Legacy and Redemption (17 page)

Brock looked at Feller who nodded. Once the cigarette was lit, Zein knew that the power had shifted; he was now the one in control.

Feller once again softened his tone. “Murad, you know that my government will not negotiate with terrorists. While you may not see it that way, you’re being considered a terrorist. We won’t…we can’t negotiate with you.”

Zein saw this for what is was; one last attempt to regain control. He took a deep pull of the cigarette and blew the smoke softly into the air. “Then sadly for you, you will have many dead Americans on your hands…very soon.” He hesitated to let the implications sink in. “And their blood will be on your hands…not mine. I am trying to cooperate and all that I am asking for is one simple request to save hundreds, if not thousands, of American lives.” Zein pointed at the mirror on the far wall. “You are all bearing witness to this. You have limited choices. You can beat me. You can water board me. Or you can let me speak with one man. But if you make the wrong decision, you had better pray that I can’t withstand the torture for any length of time. I assure you, time is not on your side.”

Feller and Brock stood up to exit the room. “I’ll see what I can do.”

Zein smiled. “I’m sure you will.

Feller slammed the door shut behind him and threw the latch in a fit of anger. He looked at Brock. “Run a complete background check on this Keegan. Put his name through every system we have at the FBI. Find out what the connection is between a terrorist and an NYPD cop. We have to be careful the cop’s not part of a sleeper cell or a sympathizer.”

“Okay boss, will do, but the name Keegan sounds like its Irish. I don’t think he’s a terrorist.”

“I don’t care what his name says or the fact that he’s a cop, this terrorist knows him by name and wants to meet with him face to face. There must be a reason. Just get it done and soon.”

Feller left the room with certain urgency. “I have to call Washington on this one…and the NYPD.

Keegan woke up the day after he had nearly lost his life to a suicide bomber. His eyes burned from the lack of sleep. The red numerals of his digital alarm clock on the nightstand slowly came into focus.

11:16

He hadn’t gotten home until after four-thirty in the morning. When Sergeant Galvin had told him that they were in for a long night, Keegan had no idea how long. It was the first time in his career—although he was assured it would not be his last—that he was
G.O. 15’d
.

General Order 15
mandated that any officer must answer any and all questions narrowly related to his scope of employment asked of him by any ranking member of the service. The punishment for lying, or refusing, was termination. A police officer, by being subjected to a
GO 15,
was denied their Fifth Amendment rights against self incrimination as they were compelled to answer all questions. In the case of a person being killed at the hands of the police, as was the case last night, the answers given at a
GO 15
could mean the difference between keeping your job and finding yourself on the wrong end of a prison cell.

Of course, last night’s incident could not have been any cleaner of a shooting. This was a terrorist aimed at killing Americans—aimed at killing both he and Sergeant Galvin. But still, the nature of the incident was serious enough that even though he didn’t fire the shot which killed the man, his union had acquired a lawyer to represent him during the questioning. The questions had been somewhat disturbing as the chief conducting the questioning asked him numerous times if he had ever seen the man before or knew him in any way. The Chief seemed to focus on that almost as much as Sergeant Galvin shooting the man. It left Keegan feeling a bit uneasy. Learning after the
GO 15
that the man had in his possession Keegan’s newspaper clipping on him at the time that he was shot was downright frightening.

Keegan turned over to see Cathy Quinn still sound asleep. She looked as pretty sleeping as she did awake, he felt. He studied her face; it was a milky white with a few scattered freckles. Her complexion was like that of a porcelain doll. She looked angelic.

Keegan had been surprised to read her text around 3:30 am to call her when he was done being
GO 15’d,…
‘no matter what time it was’. He really was starting to have very strong feelings for her and she clearly felt the same way. He had called her when he left the precinct and she had met him at his apartment—not to talk about the incident or the
GO 15
—but just to be there for him. It was very comforting for Keegan.

He put a gentle hand on her shoulder and caressed it. He adjusted the strap of her tank top which had fallen below her shoulder as she slept and gave her a gentle kiss on her head. They spent the night doing nothing more than cuddling, but it was exactly what Keegan needed.

