“That’s actually a brilliant insight,” Jake said. “I’m impressed. I like working with him.”
“I do, too, which is why I thought we should join him today.”
“Yeah. I’m good with that.”
The elevator door opened and they hurried over to area 4.
“Brett, making any progress on my special project?”
“Oh, hey. Major Bob Stafford’s GPS connection was a good idea. I’ve had to restructure several of our search functions, and I modified the display code to present the GPS connections in a 3D format. It’s slow going, but this is where we are at the moment. I’m sending it over to the big screen on the wall, otherwise it’s too small to read.”
As they approached the large screen, the phone connection plots were in red, and in some places, in orange. The plots appeared in 14 layers, viewed from a side angle, where they could see the intricate pattern of each layer.
“The vertical lines are the GPS connections. I broke them down into four groups, which are displayed in yellow, blue, green and purple,” Brett said. “We’re only 44 hours back in the timestamps, but a pattern is emerging. Yellow is for military-to-military connections. Blue is for military-to-political connections, works the other way around too, political-to-military, same color. Green is for military-to-corporate connections. Purple is for military-to-academic connections.”
“What are all the white lines?” Honi asked. “They seem to be cross-connected to everything.”
“I need to pick more colors,” Brett replied. “When I identify what type of organization is involved, I color-code the GPS connections. Right now, there’s still a lot I don’t know.”
“This looks like it’s going to take a long time,” Jake said.
“Oh it is,” Brett replied. “I’m already getting complaints about the processor time this project is chewing up.”
“Don’t worry about that,” Honi said. “The orange is still for phones in other countries?”
“Always,” Brett replied. “And the bright red over here is for known terrorist organizational contacts.”
“If I’m seeing what I think I’m seeing,” Jake said. “We could be looking at a global criminal network deeply embedded into, and corrupting, every power structure on the planet. We’re going to need a lot more help.”
Honi pulled her phone out and dialed. “Deputy Director Ellington, it’s Honi. I’ve got Brett, B6, area 4, working on a special project. It needs to be priority one. He’s going to need more processing resources and twenty more technicians.” She looked at Jake as she waited. “Yes, sir, Agent Hunter is onto something.” She looked back at the large screen as more and more lines appeared. “Yes, sir. Thank you, sir.” She clicked off and put her phone away. “Stafford gave us a good lead. Speaking of which, we need to go.”
Major Stafford had asked Jake and Honi to join him at Fort Belvoir for the rest of the day, indicating it was critical to their investigation.
“So what does Stafford need us for?” Jake asked as he drove to the army base.
“He didn’t say, exactly, but he thinks it ties into the criminal organization we’re after. Army MPs raided the machining companies early this morning, but found nothing. It sounds like there’s a mole in his office because everything incriminating was removed from the machine shops last night.”
Honi stared out the side window of the car, organizing her thoughts. “I’ve never met anyone like you before.”
“Well, the feeling is mutual. You’re totally unique in my experience of women.”
“So you’re well experienced with women?” she asked, a sly grin on her face.
He blushed. “Not exactly what I meant.”
She smiled at his embarrassment. “I’ve met some really tough people in this business. They think not caring makes them strong, but it just seems more rigid to me. You’re not like that. You’re more flexible, more caring. I like that about you.”
Jake paused for a moment, watching the road in front of them.
“I know that some people get into law enforcement because it gives them power over other people, and that feeling of power makes them feel important.” He glanced to each side and looked in the rear view mirror. “Frankly, I don’t see a lot of difference between the bureaucrats and agents I know, and the members of the criminal operation we’re investigating. To me, it’s just a matter of degrees and sides. They’re essentially the same kind of people, just with slightly different motivations and ethics.”
“You include me in that list?”
He looked at her. “No. Why would you ask?”
“I can read most people fairly well. You, not so much. You’re still a mystery to me. I actually find that challenging…and intriguing.”
“So I’m challenging?”
“In an intriguing sort of way.”
“I don’t see the world in an us-versus-them framework. We’re all just people. Yeah, there are some bad people out there and I do want to see them in prison. But there are also a lot of others out there. People who just don’t think things through. I try to take people based on their intentions as well as their actions−like two sides of the same coin. Good people sometimes do bad things, but without an evil intent. I think those people need a break. They need a second chance. When bad people act on their evil intentions, the full weight of the law needs to come down on them like a truck load of bricks.”
“See? That’s the intriguing part. I think you care about me, but not in a romantic kind of way. As I said in the hospital, you respect me and treat me as an equal. That’s important to me. You don’t go all macho and try to protect me. I respect that a lot.”
“Yeah, about that.”
She looked at him, obviously intrigued.
“I still struggle with that. I’m working with Dr. Rosen, the department shrink. I’ve lost two partners in the line of duty.”
“That’s hard, I know.”
“My last partner, Eric Hayden, was shot in the neck during a raid on an Albanian cartel three weeks ago. He bled out before anyone could get to him.”
“I’m sorry, I didn’t know.”
“My concern isn’t because you’re a woman, it’s about losing another partner. I’d feel the same way about a guy partner.”
She studied him for a minute. “I can accept that. It still works for me. Does it help that I’m not actually a partner for you?”
“Yeah. That does help. In a way, I don’t want this to end. I enjoy working with you.”
“I’m getting to enjoy it, too.”
Jake and Honi stopped at the front gate to Fort Belvoir and presented their IDs.
“Agents Hunter and Badger, Major Stafford is waiting at the airfield. Here’s a map he left for you. Follow the main road here for the next mile. Your first turn will be on the right as you reach the water tower.”
“Thank you, corporal,” Jake said.
Twenty minutes later they arrived at a giant hanger with a C-130 cargo plane warming up its engines on the tarmac nearby. Jake hardly recognized Major Stafford standing there. The mustache and beard were gone; he was clean-shaven and in uniform. His hat covered his bald head.
“Thank you for doing this,” Stafford yelled over the sound of the engines. “I hitched a ride for us.”
“Where are we going?”
“Fort Hood, Killeen, Texas. This way we bypass the gate security.”
“Why are we going there?”
“There’s more going on in your investigation than gun-running. Something much more serious, and I’m convinced the same people are involved.”
“And the more serious aspect?”
“It’s better if I show you.” He handed them ear protection and waved them up the ramp at the back of the plane. The central section of the cargo bay was filled with huge crates. Jake and Honi followed Major Stafford down the narrow edge of the plane and settled into fold-down seats attached to the side wall. Four long hours later they arrived in Texas.