Gone Unnoticed: A Kate Reid Novel (The Kate Reid Series Book 3) (20 page)

“Don’t worry. I wouldn’t expect that you’ve been exposed to this in your training yet. The TRU is the Technical Response Unit. They’re a part of the OTD, the Operational Technology Division.”

As he began to explain, Kate recalled just how difficult it could be to keep all of these different departments inside the Bureau straight. It was an intricate web of sections, divisions, and units touching on every aspect of criminal activity inside the United States, and they all supported one another in their specialized capacities.

“They provide surveillance, support, and secure communications,” he continued. “We need their help to keep our field operatives safe and ensure that no one outside the command center knows the position or directives being given to run an effective operation.”

“So what will happen once the teams are in place,” Vasquez began, “is that we’ll utilize the electronic surveillance support to keep tabs on not only our guys, but on the suspects as well.”

“Kate, you’ll be riding with Agent Scarborough and me. We’ll be tailing Mercer in hopes that he will lead us to James Corbett and possibly Stan Kovac. Once we get our sights on those three, we’ll take them down. However, it’ll be our field operatives running the show from the ground. Scarborough and I will monitor, but only engage if necessary.”

Neither one had any intentions of allowing Kate to find herself in harm’s way. She was to observe from a training perspective while the big boys handled the fight. This wasn’t something with which she was completely on board. Understanding that she was not a full-fledged agent, Kate had already become involved to the extent that the outcome mattered a great deal to her. She would see Corbett and Kovac go down for what they’d done to those girls and make sure Nicola stayed safe.

» » »

A slight tip of the plane’s right wing and the descent had begun. Mercer, full black hair and refined features, locked his tray table back into position. The window offered a spectacular view of the city that reflected the lowering sun’s golden rays. But Mercer wasn’t there to see the sights the city had to offer. He was landing in Richmond to do business and, with his profile, that was already a risky proposition.

He’d been appalled by the near total breakdown of not only the chain of command, but the organization itself, thanks to the debacle of his wealthiest client and the attempts at cleaning up the mess that Corbett had made. Others were beginning to talk and Mercer had no choice but to fix the situation or put an end to it. Much more was at stake than Corbett could possibly realize. This was an organization with ties to a great many important people, none of whom could afford having the FBI snooping around their businesses.

The wheels skidded against the runway, bouncing and jarring him and the flight attendant. Mercer now waited for his corporate jet to come to a full stop. His intent was to return by midnight, if not sooner, and head back home to London. Being in this country too long brought with it many risks and Mercer didn’t like to gamble.

The automated gangway extended to the small plane and the attendant opened the door for Mercer. “Enjoy your stay, sir.”

He grunted, hoisting his leather bag over his shoulder and stepping onto the enclosure.

Mercer emerged onto the concourse and proceeded to the south exit, where a car waited for him.

“I have visual,” the agent broadcast to the team through a small wireless headset as he spotted the target from inside the terminal. He began to trail Mercer from a safe distance.

Another team member was sitting on a bench just outside the south entrance, scrolling through his cell phone, seemingly oblivious to the world around him. However, he too waited to acquire visual on the mark.

Kate was in the car with Agents Jameson and Scarborough. They were waiting for the go-ahead to tail Mercer to his next location. She’d been close to danger more times than she could count, but this was different. Even as she tracked Hendrickson down, he was ultimately the one who found her, not the other way around. Now Kate was operating as the hunter. It was a strange sensation; exhilarating and terrifying. But she had Scarborough to fall back on. It wouldn’t always be that way. Not once she was a full agent. She would be the one leading the team, or taking her part to ensure the team accomplished its goals.

“He’s heading your way. Black Cadillac Escalade. Sole passenger,” one of the operatives announced over the secure frequency.

Nick started the engine. “Here we go. Black Escalade.”

All eyes were pointed in the direction in which the vehicle was expected to arrive. Kate’s heart pumped faster. She stared out the right side of the windshield, around Jameson’s shoulder.

“There he is,” Jameson said.

Kate spotted him too. A sleek black SUV rolled along the dual lane roadway and Mercer was inside. The man who she believed ordered the abduction and enslavement of countless young women was approaching them.

Inside the car they waited, until finally, the subject sped past them. They were shadowed beneath an overpass at the airport’s exit and, after a few moments, Nick pulled out onto the same roadway.

He radioed the others. “I got him. Heading westbound onto SR 195 now.”

They trailed him for several more minutes. “Where is he going?” Kate asked.

“Don’t know yet. We’re heading into the suburbs. He’s probably already arranged the meeting and won’t want to waste any more time. If he stays the night, I’d be surprised as hell,” Nick replied. “We just need to be patient.”

