Complications Abound

Table of Contents: https://keithalanwriter.com/DoaCK/DoaCK_ToC.html

Previous chapter: The Next New Thing

I ride with Isabel in her car to my safe house. I haven’t worked with a team in nearly a decade. I hope this doesn’t go sideways. I still don’t understand why I was so quick to agree to this. They quoted five times my initial rate. Surely I could have negotiated higher. But all I wanted to do was get off the phone.

When we get to the house, I ask her to avert her eyes as I open the door. I’m not going to give up my secrets simply for money and I don’t care for anyone knowing how I set my alarms and tells. Once inside, I show her to the cameras and check on the girl. Elizabeth still looks fine and even more bored. She’s given up on the TV and is taking a break from the books. As discussed, we’re going to keep her here, but we’ll explain the situation. Hopefully she’ll be more relaxed and even less likely to try and be heroic. I tell Isabel that I’ll contact Elizabeth, but I intend to keep my mask; I’m already a little unhappy that three people know my current disguise.

“Elizabeth,” She’s startled by my voice, “Things have changed, but in a good way. Recall how I said I was to keep you safe. Well it seems that’s the critical element and my employer was careless in how my instructions were phrased. I’m now working with other people who are tasked with ensuring you and your father’s protection. One of them is going to come in now to talk with you. You’ll have to remain here for your protection and his, but you won’t have anything to worry about.”

She shifts forward in the bed and looks with interest toward the door as Isabel walks in. I don’t see any sign of recognition on Elizabeth’s part.

Isabel addresses her in Brazilian Portuguese, “Hello Elizabeth. I’m sorry the wires got crossed and you were taken the way you were. We’ve been concerned that you’d be used to coerce your father in giving up the technology he’s developing, so have been watching you closely. The man who took you was operating under incomplete instructions, but we’re now working together. Your father knows you’re being held for your protection, and to keep you from being used as leverage. Now we have to get to the people who’ve been threatening you and your father and it’s best if you remain here, safely out of the way.”

Elizabeth sighs and leans back in the bed, rubbing at the wrist strap.

“I’m sorry things got to this point, but we agree it’s best that it remain this way. I expect this will continue being dull for you, being tied up here. The alternative could be quite exciting, though in a bad way. We need you to be patient. We may be out of touch for as long as a day while we work to ensure you and your father’s long-term safety.”

Elizabeth looks unchanged to me. I guess being kidnapped has already lost its charm. I give her some additional books and restock her fridge.

I ask Isabel to wait with Elizabeth while I collect things for our next phase. I really don’t have anything special in the way of security at this point, but I don’t want her to know that. What a tangled web we weave.

As we head back to their safe house, we start to discuss strategy. Isabel knows the building where the rogues operate and thinks if we ambush them there we can take them all out.

I’m skeptical, “If you’re so sure, why haven’t you taken care of them already?”

“With you, we have an additional, superior, asset, which changes the options. You clearly have excellent reflexes, so by having you take the physical lead the risk that anyone will be hurt is reduced to an acceptable level.”

“How many targets are you expecting me to handle? I had the element of surprise yet you were halfway to getting a shot off and Eric had his gun in his hand. Perhaps you’re giving me more credit than I’m due.”

“Your modesty is quite charming. I’ve seen these people move and there aren’t many true professionals among them. I can clearly identify those and if you take them out we should be able to control the situation quickly. If you use the same needle gun you used on us then you might be able to take out several before any catch on. We could capture the twelve of them and find out if they’re the only ones or just the current team.”

Twelve? Hmm. I wonder what that little dossier on the phone said. Perhaps my reputation has outstripped my capability.

“I don’t like to go anywhere unprepared. How about I take some time to recon the place, get the layout, verify the number of people, et cetera? I should only need a day or two.”

She considers this. Her hair is so silky I have to actively resist the urge to reach out and run my fingers through it. Watching her think is fascinating. She’s capably driving the car yet making plans for infiltration at the same time.

We head back to the other side of town to her safe house. There, Isabel, Eric and Jeff discuss various strategies while giving me the details they have on the location. We talk about meeting with Dr. Hubbard to let him know details about the situation. I mention that when I was putting my bugs in the Doctor’s house and facility, I’d found seven others. That attracts their attention, since they only placed three. Clearly the “bad guys” have their own bugs; any meeting with the Doctor needs to be managed carefully. They decide the benefits outweigh the risks; they can communicate with the Doctor without being discovered. I suggest watching from outside while they meet with him. That way I can try to discover if observers are physically present or if they’re relying on their bugs.

As we travel toward the Doctor’s house, I note them observing their surroundings. They’re maintaining their craft and keeping a keen eye out for tails. I hear them muttering between themselves about the location of vehicles, condition of yards and presence/absence of people moving around inside the houses we drive by. I’m liking what I’m seeing, better than most of the teams I’ve worked with in the past. As we get closer I start doing my own observations. I feel confident that we’re not being tailed, but it’s quite possible the vehicle itself or their safe house is bugged, so I’m not totally at ease. When we’re a mile or so away, I have them make a few turns so I can observe the traffic, then direct them to a location from where I can approach the house without attracting attention.

They drop me off, agreeing to wait until a specific time to meet the Doctor. As I slip out of the car, I pull on my thermal goggles. They drive off and I start toward the Doctor’s house, scanning the area for heat signatures. It’s full on dark, overcast with no moon. The night’s sticky humid and warm. The insects are making an astounding racket, but as usual my brain tunes it out. If the bad guys are complacent and are relying on their bugs then there won’t be anyone. I’m starting to think this will be the case. I make a wide circle around the house looking inward and outward. I’m not seeing any evidence of people in unexpected locations (there are several houses around the Doctor’s place). Picking a vantage point that gives me a good view of the house, I begin a detailed scan of the structure looking for unexpected cameras. Just the home security system; they’re somewhat obvious. The Doctor is working at a desk inside.

At the agreed upon time, the others approach the house. I watch behind them to see if there’s any change in behavior, so far nothing. They go in and talk with the Doctor. I didn’t bring my equipment for listening to my bugs so don’t know what they’re saying. I notice they’re making lots of small movements with their hands. I’m now quite convinced that they have a nonverbal way of communicating. Clearly the Doctor is in on it. I wonder if this is something all their intelligence teams learn and, if so, do the bad guys have any video bugs in the place? I hope they’re being vague about my involvement. Isabel seems smart enough to want to ensure her hole cards are covered. This dependence on others has me a bit twitchy. After a few minutes, they leave. Again I watch the surroundings for any change in activity. And again nothing attracts my interest. I do another circle of the house, meet them where they dropped me off, then give them my observations.

We agree I should do my recon, so I leave them to do my thing. I stop by my safe house, look in on Elizabeth, then collect the tools I’ll need. I do my usual scouting, count the number of warm bodies, evaluate their security, do my snooping and place my bugs. After two days of observation I feel confident and meet them back at their safe house to report.

Next chapter: After a Brief Respite, Again With the Distractions