Richard Kane heard the backblast of jet engines as Collette came on the phone line. “You in Albuquerque?”
“Just arrived, Richard. Any updates?”
“I just learned that the team split up. Joe O’Rourke has designated Gerrit to take the rest of the team to your location and find the lab.”
“And Joe?”
“He’ll be heading to my location in Harrogate. I’ll handle him on my end. You just find and kill that team. I don’t want them getting anywhere near that lab. Do I make myself clear?”
“Perfectly,” Collette said with confidence. “They won’t leave the city.”
He cut the connection. His informant came through again. And if Collette failed, he had a backup. The informant would kill everyone on the team.
Chapter 39
Albuquerque, New Mexico
Dry winds and high altitude cleared Gerrit’s head as the team exited the plane. A burly man hailed him from across the tarmac. Officer Geronimo Sanchez. Joe’s description of Geronimo was dead on. Alena, Willy, and Redneck hung back near the plane while Gerrit approached the cop.
Gerrit stuck out a hand. Geronimo, leaning against his car, arms folded, seemed to ignore the gesture.
“Thought you guys would never get here. You ready?”
Taken aback, Gerrit nodded and motioned for the others to join.
Geronimo reached into his car and popped open the trunk. “Throw your things in the back and let’s get a move on.” The man was all business. “I’ve set up everything, just the way Joe asked.”
Willy was the first to arrive. “So, Geronimo, how did you get that name?”
Gerrit hunched his shoulders. “Leave the man alone, Willy. He’s trying to help us.”
Geronimo whirled around to face Gerrit. “Stop right there, partner.” The cop held up a hand. “No names. Understood? What I don’t know, I can’t be expected to give up. I’m doing a favor for an old friend. No questions asked. Let’s just leave it at that.”
Gerrit nodded and the others piled into the car.
Geronimo waited until everyone was settled, then punched the accelerator. He wheeled around a terminal and shot away from the airport as if he could not wait to get rid of them. A five-minute ride found them in a large public parking lot. “Here’s your new ride.” He screeched to a stop alongside a white van with tinted windows.
Willy groaned as they piled out of the car. A magnetized decal slapped on the side of the van read Phil’s Plumbing: Let us flush your problems away-Cheap and Fast.
“You gotta be kidding,” Willy said. “We’re going to run around town pretending to be a bunch of plumbers? This is sooo uncool. Fly in on a fancy business jet and drive out in a plumbing rig that promises to flush our problems away. Give me a break. The ad sucks.”
“Well, excuse me, pal.” Geronimo glowered at Willy before turning to Gerrit. “It was the only undercover I could snag at a moment’s notice. Only the hookers working our hotels know about this vehicle. We used it for a sting operation a few weeks back. I suspect your targets are a step above hookers, so this ride should work.”
Geronimo leaned out the driver’s window. “Give me a call when you’re ready to blow town. Park it right here, and leave the keys in the ignition.” He handed Gerrit a sealed business envelope. Gerrit grasped it and felt metal objects inside.
“Keys to a safe house and the address are inside.” Geronimo started to roll up the window, then stopped. “You’ve got my number. Give me a jingle if you run into any trouble. Otherwise-we never met.”
With that, Geronimo drove away.
Willy reached down and picked up his bag. “And I was just getting ready to unleash my Geronimo jokes. That would have been a waste of time. I don’t think that guy’s cracked a smile since Custer’s Last Stand.”
Gerrit opened the van’s driver-side door. “Get over it, Willy. Climb inside and start working your magic.”
Still muttering, Willy opened the side door and climbed into the van and began to gag. “Phew. Someone left garbage in here. It smells like ol’ Phil forgot to flush.” Holding his nose, he pulled out his laptop and started to work.
The others climbed in, Alena sitting up front on the passenger side, and Redneck following Willy into the belly of the van. Gerrit turned in the driver’s seat and pulled aside a blackout curtain so he could see the two men. “Okay, give us an update.”
Willy set his computer on his lap and opened up programs. “I had our home-based computer system begin a search before we took off from Maryland last night. Searching all calls and communications linked to Kane that had any connection to the greater Albuquerque area.”
Gerrit nodded. “Doesn’t he run an encryption on his system to block such searches?”
“J and W Enterprises will not be trifled with, my man.”
Alena caught Gerrit’s puzzled look. “Joe and Willy Enterprises. Wasn’t Willy exceptionally creative when he came up with that name?”
“Almost as creative as Phil’s plumbing business.” Gerrit grinned. “Actually, Phil may have been a tad more creative.”
Willy scowled at Alena, ignoring Gerrit. “The name is simple and to the point, Al. Don’t need more than that in my business.” He turned the computer so the others could read it. “Kane did make a bunch of calls here to this unlisted number.” He moved the cursor over the number.
“So we don’t have the location identified?” Gerrit scanned the computer’s display.
“Oh ye of little faith.” Willy clicked on the number and dragged it to another screen. “The moron with this unlisted phone number uses a computer-based phone system. I backtracked the IP address with my own magic and traced it to a business just south of here.”
“Where is this place located?”
An aerial view from a satellite emerged on Willy’s screen. “Way ahead of you, Mr. G. Just got this live feed from one of Joe’s friends.”
Gerrit eyed him. “Who?”
“Mr. J always says, ‘don’t ask.’ How do I know?”
Irritated, Gerrit glared back. “This is serious, Willy. Whoever’s feeding this to you knows right where we are. They can track us.”
A gleam of amusement shone from Willy’s eyes. “You may have been Captain America in the Marines, but in our operation you’re still a rookie.” He glanced at Alena before continuing. “With Mr. J’s help, I’ve accessed a web of servers worldwide. Anyone tries to track one of my incoming signals is gonna have one heck of a headache. They may wind up sniffing around places like Singapore or New Guinea, thinking they will find me there. Don’t worry, Mr. G. We is well protected.”
“We are well protected, Willy,” Gerrit said, smiling.
“Yeah suh, Master G. Yeah suh.” Willy shot a grin Alena’s way.
She just laughed. “You have just been Willyized, Gerrit. Since we met, Willy earned a bachelor’s degree in literature after his computer classes, and he is working on a doctorate online. He has a better grasp of language than most of us.” She gave him a look that meant Gerrit had been played. “You just heard his Uncle Tom’s Cabin rendition. If you try to correct him, his language just gets worse.”
A broad grin met Gerrit’s stare when he turned toward Willy. “Okay, smart guy. Give me the intel on this place.”
The smile slipped away as Willy focused on the computer. “We’re here.” He slid the cursor over so it blinked on top of the Albuquerque airport. He zoomed in until their van emerged on the screen, shifting the angle so the Phil’s Plumbing logo became vividly clear.
“That’s great, Willy,” Gerrit said, “but where’s our target area?”
“Man, Joe was right. You are very impatient.” Willy shrugged and began shifting images with a few command strokes. “Here we are above the lab. I’ll just move us in closer.” Fingers sped across the keyboard as Willy entered
