The Tenth Cycle: A Thriller (A Rossler Foundation Mystery Book 1) (23 page)

Raj waited patiently. It was clear that Daniel needed to organize his thoughts, and was laboring under some powerful emotion. Finally, he spoke. “Raj, I’m sorry, but I think your cover is blown. What made me look around like that was the caller asked if my friend who objected to our conversation was Rajan Sankaran. He was obviously watching.” Daniel could go no further, because Raj had jumped from his seat and was pacing in agitation, speaking rapidly under his breath in Hindi. Daniel waited for him to calm himself, realizing that it might not happen immediately. To his surprise, though, after a few minutes, Raj sat down.

“I have known this would happen someday, I am prepared. Tell me the rest, Daniel, and then I must go,” said Raj in a deceptively calm voice.

“Okay. I got a call from the same person earlier. He said he wanted to talk about the pyramid research. I told him we weren’t doing it anymore, and then he said something about my grandparents suffering if I didn’t talk with him. Then the messenger brought me the instructions that you must have read, leading me here.” Daniel paused, waiting for comment from Raj.

“Go on. What did he say this time?”

“He said he knew we were continuing, and that we’d made a breakthrough. But instead of wanting us to give him the data, he wants us to give him everything we have. They’ve taken my grandparents hostage, Raj, I’ve got to cooperate. Oh, my God, what have I gotten us into?” Daniel dropped his face into his hands, overcome for the moment with the knowledge that some of the people he loved most in this world were in danger because of his obsession.

Raj said, “Come my friend, this is no time to falter. There is a solution, we just have to find it.”

Surprised, Daniel looked at Raj, thinking he’d never understood the other man’s character quite as well as now. “You’re right. Okay, first tell me what you’re going to do now. I’m so sorry they found out about you.”

Raj shrugged. “I always thought it would be the CIA. You don’t think the person who called you is CIA, do you?”

“I don’t think so, but how would I know? I mean, they’re already watching us and we’ve already agreed to cooperate with them. There’s no one we can trust, and whoever that was has to have all the resources he needs to track us and compromise our communications. In fact,” he said, remembering suddenly, “I’m sure that the person I just spoke to was responsible for Mark’s death. He basically admitted it.” He explained what the voice had said.

“All right, then I don’t see that I’m in any more danger than I was before, as long as I’m prepared to turn over the data and everything I know if they come for it,” Raj said calmly.

“And you must, certainly. But, what if they decide they don’t want you as a witness? Wouldn’t they kill you?” Daniel worried.

“Everyone must die sometime, my friend. No, I don’t think they will kill me. But, I have a safe house to go to. I will not be at work for the next day or so, until this matter is settled. Contact me through email, as before. I’ll prepare the data for you and let you know where to pick it up when you need it. Good luck with your grandparents.” With that, to Daniel’s further surprise, Raj got up and melted into the crowds on the sidewalk.