Keegan grabbed the remote control from the nightstand and turned on the thirty-seven inch television which sat on the dresser across the room. He tuned it to News 12 Long Island and muted the sound, not wanting to disturb Cathy. He read the day’s forecast as it scrolled across the bottom of the screen and as quietly and carefully as he could, climbed out of bed. He got a fresh pair of boxer shorts from his drawer and headed to the shower.

As he showered, he replayed the events in his mind for what seemed like the thousandth time.
How could I have not seen the triggering device? How many times was I told to watch a suspect’s hand? If anything had happened, it would’ve been my fault.

At least it was over, he concluded. Nobody of importance got hurt, and he learned a valuable lesson. He was glad to be putting this all behind him as the terrorist was dead and he was safe. The more he thought about it, the better he felt.

Keegan ran the shampoo through his hair and lathered it up. He debated on how long to let Cathy sleep. While Sergeant Galvin had been placed on sick leave (a fairly common procedure when officers are involved in a shooting just in case there are any lingering psychological effects), Cathy still had to be at work later on in the day, and Keegan had to get to the morgue by three pm to make the identification. He was just a bit nervous about making the identification. What if he couldn’t identify the man?

I guess he’ll be the one with a third eye.

Keegan stepped out of the shower and began to towel himself off when his dilemma of when to wake Cathy was decided for him. Cathy Quinn entered the small bathroom clad in a white tank top and a pair of lacy purple panties. Keegan gave her a peck on the lips. “Good morning.”

She instinctively covered her mouth with her hands and smiled. “I haven’t even brushed my teeth yet.” She flashed him a smile. “But good morning to you too.”

Keegan pulled up his boxer shorts and grabbed a clean towel from the wicker towel rack behind the door and handed it to her. “You can borrow my toothbrush if you like,” he offered with a boyish smile.

She accepted the towel from him and set in on the white vanity opposite the shower. She looked down at his boxers. “There’s no need to put those on so quickly. Are you trying to give me the bum’s rush out of here?” She once again smiled, this time a bit more naughty as she removed her tank top and let it fall to the floor.

He sensed her playfulness. “Not at all. I was actually going to sneak out and pick us up some lunch.”

“Really?”

Clearly, she wasn’t buying the story, Keegan thought.

“Well, I’m not hungry just yet.” She took Keegan’s hand and placed it squarely on her breast. “How about you give me about five minutes to shower and wash my hair, and then you come join me in the shower?”

Keegan could feel himself slightly becoming aroused. “You’re right. That
is
a better idea.”

Keegan watched as Cathy shed her panties and stepped inside the shower, closing the glass door behind her.

He went back into his bedroom and laid out a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt to be worn for the day. He turned the volume up on the television and then heard his cell phone ring. He snatched it from his nightstand, looked at the caller ID, and saw it was Sergeant Galvin calling.

“Hey Sarge, how are you feeling?”

“Fine, Tim. Listen this is real important. We’re in front of your apartment. Come open the door.”

Keegan could feel his face go flush. “This isn’t a real good time, Sarge...who’s we?”

“It’s urgent. We’ll explain everything to you in a minute, just let us inside.” With that, Galvin disconnected the call leaving no room for debate.

Keegan quickly put on his jeans and pulled his sweatshirt over his head. Keegan shouted towards the bathroom. “Cathy, don’t come out until I come and get you. Sergeant Galvin’s here. He said it’s urgent.” Keegan zippered up his jeans and ran a quick hand through his still wet hair. He quickly surveyed his living quarters and realized that there was no time to tidy things up, and instead, just opened the door.

Keegan’s heart began to race a bit faster when he saw not only Galvin, but also Detective Castillo and Inspector Enton. He swallowed hard. His initial reaction was that something had not gone as well as it should have during the
GO 15,
and that they were here to suspend him. He was certain having an Inspector show up at your house was not common. Maybe Galvin was there to soften the blow?

He invited the men inside as he tried to make sense of things.

Even if they’re here because I’m in trouble, why would a detective from the Joint Terrorist Task Force be here?
Maybe I’m not in trouble.

Keegan quickly pushed aside a blanket and some clothes that had been on the black leather couch and asked the men to have a seat. Inspector Enton declined on their behalf.

