shook hands with Patterson as he returned their I.D. “What exactly can I do for you?”

“Let me be straight with you,” Jordan started.

“Straight’s good,” Patterson replied quickly.

Jordan was glad it came with a smile. “With all the activity on the Mall we just wanted to ensure the Mint wasn’t a target. There are a lot of things that don’t add up with what’s going on over there. So, in looking around to see what could also be a target, you guys kind of stick out.”

“Yeah, I’m sure we do,” Patterson responded still giving Jordan and Kate the once over. “I can tell you this. We went into lock down within thirty minutes of when things started to happen on the Mall. Since that time, no one has gone in or out of the Mint.”

Kate jumped in. “I’m not sure that’s correct Captain.”

Patterson went rigid, as he showed his displeasure with having his security questioned. He glared at Kate. “Come again?”

“We observed some men outside of the Mint in the loading dock area. They were placing large carts into vans.”

“Then they couldn’t have been in the Mint. They might have gotten caught out there when we went into lockdown.”

“One of these men may be involved in what is happening on the Mall. We just wanted to see if you knew him or were aware of what they were doing at the Mint,” Jordan interjected, to keep the conversation moving. He knew Kate would want to argue the point of who got outside.

“Do you have a name?”

“We do. Mustafa Alfani.”

“He’s the supervisor of the contract cleaning crew.” Patterson interrupted. “He’s worked here for four or five years. Everyone likes him and he keeps his people on their toes. Are you sure he might be involved?”

“We’ve had him under surveillance for the past week. He’s absolutely connected. He may even be the mastermind. Do you know where we can find him?” Jordan queried.

“He’s got an office here, but he’s usually on the floor checking on his team. He’s allowed to move around during the lockdown. I can call and have my guards find him.”

“No, let’s not alert anyone yet — if you don’t mind. Let’s start at his office.”

“Follow me.” Patterson led them down the hallway. They turned right and entered a corridor with glass windows on both sides. The corridor was raised above a work floor which housed several large machines. Even with the thickness of the glass, the noise still penetrated and caused the floor to vibrate.

“This is the room where we produce the blanks on which the coins will later be stamped. These big machines take the sheets of metal — whether nickel, copper or a combination — and stamp out the right size. That’s called a planchet. In other rooms, the planchets are heated to make them more malleable and then the go through a die machine that stamps the proper markings and symbols.”

“Wow! This is incredible.” Jordan looked around, out both sides of the window. “Hey, can I come back some day and get a tour?”

“Sure, but let’s see how today goes first.”

Kate was not as engrossed as Jordan. She turned to Patterson. “Is there anything done here that’s not done at the other Mints.”

“Well, let’s see. We make all of the Purple Hearts and Bronze Stars here and nowhere else.”

“I see.” Kate was hoping there might be something that would make sense. She didn’t think it was feasible Mustafa and his guys were going to make off with a lot of coins.

They continued to walk down the hall and — suddenly — Patterson stopped in his tracks. “There is something we do here and no where else. I should have thought of this sooner.”

“What!” Kate and Jordan said the word almost in unison.

“This way!” Patterson turned and started a long-stride walk down another hallway. “The engravers — it could be the engravers.”

Jordan and Kate looked at each other. Neither had any idea to what Patterson was referring.

“We have the engravers. No one else does.” He looked at Jordan and Kate and picked up on their perplexed look. “The dies that stamp the coins begin by being carved by hand. We have seven engravers here. They do all of the engraving and manufacturing of the dies. It’s all done here. There are only seven because we’ve only found seven who can do it. It’s intricate. It takes skills beyond engraving. They’re masters!”

“Where are they?”

“They have a secured room in the rear of the Mint. Only five people have keys and access. Anyone else would need an escort.”

“What about Mustafa?”

“He couldn’t go in without one of my people. He would have to be escorted. The escort is supposed to stay with whoever enters until he or she leaves.”

They rounded a corner and Patterson stopped in front of a wide steel door. He reached for his loop of keys. Hurriedly, he quickly sorted through them and brought one up to the lock, inserted and turned it. The click of the cylinders sound like the ticking of a grandfather clock.. Patterson pushed the door open.

No one was inside.

“Oh, my God!!!”

“They’re gone?” Jordan already knew the answer as he quickly surveyed the room, all of its equipment and work stations.

