Black Flagged Apex (49 page)

"I agree, though I'm a little disturbed by the pattern developing at the compound. That, coupled with something else," she said nervously.

"What is it?" Sharpe said.

"It doesn't fit, does it?" Mendoza said.

O'Reilly looked at him, surprised. "No, none of it does."

"What are the two of you talking about?" Sharpe said.

"We've identified sixty-three of the suspects at the compound. Too many of them have overt ties to extremist groups. Eleven of them showed up on the lists you ordered us to start compiling over a year ago. None of the operatives that we've captured recently held recent ties to any domestic extremist groups. They'd all gone quiet on that front three to four years ago."

"A new batch of trainees?"

"On the eve of their magnum opus?" she retorted.

"It struck me as odd, too. I was waiting to hear more about their backgrounds," Mendoza said.

"What are you suggesting?" Sharpe asked.

"I'm not sure, but I've also found some inconsistencies with Sergeant Osborne's report. I called the Laurel police chief to ask about Osborne's vacation schedule for the past two years, but he—"

"Dana, would you close the door, please?"

O'Reilly looked annoyed by his request and sudden interruption. "Of course," she said, pulling the door free of its magnetic hold.

"You called the Laurel police chief, implying that Osborne might be involved in today's incident?" Sharpe asked, before she could continue.

"Yes. I didn't think it would be a big deal. Of course, he wouldn't share the information. Maybe it wasn't the best decision on my part."

"I trust your judgment, Dana. I could have told you there was no way he would release the information, especially without a warrant."

Sharpe knew there was no way he could keep them in the dark any longer. He detected a confrontational edge to O'Reilly's mannerisms, which was out of character for her. Something was bothering her, and his guess was that she had finally started to put all of the pieces together. There were too many unexplained coincidences and logical leaps to go unnoticed by either of them for long. He regretted not bringing them into the fold earlier. No matter what he told them now, they'd feel betrayed, possibly not trusted. If he didn't do it now, it would only be worse when they came to the inevitable conclusion on their own.

"Hold up for a minute. We need to bring someone else in on this conversation," he said.

O'Reilly took the remaining empty leather chair and raised her eyebrows at Mendoza. He merely lifted his shoulders from his relaxed position in the other chair. Sharpe sent a text message and waited for the knock at his door.

"Dana, Frank, I need you to know that this has nothing to do with the utmost level of trust and confidence that I have in both of you. I was simply trying to mitigate the potential damage to your careers."

He paused, avoiding their eyes for a moment, until someone knocked on the door and entered without waiting for Sharpe's permission to enter. Callie Stewart closed the door behind her and turned to Mendoza and O'Reilly. She looked as confused as his agents.

"What the fuck is she doing here?" O'Reilly said.

Sharpe watched the look of bewilderment harden into a look of betrayal. He had no idea how he was going to proceed, so he jumped right in.

"I've been cooperating with Sanderson's people without your knowledge since the morning of the 26
^th
. Sanderson's operatives have been critical to moving our investigation along, in ways that we could never implement without their help."

"Jesus Christ," Mendoza uttered.

"I thought I could insulate the two of you, but I was just deluding myself. There are some developments that support your theory, Dana, and require the highest levels of secrecy within the task force. I trust the two of you implicitly."

"It doesn't feel like it," O'Reilly said.

Stewart started to talk, but Sharpe cut her off with a severe look and an outstretched hand sporting his index finger.

"I understand that, and I'm sorry beyond words for keeping you in the dark. I really thought I would be doing you a favor. I made this decision to protect you. The backlash for working with Sanderson outside of the agreed-upon parameters would be devastating. You know how the director feels about them," he said.

"Like I do?" O'Reilly said, glaring at Stewart.

"We've worked together for over four years, Dana. I should have known better."

"That's the first thing you've said so far that makes sense," O'Reilly said.

"Frank, you're being awfully quiet. I'm really sorry," Sharpe said.

"For what? Trying to protect us? I can't hold that against you. I just wish you had brought me onboard earlier. What about you, O'Reilly?"

