Code blue, p.17
Code Blue, page 17
“I’d like to see the pants that could hide a toilet.” Charles chuckled.
“I think I did,” Yoko chimed in. “The jumpsuits we wear are enormous.”
“And you are not,” Annie reminded her.
“Correct. I guess they grow them big in Pensacola,” Yoko joked, which drew a laugh from the crowd.
“Izzie, let’s go over your day.” Myra steered the conversation back.
“There is a lot to tell. My new BFF, Regina, was an unwitting fountain of information. There are a few things we need to check out. She said she heard a rumor that Edith Clayton was related to someone in upper management.”
“Good. We can check her family tree,” Charles noted.
“Then she told me about Jeremy being let go. The reason they gave him was that they are automating, but Regina knew nothing about it, and she said if anyone were to process an invoice for more tech, it would be her. She also told me about the morphine found in his car.”
“Nikki, any word on a lawyer for him?” Myra asked.
“Yes, I have two names. Just holding off until we find out if they are going to press charges.”
“Good.”
Maggie chimed in, “When I saw him the second time, he told me that there had been boxes of drugs missing in the past few shipments. He spoke to the sales rep, who blamed it on someone else. He finally brought it up to his boss, and a week later, he was shown the door.”
“Seems like our Jeremy was about to uncover something unseemly,” Fergus noted.
“Yoko? Any chance you got close to the dump trucks?”
“Not today, but I know where they’re parked. I’ll try to get a better look tomorrow without drawing any suspicion from my workmate. His name is Danny. Seems like a normal sort. My impression is that the facilities department isn’t as nefarious as the main operation.”
“But where did the dump trucks come from?” Maggie asked.
“Good point, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that Danny and his coworkers are in cahoots with the rest of the organization,” Yoko added. “I might also add that they are breaking ground for a new section and want landscaping done before some prospective investors show up.”
“Investors? They’re bringing outside money in?” Annie asked.
“Maybe they’re not as flush as they appear in spite of the government funds that have been flowing in,” Fergus said.
Charles added, “With something this widespread, I would think whoever is running it is keeping things very close to the vest and involving the fewest amount of people.”
“We suspect Clayton is connected. Perhaps she is their point person in Florida.”
“Then there’s Nurse Ratched,” Annie said.
“Uh, uh. Janet Turner, please,” Myra reminded everyone.
“And she would be the point person for Arizona,” Izzie added.
“Makes sense. As long as people do what they think is typical or ordinary work, there is no reason to involve more people in the scheme,” Charles noted.
“Very true. They show up for work, get paid. End of story,” Myra said.
“Except Jeremy began to notice things and began to ask questions,” Fergus noted.
Izzie jumped in, “Regina told me that she tried to look up Jeremy’s personnel file to get a family contact name, but his was gone. Sounds like it was deleted.”
“There appears to be a lot of whys that need to be uncovered,” Myra said.
“I have another one,” Kathryn jumped in. “I was supposed to meet with Janet Turner today at four, and when I got there, I was told to come back tomorrow.”
In unison, everyone asked, “Why?”
“My point exactly,” Myra said.
“Let’s review what we know.” Myra went down the list:
In Florida:
Jeremy Sykes. Questions missing drugs. Tells boss.
Gets fired. Gets run off the road by a dump truck.
Accused of carrying morphine in his car.
No personnel record of him at Sunnydale.
Izzie’s office is bugged and has CCTV. Charles and Fergus need to find a way to deactivate it without drawing attention so Izzie can dig deeper.
Edith Clayton. Possibly connected to owners or higherups. Fergus and Charles will check. Seems to be the boss.
Looking for possible investors. Need to keep following the money trail.
In Arizona:
Theresa’s bizarre story about her aunt. The woman.
The ring. The presumed body bag in the middle of the night.
Kathryn gets turned away on her first day.
Both Florida and Arizona police give Maggie a nothing sandwich regarding the accidents.
Maggie huffed. “Figures I’d get a nothing sandwich.”