“Tim,” began Enton. “A very unusual set of circumstances has come up; we need you to help.”

Me?

Keegan shook his head from side to side, his eyebrows raised slightly. “I’m not sure that I understand, Inspector.”

Castillo spoke next. “If I may, Inspector?”

Once Enton nodded his approval, Castillo began. “Keegan, this is a matter of national security and what I’m about to tell you stays in this room. Is that understood?”

“Of course.”

“The man you and Sergeant Galvin encountered yesterday was a terrorist who was part of a sleeper cell. We don’t believe you were the target of the terrorist’s plans, but rather you were a distraction to the man. The man’s name is Tariq Azir. He was in this country under the assumed name of Nazeem al-Haq. Do you recognize either of those names?”

Tariq Azir?

“The first name, Azir, sounds familiar, but I can’t place where I know it from.”

Castillo nodded. “Your father arrested Azir back in 1994 for attempting to blow up the federal courthouse in Brooklyn.”

“The Federal Courthouse Caper!? That’s where I know his name from. I’ve read the articles in my father’s old scrapbook. That’s what the newspapers were calling the incident back then.”

“Good, so you’re familiar with the incident and what these extremists are capable of. It would seem that Azir was back in this country as part of another terrorist plot, but instead tried to get his revenge by murdering you.”

A chill ran down Keegan’s spine. “Are the other guys that my father locked up out on the street as well?”

“No. One died in prison, and the other man is still incarcerated.”

Keegan breathed a sigh of relief. “Okay…so if they’re still locked up what does this have to do with me?”

Castillo adjusted his glasses as he explained. “Once we began an investigation into Azir, it led to another man in Chicago. The FBI raided his home early this morning and guess what they found…another suicide vest. The man was taken into custody without incident and hinted that there were still more members of the cell at large and that an attack was imminent. He agreed to tell us everything he knew about the plot on one condition. That condition is that he speaks to you face to face.”

“Me!?” Keegan shook his head in disbelief. “Why does he want to speak to me?”

“That’s what we’re going to find out. You’ve got authorization from the Police Commissioner to travel with me to Chicago. You can bet your life that the authorization is more of an order and that it came from a source a lot higher up than the PC though.”

Keegan’s mind raced in many different directions. He did his best to digest the information, but it made no sense to him. He looked at Galvin for support. “Are you coming, Sarge?”

“No, Tim. Just you and Detective Castillo.”

“Call me Louie,” Castillo interjected, placing a hand on Keegan’s shoulder.

Keegan redirected the conversation back to his sergeant. “I just don’t understand what’s going on here, Sarge.”

“None of us do, Tim. Inspector Enton and I came here to tell you personally and to let you know that you have our full support. We need to get going though. There’s a twelve forty-five flight out of Kennedy that you and Louie need to be on.”

Keegan looked at Galvin. “What about identifying the body at the morgue? You said the procedure…”

Castillo cut him off. “He’ll still be on ice when you get back.” It was said in a curt manner yet not too harshly. He reminded Keegan, “We’re on a tight timeline here, Tim. You may be the key to preventing a terrorist attack. I don’t know why, but I don’t care right now. Are you ready to go?”

Keegan nodded and mulled over the similarities. His father had been a hero to the nation on at least one occasion. In his mind, Keegan thought it would be ironic if he too would be able to prevent a terrorist attack. Of course, he realized that there was a big difference from what his father did—conducting an investigation and single handedly arresting those involved in the plot—and being summoned by one of the terrorists. But still, if he could help in preventing an attack it would be just as important.

Noting Castillo’s attire, “Do I need to wear my uniform or put a suit on before we go?”

Before anyone could answer a voice called out from the other room. “Hey Timmy, what happened to you? I was waiting.”

Cathy Quinn walked out from the bathroom clad in nothing more than a towel wrapped around her. Her face turned instantly as red as her hair. It became apparent to Keegan that she had never heard him tell her not to come out. Keegan felt his face go flush as well.

I guess our relationship’s not a secret anymore.

Inspector Enton and Castillo bowed their heads in embarrassment for Quinn. Galvin couldn’t help himself but to laugh.