"I don't trust Sanderson, or his people, so it probably wouldn't hurt to have a few people looking over your shoulder, making sure you're not being manipulated. Other than that, just some hurt feelings, but I'll get over it…as long as I'm not required to be nice to Ms. Stewart."

"I don't expect anyone to be nice to Ms. Stewart. As a matter of fact, I expect you to continue hating her. Just keep in mind that I see us on the same team. I'd like to spend some time catching you up on a few things," Sharpe said.

"May I say something?" Stewart asked.

"No. Unless you have something to pass on to me that's new," Sharpe said.

"It can wait."

"Thank you, guys. Seriously, I can't express my relief. I'll make this up to you later. I promise."

"You owe us big time. So, why did you have me close the door when I mentioned my call to the police chief?"

"Long story made short—the missing driver of the SUV in Brooklyn ended up in Sanderson's custody. His name is Miguel Estrada, and he led a sizeable contingent of True America tactical operatives. Most of them were killed in the Brooklyn raid. He was also present at Mount Arlington to confirm that Al Qaeda hit the target and call it in to the police."

"The phone they found in the SUV was Estrada's," O'Reilly said.

"Exactly. Estrada screwed up with that phone. It gave us the compound and his link to Mount Arlington. Apparently, Estrada was a key field commander, but not part of the inner circle. He received instructions, with little explanation. He'd helped arrange the Al Qaeda takedown with a man named Brown and a woman that he couldn't identify. Brown might be an alias, since I couldn't match a Brown with the description he gave us. Jamaican-born U.S. citizen with Army Special Forces experience."

"What happened to Estrada?" Mendoza asked.

"I don't know, and I don't want to know. All I care about is receiving accurate information from Sanderson's conduits. I think we can all agree that the stakes are too high to dismiss the help he can provide outside of our rather restricted channels."

"I wouldn't be standing here if I didn't agree," Mendoza said.

"Same here," O'Reilly added.

"Estrada's next mission was to take a team down to Atlanta and dispose of a man named Benjamin Young. Sanderson's team intercepted the assassination team and took Mr. Young into protective custody."

"I knew there was a connection," O'Reilly said.

"A big connection. Young did the majority of True America's lobbying throughout corporate America and the elite political circuit. He raised millions of dollars for their political action group, scraping off a sizable portion for himself and Jackson Greely's militant cronies. He wasn't pleased with their ultimate reward for his lucrative services. He gave them everything in exchange for a secure place to hide his family until Greely is stopped. He's soon to join Sanderson in Argentina."

"That's about as secure as it gets," Mendoza said.

"And the sergeant in Maryland?" O'Reilly asked.

"We don't have detailed information about the sergeant, but Young relayed a comment made by Greely. Young was concerned about FBI surveillance at one point, but was told specifically that he had nothing to worry about. When Young pushed the issue, Greely said they had people in the right places."

"He could have been bullshitting Young. Trying to keep him calm. Playing him until the last possible moment," Mendoza said.

"I doubt it. Given Greely's paranoia, I think he would have severed ties with Young, or killed him sooner, if he had any doubts about the FBI," Sharpe said.

"Do you have any reason to suspect that the task force is compromised?" O'Reilly asked.

"I have no reason to assume it isn't, which is why none of this information extends beyond the four of us. From this point forward, Ms. Stewart will not be seen talking in private to any of us. If someone is watching, this meeting will look suspicious enough. Continued meetings will raise an alarm. Stewart can relay the information to me, and I'll meet with the two of you. We obviously can't make any major course corrections to our investigation, but we've been creative with planting clues here and there," Sharpe said.

"Where do we go from here?" O'Reilly asked.

"We keep piecing together the puzzle with all of the evidence we have. We've gained solid ground here, and I have no intention of kneecapping the task force. With the information we've collected and the personnel captured, I fully expect the task force to produce results that Sanderson's people can't replicate in the field. Putting the two sources together will give us the best chance of shutting down this conspiracy before it's too late."

"What if it's already too late?" Mendoza asked.