“Annie and I have our appointments with the client relations managers at our respective future domiciles,” Myra said. “Maggie, visit Jeremy again. See if you can get him to tell you some names of people he’s dealt with.”
“Roger.”
“There are a lot of loose ends, but at least we have a few things we can pull on. Let’s recon again tomorrow evening. Same time?” Charles asked.
Everyone nodded. “Good. Izzie, keep your head down. We should have a hack for our best hacker by tomorrow evening,” Fergus said.
“I’ll do some checking on Edith Clayton and her relatives.”
“Alright, everyone. Stay safe. See you tomorrow.” Myra said.
“Mind as you go.” Fergus ended the video call.
Yoko went across the hall to Izzie’s studio. “Got a min ute?”
“Sure. What’s up?” Izzie opened the door wider.
“I know this might not sound like a good idea, but I think I might go over to Sunnydale later and check out the dump trucks.”
“You’re right. It does not sound like a good idea.” Izzie went over to the sideboard. “Can I get you anything?”
“Tea?”
“That I can do.” Izzie plugged in the instant water pot. “Chamomile? Peppermint? Ginger?”
“Peppermint. Thanks.” Yoko curled up on one of the love seats. “Hear me out.”
“Oh … kaay …” Izzie’s skepticism was loud and clear.
“The new section does not have electricity. I know the utilities are going underground, and I did not see any poles where they could mount CCTV. Right now, it’s piles of dirt with survey stakes. The trucks are parked along the back of a fenced-in yard. I could easily scale it. Check for dents, scratches.”
“It’s a dump truck, Yoko. It’s bound to have dents and scratches.”
“Don’t be a party pooper. I’ll take photos, upload them, and let Charles and Fergus have the photos analyzed for damages that are inconsistent with normal duty, wear, and tear. And check to see if there are marks that are consistent with a collision.”
“I have to admit, the second half of your plan is brilliant. It’s the first part—the breaking in part—that concerns me.”
Yoko straightened up. “You’re kidding. Breaking into a fenced-in yard concerns you after everything else we’ve done?” Yoko’s eyes expressed her surprise at Izzie’s caution. “Scaling that fence and getting off a few photos is like taking a nap in a hammock. Easy, breezy.”
Izzie poured the water into two cups. “Maybe you should clear it with Annie or Myra. Just so they don’t think you’ve gone rogue.”
Yoko nodded. “You are correct, my friend. I hadn’t looked at it that way. I was simply trying to move things a little faster. And I hadn’t thought about it during our call. There was a lot going on.”
Izzie nodded, picked up her phone, and made a three-way call to Myra and Annie.
“Hey. What’s up? Everything alright?” Annie asked hurriedly. Myra asked the same question.
“Yoko and I are on speaker. She has an idea she wants to run past you.”
“Shoot,” Annie urged.
Yoko explained what she had in mind. “I got a good look at the surrounding area. I think I can pull it off in less than ten minutes.”
Myra was the first to speak. “I have every confidence in your ability to do this, but we know very little about this operation.”
It was Annie’s turn. “How about this. Izzie, you drive Yoko to a spot where you won’t be seen, and Yoko can get back and forth easily. Yoko, is that a possibility?”
“Absolutely. There are groves of trees at the end of the property. A service road runs along it.”
“Alright, then. Have at it, girls. And remember”—at this, everyone joined in with: “Be careful out there.”
“Ping us and let us know how it went,” Myra said.
“Will do, and will upload photos as soon as I take them,” Yoko replied.
The call ended with Yoko bouncing to her feet. Izzie issued a word of warning. “We haven’t seen this place at night. We don’t know if there is a motion detector somewhere. A trip wire?”
“That’s what night goggles are for,” Yoko replied.
“Where are we going to find night goggles at this hour?” Izzie questioned her.
“Dear friend. How you underestimate me.” Yoko sipped her tea.
“You brought night goggles with you?” Izzie smirked. “Why am I not surprised?”