It was time to form a plan to rescue his grandparents; he couldn’t trust their safety to the honor of an admitted murderer.

~~~

The most obvious solution was to contact David. Daniel still had his card with the private cell phone number to be used in case of dire emergency. If this wasn’t a dire emergency, Daniel didn’t know what would be. He got up, leaving his unfinished coffee and Danish on the table, and went back across the street to the pay phone to make the call.

Daniel counted three rings, then the line simply went dead. Frustrated, he tried it again, every five minutes for the next fifteen or twenty minutes, with the same result. Unable to even leave a message, he muttered to himself, “Well, then I’ll do it myself, said the Little Red Hen.”

He mentally ticked off the tasks he needed to accomplish in the next twenty-four hours. He had to get to Little Egg Harbor, and the fewer people who knew he was on the way, the better. That included Sarah, who would just worry about him. He’d fill her in when it was over. He wanted just two people with him, and their numbers were in his primary cell phone’s memory. He was running out of change for the pay phone, and he was going to need new disposables anyway, so he ran to the nearest Walgreens where he could buy some. While on his way, he called Owen and breathlessly told him that he’d eaten something bad at lunch and come down with food poisoning. Would Owen make his excuses? He’d be back to work when he felt better.

Daniel transferred the two phone numbers to the first of the new disposable phones. The first number reached a man who’d been medically retired from the Marines five years previously. Sgt. Ellis and he had stayed in touch after Ellis contacted Daniel to thank him for saving his life. Daniel knew that the man stayed fit, despite his artificial leg. “Ellis speaking,” he answered.

“Ellis, its Daniel Rossler.”

“Rossler, you old dog! How’s it hangin’?” Ellis roared.

“You’d like to know that wouldn’t you?” Daniel answered with a smile. If there were time, he’d tell Ellis and Pierce all about his Sarah, but not now. “Hey, buddy, I’ve got a problem.”

“Point me at it, dude, I’ll take it
out
,” Ellis responded.

“I was hoping you’d say that. But you’d better hear what it is first. This is genuine combat stuff,” Daniel answered.

“All the better. I haven’t seen action in five years, I’m in desperate need of kicking someone’s ass.”

As Daniel spoke, giving the background and the current situation as succinctly as possible, Ellis’s ebullience turned to concern. He waited until Daniel was finished, and then said, “Typical spook doublespeak. I’m in; we’ve got to teach them not to fuck with a Marine’s family or friends. Where do your grandparents live?”

Daniel couldn’t speak for a moment. It choked him up that this hero, this damaged Marine, asked no questions about whether it was advisable to leave it to the cops, or in this case the CIA. ‘Teaching ‘em not to fuck with him’ was exactly what Daniel planned, and he was overjoyed to have Ellis at his back.

“They live in a little township in New Jersey called Little Egg Harbor Township. But there are no big airports nearby. Can I fly you here?”

“I’ll meet you at LaGuardia on the first plane I can get. And no, you can’t fly me. It’s the least I can do. Is Pierce in?” Ellis asked.

“I called you first. He’s next on my list,” Daniel answered.

“Good choice, buddy! Give him a call and have him meet us there. We can plan our approach on the way to Pullet Egg, or whatever you said.”

For the first time since the first phone call, Daniel actually laughed. It was going to be good to see his friends again, doubly good when he needed reinforcements. “Okay, let me know when you’re arriving.

His call to Pierce went much the same way. His exact words were, “Those sons of bitches need their asses kicked right away my friend. They need to learn not to fuck with the Marines. I’m ready - just tell me where I meet you and when. Oorah!”

As a precaution against an unexpected communication from Sarah, he sent a text saying he would be busy with a friend that night and would call her tomorrow, hoping she’d read between the lines. Even though Daniel thought Raj was already outed, his habit of sending only non-sensitive communications on an open line was deeply ingrained by now. He wouldn’t want someone going after Raj, thinking he’d be there, when instead he was headed for Little Egg Harbor. Her return text said, ‘Understand. Love you.’

Only a few hours later, both men were in Daniel’s car, heading for New Jersey and putting off talk of old times and what came in between until after their mission was accomplished. Daniel carefully described his grandparents’ house, isolated as it was by a large lot in a neighborhood of large lots, with plenty of trees to hide one neighbor from the next. At one point, they switched drivers, so that Daniel could bring up a satellite image of the house and surroundings on Google Earth. By the time they reached the sleepy little town, their plan was in place.