"It's a possibility, but if O'Reilly's hunches hold merit, then the attack on Fort Meade was a feint, and the compound loaded with armed rednecks was staged. I hope you're right, Dana. The thought of the forty-nine remaining canisters of this virus being dumped into various municipal water supplies is devastating. But if they're not using the virus to poison the water, what on earth are they planning? Something worse. At least your theory buys us more time. Let's hope you're right."

"Sorry, Ms. Stewart. You had something to say earlier?" Sharpe said.

"Save the 'we're all in this together' speech for the rookies," O'Reilly said.

"That wasn't my plan. I just received some interesting information that has a direct bearing on the case. Our people just cracked Young's proprietary database wide open. We have access to detailed information about his clients."

"I thought he was cooperating?" O'Reilly said, her anger and outburst forgotten.

"He is, but Young couldn't remotely access deeper tier information. You have to be inside the building at a terminal to do this. We have some cyber-security specialists that were able to hijack the system using his outer layer access. We can now see who has received all of the money Young has funneled to Greely. One of the names raises a disturbing possibility. Combined with O'Reilly's suspicions, I'd say it was extremely disturbing. Are any of you familiar with the name Owen Mills?"

Sharpe had never heard the name, and given the non-reaction from his colleagues, neither had they.

"Doesn't surprise me. I'd never heard the name before either. Mills is the CEO of Crystal Source water, based out of Honesdale, Pennsylvania. They draw their water from the Poconos. Crystal Source is one of the biggest bottled water distributors in Pennsylvania, northern New Jersey and mid-state New York, servicing businesses, homes and, of course, selling their bottles of water nationwide. Anyway, accounts owned by or associated with Mills have received nearly thirteen million dollars over the past three years. A Honesdale-based construction company was the recipient of a one-time payment of nearly five million dollars. Young said he diverted this money from contributions earmarked for True America's political action group."

"How much money is going to this political action group?" Sharpe said.

"From private donors? It's almost impossible to say. At least it was impossible until about an hour ago. Based on the amount he was sifting, I'd say True America pulls in a ton of money," Stewart said.

Sharpe gave this new information a quick turn through his hazy, sleep-deprived brain and formed a possible conclusion. He wanted to hear what everyone else thought about this revelation. Clearly, Stewart had a specific reason for bringing up Mills. Other accounts related to Jackson Greely or Lee Harding had to be involved.

"I'd like to hear everyone's thoughts," Sharpe said.

"Is it fair to assume that other payments went to Greely or Harding?"

"Yes, but not in the thirteen-million-dollar ballpark. I think it's fair to assume that Mills is a major player in True America's militant arm. Why would they send him so much money?" Stewart said.

"Maybe he's providing them with a safe haven somewhere in the Poconos. The compound in Hacker Valley smells fishy to me," O'Reilly said.

"That's a possibility. Mills owns an incredible amount of property in the Poconos," Stewart said.

"Could this be a massive stunt to drive up the price of bottled water? Is that an insane theory?" Mendoza said.

Sharpe leaned back in his seat and took in the silence that Mendoza's questions had created. Jesus. Could this whole thing be about money? It suddenly made sense to him. True America used Al Qaeda to get their hands on the Zulu virus. They'd probably funded the entire operation from start to finish, including the use of Reznikov to create the virus. Estrada watched Al Qaeda approach the Mount Arlington pump station and placed calls to the police and local media. He ensured that the attack couldn't escape widespread attention. True America had taken extreme measures to erase any ties to Al Qaeda or illicit funding. They sent a team to attack Fort Meade, which was conveniently thwarted in a tragic shootout that was no doubt reported to the media the second it happened. Finally, the compound was filled with high-profile anti-government radicals and staged to give the impression that twenty-five additional drill teams were on the loose. All of this was designed to force the government into taking drastic steps to secure the nation's municipal water supply. Steps that would skyrocket the demand for bottled water. Was it really that simple?

"It's not insane, if you think in terms of the conspiracy O'Reilly suggested," Sharpe said.