The Remote Traveler (The Remote Series Book 1) Read online

  “The license plate was still on it asshole. They torched her parent’s house too. The police, sheriff and the FBI are looking into it as a potential homicide and the ATF is in on it too because of the automatic weapons and arson. I have the full alphabet soup of agencies digging into this. I need to know if there is another sweeper team working out here.”

  “No, why do you say that.”

  “Her car and her parent’s house were both shot full of holes with an automatic weapon, and the fact that I have twelve dead agents. Every aspect of this job screams government black ops all the way.” Evan screamed in the phone, “I am coming out there and we are going to have a face to face.” He slammed the phone down and grabbed his emergency travel bag.

  The Foreman hung up the phone turning to his assistant speaking in an even tone.

  “Ray, when Evan Black arrives at Andrews, take him to Quantico and hold him in a security cell until we have a formal investigation into this mess. When you finish that, get on a plane and go out to the Farm. Load the twelve agent bodies on a bus and drive it off a cliff. Make sure the bus’ tanks are full and that it burns. I want to be sure that the whole mess is extra crispy and be sure that our people do the autopsy. At least we will have a plausible cause of death, so the families can collect the insurance and give them a proper burial. Show it as a training exercise and call it line of duty. Next round up all the personnel at the farm and convince them that this never happened. If anyone disagrees, they will be doing a six-month tour of duty in the Aleutians at a Bering Sea weather station. They can fly directly there from Edwards Air Force Base. I will be sending out two sweeper teams as soon as we can get things together. I still want Edward Case.” The Foreman had an afterthought. “Get the director of the CIA on the phone I want to find out if they have a sweeper team out there. This is one of their operations. Doctor Swift was their researcher and Edward Case was their project. I want to find out if we have an interdepartmental shoot out on our hands.” His assistant Raymond was standing with his mouth open. “You have a lot to do, close your mouth and get your ass in gear.” Ray turned around and started slowly out of the room. The Foreman roared, “Clear the door!” When Ray went out, the Foreman called the CIA director.

  “Steve how’s the wife and kids.” This was going to be a tough one. He had to explain why one of his sweeper teams had been sent out to close one of the CIA’s projects. He covered how Edward was able to read a classified document remotely. “He could see the meeting, the participants and the documents on the table. Edward could actually read the documents on the table!”

  “Yes that is what we wanted him to do.”

  “He was penetrating the Pentagon and reading our classified documents.”

  Steve was losing patience, “It was a test. We needed to have something that we could verify.”

  The Foreman pushed ahead, “Well I was ordered to send a sweeper team. They were ambushed and we lost twelve men. If you did not have your own team out there, we need to find out who was out there. A highly trained team of twelve men were intercepted and eliminated by an unknown fully equipped force. Perhaps your project has been infiltrated. We were able to eliminate the doctor and one of his assistants. The team was intercepted after that. We lost twelve specialists and the targets disappeared. They were using black ops only rounds and all of the information that they collected is missing. Do you have a runaway project?”

  Steve had to admit that there was a problem, “I suppose that we must consider the possibility. You said that they were using automatic weapons with fragmentation rounds. That is not a consumer item and they actually tried to burn down the Farm using the girl’s car. That was inventive.”

  The foreman had a definite edge to his voice, “Yes, and it appears that they took out our resources and the experiment is missing.”

  “One thing for sure is that we need to find out where this team came from. Go ahead with your plan. We will not interfere.”

  “We could use a sweeper team.”

  Steve smiled wickedly on his end of the phone and his voice took on an overly patient tone intentionally allowing a slight chuckle to slip through, “The CIA is prohibited from engaging in any domestic operations. None of the people under my control or influence will operate inside the United States or its territories. That is outside of our charter. I know that there have been breaches in the past, but while I am the director, this will never happen for any reason. Keep me advised. If your problem moves out of the country, we will see what can be done at that time. Until then…” The director slammed the phone in the receiver without his normal cordial goodbye. He would do nothing to help until he knew that his operation was in the clear.

  Alex awoke to the sounds of Stephanie shrieking at Bill. It sounded as if they were in the same room with them.

  “How could you! You had no right. Where are we going to live?”

  “I didn’t just burn it down. I sold it to Alex and then he burned it down. We will get full value for the house and furnishings.”

  “But my clothes…”

  Bill interrupted, “We will deal with that. They tried to kill us, and they will be back. Alex and Anna set us up so that we can have a new life.”

  “Can you believe him?”

  “Are you kidding me, they saved our life. If they hadn’t stepped in, we would be filling a hole out in the desert.”

  Anna nudged Alex, “We need to get Bill out of the dog house. Why don’t you wake Grace and see what their house was worth? I will get Bill and Stephanie.” Grace was a real estate agent and their neighbor. Alex called Grace up and had her start the research. After an hour Grace called back with a price of $500,000. Alex increased the $30,000 to $50,000 for the furnishings. Anna was having coffee with Bill and Steph.

  “I had a friend look up the property in the MLS to get a rough idea of what we are talking about. She came up with a value of $500,000 plus $50,000 for the furnishings. Of course you need to do your own research, but I think you will find the offer fair.” Alex turned to Jane’s mother, “Steph does that seem close to anything that you have heard?”

