Revelations

Chapter One

By J-James

This story is rated PG-13

The characters of Frank Donovan, Jake Shaw, Alex Cross, Monica Davis and Cody Forester are the property of Shane Salerno, Don Winslow and NBC Entertainment. No copyright infringement intended. All other characters are the property of the author.

Frank Donovan edged his way slowly through the abandoned parking garage. Every noise and clatter echoed endlessly through the cavernous building making it almost impossible to locate the source of any sound. As quietly as possible he slowly maneuvered himself around the endless rows of cars. He was aware that anything that he heard could very well be coming from his fellow agents, as Alex and Jake were also searching, just on different floors. The case that he and his team had been working on for weeks had led to this very situation. A police telephone hotline had received information, credible information, leading them to their prey. If they were lucky, they'd be able to take the man in with little or no difficulty.

As he rounded yet another row of deserted automobiles, he couldn't help but chuckle to himself. Why do we always assume that the person we're after is a man? he thought idly. True, the profile seemed to point to the fact that they were probably searching for a man, but somehow when violent acts were involved, the assumption was always that a man was responsible. He remembered the discussion that he'd had with Monica just days earlier about the very same subject. She'd spelled out the facts for him, as only a profiler can. Men react in physical terms, she told him, women in cerebral terms. Shaking his head, Frank worked at regaining his focus. He hadn't necessarily disagreed with her, he just thought it was interesting that everyone always assumed the gender of a psychotic mind. And a psychotic wacko was definitely what they were after now. Letting his mind wander, Frank began to relive what had happened over the past 60 days.

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Over 2 months ago, he and his team had been called in on a case involving a serial bomber. The attacks had been random, and at first the police had believed that different people had been responsible for the acts, since dissimilar devices had been used. But after the 4th bomb went off in the space of just one month, the police decided that they might be in over their heads and phoned the FBI. And soon after that, Frank had gotten the call.

They'd spent the better part of a week just studying the crime scenes and any physical evidence that the police and fire investigators had been able to find. The devices used had indeed been different, and not only that, but the propellants used had been dissimilar as well.

One of the bombs had been placed in a neighborhood mailbox. That explosion had been relatively small. It had managed to take out the mailbox and a small portion of the owner's yard, but no one had been hurt.

The second, had been placed in a dumpster behind a downtown restaurant. The explosion on that one had caused significant damage, not only destroying the container in which it was hidden but also a good portion of the back of the building. Once again, no lives had been lost, but a few of the restaurant workers had been injured by flying debris.

The third had been hidden in a bus stop shelter, and this time not only had there been injuries, but two people had lost their lives as a result. The other chilling aspect of that particular incident was that the device used had been radio controlled, meaning that the bomber had to have been in range of the bomb when he had detonated it. He had purposely waited until the bus stop was crowded before pushing the button to blow the explosives.

The fourth explosion had taken place close to a neighborhood playground. Luckily no one was killed or injured in that precise instant, but the thought of what could have happened left the residents in the area in a panic. That was when the local police decided that they'd need help catching this maniac.

The playground bombing had occurred nearly a month and a half ago, and their man had hardly been idle in all that time. In fact, he'd escalated his efforts. His tenth escapade had been broadcast on the evening news just last night. A bomb had gone off in a high school not too far from where Frank lived, hitting, literally, too close to home for Frank's comfort. It was shortly after that broadcast, that the police hotline had received a call from someone claiming to have seen suspicious activity in their neighborhood. A man living across the street had been coming and going at odd hours of the day and night and seemed to be spending an awful lot of time in his garage with the door shut even though it was the middle of the sweltering summer.

The police immediately called Frank's team and they took it from there. After interviewing the caller, they'd obtained a warrant to search the man's premises. By the time he and his team had arrived, the place was deserted. Warrant in hand, they busted down the door and proceeded with their search. What they found was more than incriminating, pieces of wiring…..tools needed to construct delicate machinery……a soldering gun……..a large table top magnifying glass…….timers of various shapes, sizes and accuracies…….and even a few sticks of dynamite. For someone who had successfully eluded the law for some time, the man had openly left what could only be considered prime evidence. What's the catch? Frank thought to himself. It had all been found too easily.