“And I brought a backup pair. Just in case.”
“Just in case what?” Izzie closed one eye and tilted her head.
“Just in case I needed a night-shadow buddy,” Yoko jested. “Too bad Maggie’s plane doesn’t get in for another few hours. She’s going to miss the fun.”
“We could wait for her,” Izzie suggested.
“I’ll send her a text. See when she’ll be back.”
Maggie was dozing on and off in the lush passenger seat of the Gulfstream jet. She was stirred awake by the buzzing of her phone. She had to think where she was for a second before realizing she was on Annie’s plane. The next thought was, which direction was she headed? Back to Florida, right.
“Hiya. What’s up?” she yawned into the phone.
“Mag, when do you think you’ll get in?”
Maggie checked the time. It was almost eleven. “What are you guys doing up so late?”
“We have a mini mission for the mission,” Yoko said.
“Details, please.” Maggie always liked to get to the point right away.
“Izzie and I are going to break into the yard at the warehouse. I have to get photos of the trucks, and there is no way I could do it during the day. Too many eyes and too much movement.”
“You plan on doing this tonight?”
“That is the plan.”
“Can you wait for me? Better to have two sets of eyes on the lookout.”
“How long will you be?”
“We’ve started our descent. Let me check with the pilot; hang on.” Maggie picked up the intercom phone. “Hey, Roger. What’s our ETA?”
“Midnight.”
Maggie returned to the phone call. “We land at twelve; then it will take me a half hour to get to the apartments. So, say twelve-thirty-ish.”
“Great. We can wait,” Yoko said.
“Cool. As long as I have a bag of chips waiting.”
By the time Maggie met up with Yoko and Izzie, it was almost one in the morning. She knocked on Yoko’s door. “What time zone am I in?” she asked, looking slightly dazed.
“You are on the East Coast. In Florida,” Izzie assured her. “Have you gotten any sleep in the past two days?”
“I think I had a nap on the plane.” Maggie stretched. “I’m okay, really. Flying back and forth on Annie’s plane sure beats sitting in a car on a stakeout overnight.”
“You have a point,” Yoko agreed.
“So, what’s the plan?” Maggie looked around the room. “I asked for chips.”
Izzie handed her a bag. “This has to last you for the next two hours.”
Maggie shook the bag. “I think I can manage it.”
Yoko continued as she unpacked the black bodysuits and the night-vision goggles. “I brought several pairs of these”—she handed one bodysuit to Izzie and one to Maggie—“but only two pairs of night goggles. The two of you can decide which one wants to be the getaway driver and who wants to tail me.”
Izzie looked at Maggie. “Will you fall asleep in the car if we leave you there?”
“Possibly.” Maggie stifled a yawn.
“Then it’s settled. You will go with Yoko. The adrenaline will keep you on your toes.”
“Okey dokey,” Maggie replied. She began to undress and slipped the ninja-looking suit on. Izzie did the same. Yoko was already in full night-crawler garb.
“Uh, shouldn’t we be wearing something over this so we don’t look too out of place?” Maggie asked.
Yoko handed Maggie a sarong-type wrap. “Tie this around your waist. You act like you’ve never done this before,” she teased.
“Just a little out of practice.” Maggie grinned.
Izzie slipped on an oversized T-shirt, and Yoko pulled on a pair of overalls.
“Ready?” she asked.
“Ready!” Maggie and Izzie held up their hands for a high-five.
Yoko peered through the peephole of the door to check that there was no one in the hallway. She pointed to the security camera above the elevator, then pointed to the stairs. The three quickly slipped out and followed her lead. Once they were on ground level, they exited through the parking garage door. Yoko opened the rear hatch of the SUV and tossed her gear into the car, while Izzie took the front passenger seat, and Maggie got in the back. Yoko was the designated driver, since she was the most familiar with the layout of the outer perimeter of the property.