  Stephanie had to admit, “We never looked.”

  Alex pushed on, “Why don’t you and Bill do some checking around? Say that you want to move into the area, and get a few examples. In the meantime, I will check on your papers. Bill you are keeping your first name and Steph you are changing your name to Nia, with a last name of Binder. Jane is going to change her name to Layla, with a last name of Chalenger.” Nia was curious.

  “Why the different last names?”

  “They are looking for Jane Baxter. If they find her new name it could compromise your papers. When she gets married she would change her last name anyway. These ID’s are ironclad and they will have a full history. Your new names will be entered into the appropriate data bases. When it is time, you can renew your documents through the applicable agencies and your renewal dates will be at different times. Having the same date of issue is one sure sign of a forgery. That is why these papers are so expensive. Hell one person that I did a set for applied to receive a security clearance one week after having her new identity, and passed without a hitch.”

  Nia had to ask, “How much are these new ID’s?”

  “$50,000 to $60,000 each, but I will pick up that cost.” Bill and Layla started to get up from the table. Stephanie was still unsure.

  “We have to talk.” After a few minutes in the other room, they returned.

  “$500,000 sounds right for the house. Our neighbors down the street sold theirs for $480,000.”

  “That will be plus $50,000 for the furnishings,” Alex smiled warmly. “I will have a friend of mine do the paperwork and you can set up an account when we pick up your new ID’s. We should be done quickly.”

  “What about financing?”

  “I will just transfer the money to your account. There will be no financing.” Nia raised her eye brow in surprise. Bill looked around and whispered in her ear.

 
“Have you looked around? Look at their kitchen.” Nia scanned the kitchen. The appliances were all professional sub-zero, the counters were granite, the floors were a custom slate tile and all of the kitchenware was professional grade. She looked out the window at the patio seeing that there was an outdoor kitchen. As she looked around she noticed that all of the furnishings were top quality. These people obviously had money.

  “Why don’t you check out the facts and let me know this afternoon,” Alex broke her concentration. “Be sure and use your new names. Here is pen and paper I want you to sign your new name until your hand cramps up. I want them to become natural to you as soon as possible.”

  “Why are you doing all of this for us.”

  “Edward asked us to help.”

  “Yes, there is help, and then there is help.” Anna gently led Nia to the door of the kitchen. Edward and Layla were curled up in each other’s arms on the couch. They were just holding each other.

  “I have a feeling that I am doing all of this for Edwards future in laws.” Nia stalled when she heard the comment. She had not thought of a white son in law. It was an acceptable idea, but she just never thought about it before now.

  “Do you really think…?”

  Anna put her arm around Nia’s shoulders and walked back in the Kitchen. “I would not be surprised. She is a good girl. Alex and I are going to see what develops.” Nia was curious.

  “You don’t mind a black daughter in law?”

  “No, do you mind a white son in law?” Anna did not take a second to think.

  “I want my daughter to be happy,” Nia said. Anna was too direct to let the lack of a firm answer pass.

  “I answered your question directly. Is there a problem?”

  “No there is not. The question took me by surprise.” She tried to divert the question. “Bill what do you think about a white son in law?”

  “Wonderful, he is a nice young man,” Bill would be no help at all.

  “I could live with it.” Nia was obviously not enthusiastic about the idea. Anna gave up on a straight yes or no. Grace came in through the garage. She walked past Edward and Layla lightly raking Edward’s cheek with her nails. She kissed him on the cheek warmly. “Is this your girl? She is a real beauty.”

  “Yes, this is Layla.” Grace took both of her hands kissing her warmly on the cheek, while Edward finished the introduction. “Nia, this is our neighbor Grace.” She moved on through to the kitchen. She kissed Alex warmly on the mouth and kissed Anna passionately on the mouth.

  “Are these the people that you called me about?”

  “Yes, I would like to introduce, Bill and Nia Binder.” As Grace leaned forward to kiss her Nia held out her hand blocking the kiss. Nia took her hand giving Grace a limp hand shake. Grace gave Bill a solid hand shake and a kiss on the cheek, as Anna finished the introduction.

  “Grace is our neighbor and my real estate expert. She is also our ‘go to person’ for back up. Our daughter Alice will be over shortly. I thought that you might like to start with Grace. She can give you some pointers for checking the value of your home. Layla tells me that you were the office manager in a medical office. We are going to provide you both with jobs and carry over your degrees in your new names.”

  “Just how are you going to do that?”

  “We take your college credits talking the school into moving them back two years putting them under your new name. Jane’s credits will move to another branch of the University of California under the name Layla Chalenger. Her degree will be the same as if she attended the university. Layla will even have credit for all of her PHD work with the exception of the work that she did for Doctor Swift. You will have a complete verifiable work history that goes back ten years. Bill worked at Lockheed and we will give him an employment record at F & F Air that spans back fifteen years. That will include his pension.”

  Nia was skeptical, “Just how are you going to work that last part?”