“We’ll wait to see if he meets with Corbett and/or Kovac,” Jameson began. “Firstly, to draw them out and secondly, to establish a connection between them. According to the communications between Corbett and Druseburg, no one really seems to know for sure if Mercer is the man in charge. The name was tossed around, but Corbett’s main point of contact comes from a man only known to him as the Arranger. Apparently, rumblings from others in the operation suggest that it is Mercer who calls the shots. And, thanks to Inspector Montrose at Interpol, his name raised a red flag. What we really need to see is them in action.”

“You mean we have to wait for them to actually kidnap someone?” Kate asked.

“No. We just need to see them together. I’d like to bag all three of them in one fell swoop.” Nick looked at Kate through the rear view. “That’s the ultimate goal.”

“He’s pulling into that parking lot,” Jameson said. “Hang back.”

“Suspect has pulled into the parking lot of the strip mall located on Stratford and N. 42
nd
,” Nick relayed to the team.

Another car pulled alongside the black Cadillac and although it was difficult to see, it appeared each had rolled down their windows to converse.

“Shit. We need ears on them, damn it,” Nick said.

» » »

Jim Corbett waited for Mercer to roll down his window. As it slowly descended, the man inside didn’t look thrilled to be there. Then again, neither was Corbett. He’d suspected that this was the man in charge, but it remained unclear what would happen to him for having this knowledge.

Corbett had the requisite number of assets. They were in Kovac’s hands and he hoped there wouldn’t be any more fuck-ups. He had to assure Mercer that he had things under control.

“Do you have them?” Mercer asked from inside the car, his face masked in shadow.

Corbett surveyed the parking lot, noticing the odd car coming or going. It wasn’t a particularly busy row of shops, partly the reason for the rendezvous location. Still, he wanted to be sure there were no eyes fixed on them. “I do. Just as you asked.”

“And who is handling the cargo at this moment?”

“Same person we discussed earlier. I’ve got everything under control, sir.”

“I’m sure you do. I’ve already had to take care of one problem you let fall out of your hands. Don’t make me handle another.”

“That won’t happen.” Corbett was growing tired of offering assurances to the Arranger and now to the head of this organization, and wanted to get the hell out of the parking lot. He knew the man was referring to Druseburg’s death, but failed to believe that it had been a result of his mishandling of the situation. Martin Druseburg may have been loaded, but his money made him careless. That carelessness allowed his girl to take her own life with the drugs he used to make his time with her more pleasurable. The guy was a borderline addict himself and Corbett knew that, but still, he’d taken it upon himself to clean up the mess. And that was what he was doing until Mercer decided to take over. It was the only reason the man was here right now.

The more he thought about it, the more pissed off he became. Unloading the cargo was Corbett’s only priority and they were wasting time.

“All right. I have a colleague who will take them off your hands. I’m just here to ensure a successful transition. I don’t want to lose faith in you.” Mercer rolled up the window.

“Of course, thank you sir.” Corbett raised his own window and retrieved his phone. “We’re on our way. They’d better be ready. The handoff is tonight.”

» » »

“He just called Kovac.” Vasquez radioed Nick with the information that’d come through on the Stingray simulating a nearby cell tower that had picked up the call.

“We’ll follow, but do you have a location on Kovac? We can send our guys out ahead of them.”

“425 N.W. Harbor St.,” the agent replied.

“We’re on our way.”

TWENTY

D
usk was settling
as the teams continued to follow James Corbett and Richard Mercer. A call had been made to Detective Garrett updating him on the situation, but the details would be handled by the feds. This was not a time for heavy-handedness.

The headlights of Nick’s SUV went dark and he rolled to a stop, a safe distance from the meeting. The rest of the team arrived in the same manner and Nick radioed them. “I want everyone to stay where they are. We don’t know if the victims are here or are being held in another location. I do not want to jump the gun.”

“Ten-four. We’ll wait until we get visual confirmation,” one of the agents replied.

“What if the victims aren’t here?” Kate asked.

“Then we follow them. Whatever’s going to go down will happen tonight. Mercer will want this finished as quickly as possible,” Jameson replied.

The men under surveillance stepped out from their respective vehicles, which were parked in front of a home. The agents waited and watched as the men went inside. A team had arrived minutes ahead and were equipped with surveillance gear. Parked cars lined the street nose to bumper and made it easier for the FBI van to blend with the surroundings. Nick’s car was only a few feet ahead, but still about thirty yards from the home.

“You guys picking up anything yet?” Nick radioed the surveillance team.

“We’ve got audio.”

“Put it on this channel. I need to know what they’re saying.”

A moment later, the voices of the men inside the home sounded over a static-filled line. “Damn it. We’ve got a lot of disturbance here,” Nick said.

They listened as Corbett spoke of this latest delivery.