As Frank and his team had meandered through the man's house, the hair on Frank's neck began to stand up. Something wasn't right……in fact something was dreadfully wrong. He knew it, but for the life of him he didn't know exactly what it was. The longer they were in the house, the worse the feeling became. Suddenly Frank turned toward the steps leading to the downstairs. Alex and Jake had descended those steps just moments before.

"Jake! Alex! We're leaving NOW!!!" Frank yelled.

From the lower level, the two agents looked at each other curiously. They'd never heard their boss yell that way before, but what was even more unnerving, they'd never heard that tone in his voice…..a tone that could only be interpreted as……..panic? Just as Jake was about to ask why he wanted them to leave, Frank added…….

"And whatever you do…… DO NOT use your radios or cell phones!!!!!" Alex and Jake understood immediately, and their eyes flew open at the realization. The house could be booby-trapped and if so any sort of radio controlled signal could set off whatever the bomber had left for them. The two headed cautiously but quickly to the stairs, looking left and right as they did so. After ascending to the main floor, they followed Frank and quickly exited the house just as they had entered. It wasn't until the three were a good hundred feet or so away from the structure, that Frank began to calm down. When he was sure that they were a safe distance away, he pulled out his cell phone and called the bomb squad. The crew was, in fact, already on their way, but he wanted to let them know what they might be up against.

Approximately an hour and a half later the leader of the bomb squad emerged from the house still in his blast gear. He approached Frank and his team as they leaned against one of the PD's vehicles. The man stopped when he reached the group, taking his protective helmet off in the process.

"Frank……..good to see you again," the man began, "I just wish it could be under better circumstances."

"Brian……..any circumstance when nothing actually explodes is pretty good in my book."

The man laughed and nodded. "Can't argue with that reasoning."

"So…….what'd you find? Anything? Or am I just getting paranoid in my old age?"

"Paranoid?? Hardly. If anything, you're cautious, and in your line of work, that's a good thing. Now as for what I found……..let's just say that it was a very good thing that you and your crew here got out when they did. Let me ask first…….did anyone go downstairs?"

"We did," Jake piped in, motioning with his hand to himself and Alex. "Why?"

"How far did you get before your boss here pulled you out?"

"We were only down there for a few minutes," Alex answered. "We were still searching the main room when Frank called down and said that we were leaving immediately." She eyed the man curiously and felt her skin break out in gooseflesh. Somehow she knew that whatever he was going to tell them would probably give her a few sleepless nights as a result.

"Did either of you notice a set of two doors on one wall?"

"Yeah…..we did. In fact I had my hand on one of the doorknobs when Frank yelled for us," Jake replied this time.

Brian glanced briefly at Frank before continuing. "Let's suffice it to say that your boss here has great instincts. If you'd turned either knob, the house would have gone up and left a nice 20 foot crater in it's place."

Alex and Jake looked stunned and both noticeably paled. They just continued staring at the man before them, not knowing what to say. Jake walked away from the other three, and for more than a few moments felt like he was very close to losing the contents of his stomach. He'd had his hand on that doorknob, and when Frank had called down to them, he'd almost opened the door in order to take a quick look before leaving. His colleagues would never know how very, very close they'd come to becoming just a footnote in some Justice Dept. paperwork.

"Jake?" he heard his boss say from just a few feet away. "You OK?"

"OK??," he asked incredulously, "You've got to be kidding me, right? I almost got us all killed. No……..I'm not OK," Jake answered defensively. He looked at Frank as he stood before him. It never ceased to amaze him how calm Frank Donovan always looked even in the face of a revelation like this. The three of them had come as close as anyone could ever come to facing death and still be able to walk away, and yet Frank still seemed unfazed by the situation. Amazing, Jake thought to himself, or maybe just a little creepy. How could someone receive news like that and not react emotionally. Jake glanced over at Alex and saw her puffing away on one of her ever-present cigarettes. Her arms were wrapped around herself and he swore that even from this distance he could see her trembling. Then he returned his gaze to the man standing before him. Nothing. The man simply could not be ruffled by anything.