Patterson had a shocked look on his face, one of impending doom “Yes, but that’s not all. Most of the dies are gone, also.” He went to the phone and dialed a three digit number. “This is Patterson. We’ve had a breach in the Engravers area. We need to find Mustafa and his cleaning crew. They may be armed and dangerous.” He hung up the phone.

Jordan grabbed him and Kate. “We need to get out to the loading dock as quickly as we can.”

“This way!” Patterson led them out the door and to the right. They maneuvered through a series of hallways, turned a corner and found a guard by an exit door.

Jordan was well turned around and didn’t have a good sense of direction after the race through corridor after corridor, but he felt the door ahead must lead to the dock area.

Patterson focused on the guard. “Johnny, have you seen the cleaning crew? Did they get outside?”

Johnny hesitated, but the look on his face told them the answer.

“How long ago?” Patterson demanded.

“It was just to take their carts out, sir. Their coming right back in.”

“Open the door, now,” Patterson’s shouted, his commanding tone further paralyzed the guard.

Kate saw the keys hanging on the guard’s belt and grabbed them off. She tossed them to Patterson.

“Thanks.” He mumbled as he fished out the right key. He kicked the door open and drew his pistol. He could see the outside guard incapacitated on the ground. He moved outside, followed by Jordan and Kate, Kate’s Glock in both hands. They looked to their left and caught a glimpse of Mustafa as he jumped into the van. He was out the gate before any of them could take a clear shot.

“We need a car!” Jordan shouted.

“Mine’s right there!” Patterson pointed over to a navy Crown Victoria. The three sprinted to it and jumped in. They were out the gate within twenty seconds of Mustafa, but it had given him enough time to elude them.

“Where would they go if you needed to get away quick?” Jordan asked, looking directly at Patterson.

“I know what I would do.” He punched the accelerator and they headed north. They made a quick left and a block later a sharp right. Patterson pushed the accelerator to the floor and the car jumped up the ramp to the Ben Franklin Bridge.

“Both of you are Feds, right?” Patterson asked as he pushed the car up the bridge and changed lanes to pass slower cars.

“Yeah, why do you ask?” Jordan responded. He had his right hand planted securely on the dash as a brace against the inevitable crash he anticipated with Patterson’s driving.

“Once we get on the other side of this bridge, we’re in New Jersey. I don’t want these guys not getting convicted because of a jurisdiction error.”

“Not to worry! Our jurisdiction’s got jurisdiction. Hey, Kate, call the command center and talk with Max and Stan. Tell ’em what’s going on.”

“I’m on it.” Kate was thankful for the distraction since she’d been looking straight ahead and waited for Patterson’s luck to run out as they hit something. She attempted to dial in the ever shifting car. On her third attempt, she completed the number.

Patterson turned to Jordan. “If we don’t find them quick, we’re going to have a real problem.”

“How do you mean?” Jordan didn’t take his eyes off the road and traffic ahead. He’d thought about closing his eyes, but decided he wanted to see what they would hit before they hit it.

“This road about two miles after the tolls splits off into about five different main roads. At that point they could have headed anywhere.”

“Where’s the toll booth?” Jordan asked, just as the booth appeared straight ahead. The toll lanes were old and narrow and there was no way Patterson was going to get through them at the speed at which he traveled. Jordan braced himself, with the anticipation of the application of the brakes at any second. It never happened.

“Holy, shit!” Jordan shouted as they rocketed toward the booths.

“Relax! We’ve got plenty of room.” Patterson hit his siren to announce his approach. One lane of the ten lane toll plaza was open and Patterson aimed for it. There was only one problem. It was for traffic headed the opposite direction.

Jordan couldn’t believe what was about to happen. He couldn’t open his mouth to say a word. He just stared ahead, with the knowledge the end was coming. “Saint. Francis, protect us!” was his only thought.

Patterson pulled the car left, then recovered right. They were directly in line with the lane. The red light flashing above warned the lane was not to be entered and the wooden gate was down. Patterson pushed the accelerator to the floor and the Interceptor engine responded with a burst of power. They shot through the lane. As they cleared it both Patterson and Jordan saw the furniture delivery truck that bore down on them. Jordan finally closed his eyes.

Patterson yanked the steering wheel hard to the right, causing the Ford to fishtail back over into the proper driving lanes as the air horns on the truck blew their anger.

“Yeah, baby!” Patterson let out as they headed down I-676.

Jordan opened his eyes. The road directly in front of them was clear and the traffic ahead was headed in the same direction. Jordan looked at Patterson. He was ready to give him a piece of his mind, when he was interrupted.