“Look, I got what you asked for, but with this heat, we have to wait until shit cools down before the next order. You can see here, the websites are functioning and we’re operating below the FBI’s radar. I won’t make the same mistakes. These sites are being bounced all over the world and there’s no way in hell they’re going to track me down. I stay out of sight and Kovac’s been handling most of the acquisitions. Problem is, word is getting around too that the streets are getting dangerous. So we need to find a better way. Maybe head over to the Carolinas or Florida. We can organize a shipment from Cuba.”

“I am aware of your colleague’s unfortunate situation and the number of bodies that seem to be stacking up against the both of you. Quite frankly, I see that you two are the problem here, drawing the unwanted attention, not Druseburg. And, I’ve already got people working those areas.” The voice had an English accent. That was Mercer.

“The problems have been taken care of and we are on track again, sir. My priority is to get these assets dispersed as quickly as possible. I just wanted you to see that the operation is effective. I am getting daily inquires via these websites.”

Kate turned away with disgust. Listening to them speak as though the women were nothing more than products to be sold made her want to jump out of the car and beat the hell out of them right now.

She caught Nick’s glance in the rear view. He seemed to sense what she’d been thinking. “You okay back there?”

“Fine.”

“Be patient. It’ll happen.”

The radio sounded again. “The warehouses at the pier. Kovac will have them there in thirty minutes.”

“They’re getting ready to move,” Jameson said.

» » »

Nicola was home with her mother and brother. A patrolman had been stationed outside the house for the past few days, since Vito’s body was found. Detective Garrett arranged it in order to keep watch on the family and the officer now sat in his car across the street from their small home. The call had come in that something was going down with Kovac and Corbett, and the officer was on high alert.

The family knew he was there and were instructed not to leave the house until further notice.

Nicola still didn’t feel safe, even with the knowledge that a policeman waited outside their home. Her mother’s nerves were on end and her brother simply sat on the couch, his eyes fixed to the television. He hadn’t spoken much since Vito died, believing he was the one responsible for his brother’s death. If he’d just kept his mouth shut, none of this would be happening right now.

The dinner her mom made still sat, now cold, on her plate. Nicola hadn’t much of an appetite. She was afraid and so long as the man who killed her brother was still out there, she would stay afraid.

She decided her appetite was gone for good and pushed up from the tattered wooden table that was covered in a blue cloth her mother had sewn together. Above the kitchen sink was a small window with bars. Bars covered all of their windows. That was what all of the houses in her neighborhood were like.

Nicola took her plate to the sink and emptied the remnants into the disposal. The curtains were drawn closed, and she raised a hand to pull one of the panels back just enough to peek through. The unmarked police car was still there. She knew what it looked like. Dark blue, four-door sedan, a Ford or something like that. She wasn’t well versed in American cars, or any car, for that matter.

She narrowed her eyes to gain focus in the dusky evening sky and tried to see inside the car. Maybe the officer was getting hungry and she could bring him some food, or maybe something to drink. It appeared that he was still inside. She was sure the head-shaped shadow was him. It was just so hard to see.

Nicola dropped the curtain and opened the refrigerator. A few cans of RC Cola rested on the wire shelves and she grabbed one of them. In the small pantry were some bags of chips she usually packed in her school lunches and she took one of those too.

On her way to the living room, Gregor looked up at her. “Where’s Mama?” she asked.

He shrugged his shoulders and returned his gaze to the flashing images on the screen.

“Mama?” Nicola stood in the hall, then she spotted the bathroom light on and the door closed.

She walked to the front door and unlocked the deadbolt.

“Gdje ideš?”
“Where are you going?”
Gregor asked.

She rolled her eyes, wishing he would use English more often. “Outside.” She raised the soda and bag of chips. “He might be hungry.”

The humidity had risen when the sun set and now the warm air felt sticky. Summer here was not very pleasant and she much preferred summers at home.

Nicola made her way to the end of the drive and looked both ways before crossing the street, just as her mother taught her. It seemed like her flip-flops were the only sound and the neighborhood was unusually quiet.

The car’s windows were still rolled up and tinted, so it was difficult to see inside, but she still saw his head. He must not have noticed her, though, because he hadn’t turned in her direction.

Nicola stood at the driver’s side door and rapped gently on the window. “Hello?”

The officer didn’t move. She turned her head left and then right. No one was around. Nicola reached for the door handle and pulled.

The can dropped to the street and split open, a forced spray of soda spinning on the ground. The bag of chips slipped from her fingers as Nicola looked at the man. His head was secured to the headrest by a rope; a rope that was used to strangle him. His face was purple and his eyes were bloodshot and bulging.