Frank watched the tortured look on his agent's face with concern and empathy. He'd been in Jake's shoes before, granted it had been a number of years, but he could still remember the sickening feeling he would get when he'd realized how awfully close he'd come to getting himself and the rest of his team killed. It wasn't that he was oblivious to the situation they were currently in, but a long time ago a superior had given him an invaluable piece of advice……advice that he was now going to share with his fellow agent.

"Jake," he began slowly. "I know how you feel." He watched as Jake shot him an unbelieving look. "I do, honestly. I've been where you've been. I've felt the same things you're feeling now. The nausea…….the fear…….the almost debilitating knowledge of what could have happened." Jake looked at his boss, still somewhat doubtful.

"If you have…..been where I've been……how can you stand here so calmly right now? I mean it wasn't just Alex and I in that house. You were there too."

Frank sighed and began, "Yes…..I was there too. And no, I'm not immune to the feeling that someone just walked over my grave, but the difference is, I choose not to dwell on what MIGHT have happened. Do you hear me? Yes, it might have happened…..but it didn't. For whatever reason……God…..fate…..karma…..or instinct, we weren't meant to die today. We survived. We're here…..safe and sound. If you dwell on the what if's, they'll paralyze you. You won't be able to function. Pretty soon, you'll be afraid to turn the next corner because you'll live in fear of what MIGHT happen. And I don't know about you, but I don't think that's any way to live."

Jake listened to the words and let them wash over him. He knew that Frank was right. If he let fear run his life, he'd never be able to function as a UC agent. The job was basically about running into one blind alley after another, and if he was afraid to do that, he'd totally lose his effectiveness. The words made sense to him, but figuring out how to make them work was something else entirely.

"So that's your secret, huh? Just choose not to dwell on it? Is it really that easy for you?" Jake asked skeptically.

Frank smiled and chuckled. "No….it's not that easy, but you've got to remember that I've had a few more year's experience dealing with just these types of situations. No…it didn't happen overnight, but the next time you're in a tense situation, just remember what I've said. Don't let fear run your life. There's a fine line between caution and fear, and after awhile you'll be able to discern the difference."

Jake looked at his boss with a new respect. The more he worked with the man, the more he learned about him. And the more he learned about him, the more he came to respect, admire and……well, even like him. Jake shook his head when he remembered a time not so very long ago, when he'd declared, in no uncertain terms, that there was nothing remotely likable about Frank Donovan. In his opinion, the man had come across as cold, unflinchingly demanding and totally devoid of humor. And now, a year or so later, Jake thought that to his surprise, he would even consider Frank a friend. Crazy how the world works. His thoughts were interrupted by the sound of Frank's cell phone ringing.

"Donovan," Frank barked into the receiver. Listening intently for a few seconds, Frank finally responded. "Right…….I've got it. We're on our way. We'll be there in 10." Jake looked at Frank curiously.

"The police have just received another call on the hotline about suspicious activity in a downtown parking garage. An office worker spotted a man who looked conspicuously out of place carrying a rather large box. The caller said that the man was wearing some sort of uniform with a hat pulled down to cover most of his face. I told them that we'd go check it out. Let's grab Alex and head out." Jake nodded in reply.

"Alex…..we've gotten a new lead. We're heading out," Frank declared as they walked toward her. She still seemed a little flustered, but appeared to be calming down. "Are you up to this?" he asked with real concern in his voice.

She nodded as she dropped her third cigarette in ten minutes to the ground extinguishing it with her foot. "I'm ready. Where to?" she inquired getting back to business.

"A downtown parking garage. There's been a tip about a suspicious man seen in the area." She nodded in understanding. As the three headed toward their waiting car, Jake suddenly turned and asked one last question of the bomb squad leader.

"Brian…….I'm just curious. Frank was concerned that the house might be wired with explosives that would be set off by radio signals, the type that come from police gear. Did you happen to find any of those?" Frank and Alex stopped as well waiting for the man to answer, morbid curiosity getting the better of them.

The man grinned almost devilishly before answering. "Well, let's just say that it was a very good thing that you got out when you did." And that was all he said before turning and walking toward the house which was still a bustle of activity. Jake glanced at both Frank and Alex before climbing into the car. Don't let fear run your life, he kept repeating to himself as they drove off.