Daniel and Ellis would make their way through the neighbor’s yard into the Rosslers’ back yard, taking care not to be seen. When they were in place, Pierce would knock on the front door and pretend to be a door-to-door salesman. He would keep whoever answered the door engaged until Daniel and Ellis could storm the back door. It was risky, but Daniel didn’t think the bad guys would think of him taking this kind of action, so it was likely they wouldn’t be holding guns on the old folks. He’d rush to find them while Ellis kept the remaining bad guys at bay with the weapon he’d checked in his baggage and declared according to TSA regulations. When he heard anything from the back of the house, Pierce would rush the guy he was talking to and secure him before going to help the others.

The plan wasn’t perfect. There was no time for fancy planning or tactics. It was a simple plan but if executed correctly, with the element of surprise on their side, could work. They were bargaining that the bad guy who phoned and his henchmen in the house would not expect anything from Daniel. Particularly since he’d sounded so frightened on the phone. The only thing they didn’t know was how many of them were in the house. To learn that, Pierce would do a quick recon when they got there.

They discussed what to do if the captors sent Bess or Nicholas to the door instead of going themselves. They had to take into account that one would probably be watching the exchange, so the plan was similar, except that it involved Pierce taking down a grandparent as gently as possible and covering him or her while the other two secured the house. It would have to do. Both of the ex-Marines agreed with Daniel that under the circumstances, he couldn’t count on the bad guys just letting his grandparents go when it was all over. And Daniel knew that his grandfather would fight tooth and nail if he could, so that gave them the advantage if there were only two of the bad guys; maybe if there were three. If there were more, this was likely to go south, but they had to try.

By the time they reached Little Egg Harbor, dusk was approaching. Daniel hadn’t ever reached David, and he was unwilling to leave his grandparents in jeopardy overnight if he could help it. He and his friends had agreed that dusk was as good a time as any. It was only slightly less plausible that a desperate salesman would continue his rounds that late, and the long shadows would help disguise the movements of the others. Accordingly, Daniel had Pierce, who was driving, stop a quarter of a mile away. The three friends swiftly covered the distance on foot.

While Daniel and Ellis hung back at the property line, sitting behind the neighbor, Mrs. Baker’s, shrubbery to avoid detection, Pierce crawled swiftly down the side yard and soon disappeared altogether. Twenty minutes later he was back with good news. “I saw your grandparents. They seemed to be all right, but they’re tied to chairs in the kitchen. I only saw two mutts, both little scrawny shits, but they both had pistols. We can take ‘em, no doubt, but we’ll have to be careful no one takes friendly fire.”

He drew a crude diagram of what he’d seen in the kitchen, so that the others could see where in the kitchen the older Rosslers were bound. A nine millimeter slug could pierce walls and still do harm. When they each understood what they were to do and when, the three put out their hands, made a swift downward gesture with their joined fists and whispered, Oorah! It was showtime.

Without further ado, Daniel and Ellis began making their way from shrub to shrub through the neighbor’s yard, working toward the Rossler yard. Daniel thanked whoever had banned six-foot fences in the tiny township that there were no artificial barriers to their progress. Meanwhile, Pierce continued up the street to the Rossler house, several hundred feet to the east. His cell phone vibrated, indicating that the others were in place. Pierce knocked on the door. He waited a minute, then knocked again. They hadn’t talked about what they’d do if no one answered, and he was getting worried, when the door finally opened, and a man who looked too young to be Daniel’s grandfather regarded him with suspicion. “Yes?”

“Sir, I’m glad you’re home. I represent Acme Roofing. We’re going to be in your neighborhood to replace your neighbor’s roof next week…”

“We’re not interested,” interrupted the man.

Pierce put his hand on the screen door handle. “But, sir, have you noticed the condition of your roof? You have several loose shingles, and we’re prepared to offer a multiple house discount to all the neighbors who…”

“I said, we’re not interested.” The man stepped back, half turning his back on Pierce, prepared to close the door. Pierce hoped Ellis and Daniel were in place, because he couldn’t wait any longer. With a swift move, he snatched open the screen door.

“Hey!” the man said sharply, turning back to Pierce in annoyance. That’s when Pierce felled him with a right uppercut to the chin which would have done any heavyweight world champion proud. It dropped the joker to the floor like a sack of potatoes before he could make a sound. Pierce stepped all the way into the house, dragged the guy out of the doorway and shut the door softly. From the back of the house, he heard, “Jack, who was that?” Pierce thought quickly. If he didn’t answer, the other one was sure to come looking for his friend, and he had a gun. Pierce strode quickly to the wall, where he waited for the man to come through. Just as he heard footsteps approaching rapidly, the back door burst open, and he lunged at the perp to prevent him from going back.