  “My daughter owns Chalenger Medical Associates just down the road from here and I know the owner of F & F Air Transport. All of the records will be altered. You and Bill will have a work history that goes back fifteen years. Bill managed to get all of your personal things including your wedding dress.”

  “All of my clothes were in that house. I have nothing to wear.” Anna stepped in the conversation.

  “We have a special solution for that. As soon as the passports come through we can solve that problem.” Alice walked in the kitchen. “This is Alice she will help you sort out your employment problem.” Anna walked out of the kitchen. Edward and Layla were lying on the couch holding each other. Anna tapped her on the shoulder. “Alice will help you sort out your employment problems. Why don’t you join her?” Layla got up and went into the kitchen.

  Anna sat down on the couch next to Edward. “Do you think that your father and I went too far?” Edward smiled and kissed her cheek.

  “Mom, you always go too far. This time it was necessary. You spotted the sweeper team right away. They would be dead if it were not for you.”

  Anna was worried. “Bill and Layla seem to be getting a grip on the situation. I am worried about Nia. It seems that she might be a problem. Can you get Layla to work with her?”

  Nia was locked into her secure world. There was church, the family, the house, and the job. Edward observed, “Nia won’t be able to go back to her church and the house is a pile of ashes. I told Layla that we could do something with her degrees and I am going to take her out to replace her car this afternoon.”

  “Edward you love her don’t you?”

  “I spent a year and a half playing with this project just to get close to her.”

  “She sure seems special.” Anna expressed her approval. “Your father likes her too. We will do everything that we can to get her and her parents through this. Take her out shopping. Your father and I will take her parents. We are going to have them stay at the Amazon Inn for a week or so to get them out of the way while things cool down. You can spend some time with your brothers and sisters.” Edward loved spending time at the Inn. He spent several months every year with his other mothers and his other siblings. They taught him to use all of the weapons and security devices there. It was an adventure every time he went. Even at the age of twenty-five Susan and Lynn treated him as a son.

  “Layla asked me, if I had any brothers and sisters. She did not understand when I told her that they mostly lived in England. Will you explain it?

  “I’m not sure that I can be clear on that issue myself.” Anna hung her head for a moment. “Looking back it is hard to believe. The whole view of society was different then. It will be hard for you to understand now.”

  “Mom, I am twenty-five now.”

  “You are right. You should have the full story. When we get to the Inn, we can sit down with Susan and Lynn. For now, take your girl and enjoy your afternoon.” Layla got dressed and left for the day with Edward.

  The plane with Evan landed at Andrews Air Force Base and a security team met the airplane arresting him at the bottom of the stairs. They took him to a security cell at Quantico in hand cuffs with the guards refusing any conversation. He knew what had happened and what their orders were. He knew that it would do no good to protest. The cell was in its own wing, so there was no other cell within ten feet of it. Cameras and microphones were located inside the cell. Everything that he did and every sound that he made would be recorded and analyzed. Evan knew that the Foreman was going to hang this whole mess on him. There would only be a brief administrative hearing. There were no trials for failed sweeper missions, since they did not exist. Evan took a seat on the bed starting to figure out his options. The Foreman was there within the hour but did not go into the cell right away. Evan was escorted to a room across from the cell. The door was solid steel and there were no windows in the room. He was handcuffed to a metal table and left to wait for an hour in silence before the Foreman walked in the room.

  “Have you had enough time
to calm down?”

  Evan could manage a conversational voice, “Yes, I still want to know what the hell happened.”

  “So do we, there was no chance that you were compromised from this end. There was barely enough time to get you into place and we had no idea of what kind of resources you would put on the case. Think about it, even with a professional team it would take time to put something together.”

  Evan knew the truth of his statement, “Well they were waiting for us. How do you explain that?”

  The foreman said, “I do have an explanation, but you will never believe it.” The Foreman took a seat. Evan rattled the cuffs on the table.

  Evan said, “First let’s get an understanding of what is going to happen next. I’m good, and you can release me. We both know that I am not going to kill you in here.” The Foreman needed Evan’s cooperation, so he had to gamble. With two guards outside the door, he would be reasonably safe.

  The foreman spoke into the air. “Have someone come in and release Mister Black.” One of the guards came in the room, and unlocked the hand cuffs. “You may leave now.”

  “The CIA was working on a remote viewing project. We received a panicked call from one of our people at the Pentagon. The Reader penetrated a secure meeting room in the ‘A’ ring and read some classified documents that were in one of the brief cases. The decision was made that the project succeeded too well, so it was decided to eliminate the project. We called your number and you know the rest.”

  Evan could not believe his ears. “Are you telling me that we were blown by the Reader?”

  “That is all that we can figure out.”

  “How did he get a team in quicker than we did?”

  “Evan that is what has us worried. You said that they were all top men.”

  “They were my very best with each man having several successful missions behind him. Do you know how long it takes to recruit and train one man? He killed twelve specialists. Every man had several confirmed kills under his belt. They were taken out like a bunch of first grade children with no signs of damage on the other side. These men have had interrogation training and gave up sensitive information faster than I could give it to you, just now.”