They drove down the main road, then turned off when they came upon the construction site entrance. No gates, no personnel, no lights. At the moment, there was little to be secured. A NO TRESPASSING sign was the only deterrent, and for these women, there was no such thing.
Yoko parked in a secluded spot and turned the vehicle around in order to make for a quick exit. She looked at Maggie in the rearview mirror. “Ready?”
“As ready as I’ll ever be!”
Yoko got out of the driver’s seat, and Izzie got behind the wheel. Maggie was right on Yoko’s heels.
“Follow me.” Yoko jerked her head in the direction of their target, approximately a hundred yards away. She carefully looked ahead of each step to be sure there were no booby traps. So far it appeared to be clear. They continued in a crouched position until they were against the fence. Yoko scanned the top. No barbwire. No trip wires.
Yoko formed a stirrup of her hands to boost Maggie up ahead of her. Once Maggie was on the other side, Yoko scaled the chain-links like an Olympic champion. Yoko made a circle, indicating Maggie should take photos of the outside perimeter of the vehicle, while Yoko slithered to the second truck. Each started clicking away.
The crunch of approaching footsteps in the gravel made them freeze in place. A bright flashlight preceded a voice calling out.
“Hello? Anybody there?”
Yoko and Maggie quickly slipped under the trucks and hunched behind a wheel of the massive vehicle. The footsteps moved closer, and the voice grew louder.
“Hello?”
Yoko reached around for a rock and tossed it away from where she and Maggie remained in a prone position. The flashlight immediately turned toward the noise of the stone hitting the fence.
“Dang raccoons,” the voice grumbled.
Yoko peered from under the running boards and watched the boots retreat from the area, following the path light. They waited until they could no longer see any signs of movement, human or otherwise. Yoko listened carefully for any other disruptions. It seemed as if they were clear to finish their task and finish it quickly. They scrambled back to the fence; Yoko gave Maggie a leg up and then followed her to the other side. They swiftly moved toward the awaiting vehicle, which was already in gear.
The two hopped in the back as Izzie put the pedal to the metal and tore over the rough road surface. They held their breaths until they were well beyond the construction site.
“Woo-hoo!” Maggie cried out. “That was something! I don’t remember the last time I broke into a facilities yard.”
“Weren’t you at that concrete manufacturer in the Caribbean?”
“No. You guys went without me. You never let me have any fun.” Maggie feigned a whine.
“Wasn’t this fun?” Yoko asked as she began to disrobe in the car.
“Alright. I’ll admit it. Yes. But boy, am I pooped.”
“You deserve a good night’s sleep,” Izzie said as she was nearing the Suite Inn. “What’s on your agenda for tomorrow?”
“I hope to get over to see Jeremy again. Find out if he has any more info, or if he’s had another visitor from the sheriff’s office.”
“Good. I’ll keep pumping Regina for whatever information I can glean. But to be honest, I don’t think she has much access to anything other than processing invoices,” Izzie said. “I wonder if Charles or Fergus have figured out a way for me to circumvent the big, red, eye-spy camera.”
“We can log into the mainframe and check when we get back,” Yoko suggested.
By the time they returned, it was two-thirty in the morning. In spite of her jet lag and lack of sleep, Maggie was wide awake.
“See? I told you it was the adrenaline,” Yoko said, grinning. The three women entered Yoko’s studio suite to return their ninja outfits.
“And if you noticed, I did not open my bag of chips, which I shall do right now.”
Izzie opened her laptop and logged into the mainframe. There was a message waiting for her from Charles:
9:27–9:31 a glitch will occur in CCTV system. You have four minutes to get in and out. That is the maximum time before everything goes into lock-down. Including you. Let’s reconvene at 6 am tomorrow. Some interesting developments.
“Oh, boy,” Izzie said, exhaling. “We are having another call early tomorrow morning. Charles and Fergus arranged for a blackout of their security system tomorrow morning.”
“That’s great!” Maggie gave an enthusiastic fist pump.
“But I only have four minutes,” Izzie replied.