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The three had left that house nearly an hour ago. They'd arrived at the parking structure and were briefed on what had been seen and where. As a precaution, they were told the garage and all of the surrounding office buildings had been evacuated. The only questions in Frank's mind were……1.….was the man that had been spotted indeed their suspect, and…….2.……if so, what type of device were they up against this time. They had successfully avoided disaster at the man's house, could they get lucky twice in one day?

Now as he rounded yet another row of deserted cars, Frank began to wonder if they'd run into a dead end. He and his team had searched three floors already and found nothing, and just about the time that he'd decided that they had indeed run into the proverbial brick wall, he heard Jake yell his name from the floor above him.

"What do you have Jake?!" he yelled in response, since it was obviously unsafe to use their usual means of communication.

"I'm on the fourth floor! I found………something! In one of the cars!" Frank ran up the spiral exit ramp which linked the floors together. He quickly arrived on the fourth floor and could see Jake and Alex both crouched behind a late model Mercedes, looking in the direction of a vehicle across the aisle. He made his way quickly, but cautiously to their sides.

"What is it?" he asked Jake.

"I was making my way down this row, looking under all of the vehicles when I heard a noise. I couldn't figure out what it was or where it was coming from, but I definitely heard something. So I stopped dead in my tracks and waited for it. That's when I heard it again, only this time I got a good fix on it. It was coming from that SUV over there," Jake stated, pointing to the Ford Explorer parked adjacent to where they were.

"So I slowly made my way over there, first checking under the car. That's when I noticed that something appeared to be strapped to the undercarriage. Easing myself up I looked through the rear window. That's when I saw…..her."

"Her?" Frank asked in shock. He'd been prepared to find a bomb, god only knew where, but what he wasn't prepared for was finding a person held at the mercy of their mad bomber. "Where is she?"

"She's in the front seat. Tape across her mouth and her hands are chained to the steering column."

"Is she conscious?"

"Yeah…….and frightened beyond belief. After I yelled for you, I tried to communicate the best I could with her from a safe distance. I didn't want to walk straight up to the driver side window, so I went over two cars away and told her that help was on the way. She nodded that she understood, but I could tell that she's really scared." Frank nodded, understanding.

"Alright……Alex….I want you to go down to the bottom floor and get the bomb squad up here. Apprise them of the situation and tell them to hustle. If this thing's on a timer, we may not have much time. Jake…..stay here and wait for the others to arrive. I'll try to talk to the girl. Not knowing what we're up against, it's vital that she remains calm." Alex took off and Jake nodded.

Frank edged his way over to the other side of the aisle. He stopped briefly to look under the surrounding cars. If the maniac could plant one bomb, he certainly could have planted more. The wacko's house being a prime example. When he was fairly positive that the surrounding vehicles were free of any explosives, he made his way between the vehicles two cars away. As Jake had said, who knew what types of sensors could have been placed on the SUV itself and not wanting to endanger anyone further, he decided to err on the side of caution.

The closer he got to the driver's side window, he was suddenly overcome with a feeling of dread that threatened to overwhelm him. This wasn't like the situation at the house, then he'd just felt like something was wrong. No….this time he felt apprehensive, like he was about to be faced with something he wasn't ready for. He slowly edged his way closer and could now begin to see the profile of the woman in the car. Her face was mostly blocked by her long blond hair. The more he could see, the more anxiety seeped into his soul. The daylight was fading quickly and the lighting in the structure was anything but bright, so he couldn't make out too much, but what he saw made his blood run cold.

He knew that his imagination was playing tricks on him. It can't be, he told himself repeatedly. It just looks like her because of the color of the hair. As he stood parallel to the driver's side window, the woman finally noticed him and turned her head. In Frank's mind the action happened in slow motion. What took only a second, seemed like five minutes in his mind. And in that span of time, Frank Donovan finally knew what true terror was.

As the feeling threatened to overcome him, the only thing that invaded his terrified mind was a single sound……….a click.

"Nooooooooo!!!!!!!!" he shouted as the concussion wave hit him followed quickly by total and complete blackness.

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