Nicola screamed and started running back to the house. As she reached the steps of the porch, a man lurched out of the shrubs and snatched her. Her feet flailed in the air as she punched his arms and screamed as loud as she could.

The man slammed his hand over her mouth. “Shut up! Shut the fuck up or I’ll kill your entire fucking family.”

Her legs stopped moving and no more screams arose, but she still gripped his arm and tried to pry it from her waist.

His pant leg caught on the split stair tread that Vito had promised to fix. After stumbling over the damaged step, he regained his balance and continued to walk towards the front door. The door was still ajar and he pushed it open.

Gregor must’ve heard Nicola’s screams because he stood just feet from the door, a knife raised in his hand. “Let her go.”

With a burly frame, the man stood not more than five and half feet tall, and he grinned at Gregor’s demand. “Put the knife down or I put a bullet in your sister.”

A gun was jabbed into Nicola’s side and she winced in pain. Tears streamed down her face as she looked at Gregor. “Don’t let him hurt me.”

“Boy, you’d better put that knife down. You think I don’t know your mother’s here too? Do you think you can save them both?” He pulled the gun from her hip so that Gregor understood this was not a situation that he could win.

“Did you kill my brother?” Gregor still gripped the knife hard, his white knuckles outlined his trembling hand.

The man lowered Nicola to the ground, but did not loosen his hold. “Son, you have no idea that you and your brother stepped into a heaping pile of shit. Now, he already paid the price. Don’t make me collect from you too. Put down the fucking knife.”

Gregor and Nicola locked their eyes, understanding what it was he had to do. He cast a brief glance sideways towards the kitchen.

“She in there? Your mama?” The man waited, but no reply came. “Come on now. I ain’t got all night. Let’s just get this over with, you hear?”

Nicola understood what was about to happen. She knew just as well as Gregor that none of them were getting out of there alive.

» » »

The call came in on Kovac’s phone. He was at the pier inside a warehouse, waiting for Corbett and Mercer to arrive. Three young women were bound by plastic ties and sat on the floor against the exposed brick wall. They all wore battered faces, the punishment for trying to scream or run away.

“I’ve got them. What do you want me to do?”

“Mercer might be interested in the girl. Bring her. Kill her brother and mother.” Kovac shoved his cell back into his pocket and opened the metal door in order to spot the expected guests. Still nothing. He was beginning to wonder when the hell they were going to show up. The girls were growing restless again, but he didn’t want to push more heroin. Couldn’t risk an overdose. His only other option was to gag them or knock them unconscious. Neither option was desirable at this moment. It would make them more difficult to transport.

» » »

“What the hell’s he doing?” Nick asked, a rhetorical question that remained unanswered. Instead, Dwight and Kate cast a watchful eye towards the wandering Stan Kovac. He propped himself against the exterior of the building with a lit cigarette hanging from his mouth.

Nick reached for his phone, which vibrated against his waist. “Scarborough.” His eyes never left Kovac. “What? When? Are any units there yet?”

Kate became increasingly interested in Nick’s conversation and so did Dwight. They had no idea who he was talking to, but it seemed each began to suspect it was Detective Garrett and that it wasn’t good news.

“We can go in now, but we won’t get Corbett or Mercer, you know that. I need both of them here to finish the deal. We’re too close,” Nick continued. “Just get the family out of there, goddammit.”

Kate turned to Jameson. With wide eyes, she looked at him and, in that moment, they both knew what was happening. She began to shake her head. Her chest heaved as the thought of bolting from the car ripped through her body. It was Nicola and she was in danger.

“Shit!” Nick slammed his palm against the steering wheel. He turned to the wall where only a moment ago, Kovac stood, but no longer. He’d retreated back inside.

“Is it Nicola? Is she dead?” With a trembling voice, Kate tried to get the words out in something that resembled an audible tone.

“The patrolman isn’t responding to radio calls. Garrett thinks something might have happened to him. Units are already on their way to the house, but we don’t know anything yet.”

“Oh, God, we have to get over there. We have to help her,” Kate replied.

“We need to stay here, Kate,” Dwight began. “Garrett’s got people heading there now. She’ll be fine. You got to let them do their job. We can’t let Mercer get away.”

Kate knew he was right – they were both right – but that didn’t change the fact that her heart raced and her mind flashed images of Nicola, dead. “Please, just let me go there. I can ride with one of the other agents.”

Vehicles appeared in the distance, but with headlights shining towards the agents, it was difficult to discern what type. It had to be Mercer and Corbett. The larger van was likely intended for use as a transport.

“They’re here,” Nick radioed the team. “Wait for the go from me.”

“Ten-four.”

“We wait for the exchange. Once the women are in the van, we go. We can’t take any chances the victims end up in any crossfire.” Nick relayed the message to the team once again.