CHAPTER THREE
Outside Interrogation Room #2
"Tony," Gibbs said.
"I got a call from Metro PD," Tony began. "A low-level drug dealer I arrested when I worked in Baltimore heard about the case on the news, in the rec room of the city jail. Told the cops he knew something that could help us but couldn't talk there because of Cissies."
"CSS has men in the Metro Jail?"
"According to Metro PD, no, but somebody talked to somebody who talked to Director Vance, and the guy's sitting in the room waiting to talk. To us."
"Talk to him, DiNozzo, keep me in the loop-"
"Agent Gibbs, Agent DiNozzo," Gibbs heard Vance say from behind him. "Metro PD is spooked over this witness, and case, and contacted me directly."
"They think there's a connection?" Gibbs.
"Both of you, in my office," Vance said.
Director Leon Vance's office
After Vance pushed a couple of buttons to lock down the office, he pushed a couple of buttons on the remote, and pulled up the mugshot of the thug sitting in the interrogation room.
"Johnny Ferino, from Philadelphia, sitting in the DC Jail after being arrested for selling cocaine near the campus of George Washington University," Vance began. "Agent DiNozzo once arrested him for a similar act near the University of Maryland-Baltimore County campus."
"Guy was a real prince, too," Tony said. "A real dirtbag. Got out of jail, didn't take the hint to turn his life around, got arrested three weeks ago near GWU. Asked to speak to me, said he knew things, and that while he may be a Grade A dirtbag, he's still a patriot. Wouldn't say any more."
"My sources in Metro DC police tell me Ferino knows some known associates of the Confederates, men the Confederate State Security Agency has used in low-level operations here in the IRNA," Vance said. "Some of them were in the DC jail, and though Ferino wouldn't say it over the phone, nor to police, it's thought he may know directly of the men who murdered our two petty officers and Marine."
"'May know', Leon?" Gibbs said.
"Go in there, find out exactly what he knows, and get back to me," Vance said, as his desk phone rang. Gibbs and DiNozzo moved to leave, but Vance signalled for them to stay.
A few minutes later, FBI agent Tobias Fornell entered the room.
"Figured you'd be busy with the shooting range, Tobias," Gibbs said.
"I found something that may tie in with your witness, Jethro," Fornell said. "And I want to talk to him about it."
"Witness?" DiNozzo said.
Interrogation Room #2
"Do you know a Mark Jones?" Fornell said, pushing a photo of the Maryland drivers' license of the man registered as the legal owner of Mark's Shooting Range.
"No, I don't, though he looks like the fat twin of someone I do know," Ferino said.
"Explain that, especially the part about 'someone I do know'", Fornell added.
"Ivan."
"Who's Ivan?" DiNozzo said.
"Almost as big, but more muscular, definitely not as fatass as this guy," Ferino said, tapping on the photo.
"Explain how you and 'Ivan' know each other," Gibbs said.
"Met him two months ago, told me he's a collector - I know people who, let's say, find things that people want to collect," Ferino said.
"What kind of things?" Gibbs replied.
"At first, it was old sports magazines, then baseball cards, then Alliance, NFL, NBA, MLB jackets, caps, sweatshirts. PHL, IRHL. Hell, even MLS and ARCA. Wanted lots of Orioles gear. Dover Demons, of all things. Why would you want a Second Division NFL team's gear-"
"Why would you get those items for 'Ivan'?" Fornell said.
"Money."
"Money? Industrial money? Confederate?"
"All Industrial, in cash," Ferino said. "Only met him a few times, usually went through his contact: a guy named Charlie, who works at a 24/7/365 Center in Towson."
"Who's Charlie?" Tony said. "And 24/7/365 doesn't exactly have the best reputation among the law enforcement community."
"No it don't," Ferino continued. "When the cops shut down the steroid dealing in the local gyms from DC to Baltimore, a few people tried to fill the supply gap. 24/7/365 lets a lot of things go. Managers looked the other way while deals went down, out of sight of customers, of course."
"Charlie was the go between?" Gibbs said.
"Ivan asked for product, I'd find it, bring it to Towson, and leave it with Charlie early in the morning, say around 2 or 3, sometimes 4," Ferino said. "Then 24 hours later, I'd come back, pick up my cash, and wait for the next order."
"When was the last time you and Ivan spoke?" Gibbs.
"Three weeks ago. I left a Barons jacket for him, but he was there with Charlie. Ivan asks if I know arms dealers. People who can get me Soviet Russian stuff...you know I've just admitted to stealing NFL gear, right?"
"What we're concerned with is more serious than theft," Fornell said. "Do you know someone who sells arms?"
"No, but I heard of a guy. Goes by James, works out of Baltimore, told him I'd get the contact to him...that day, I got busted at GWU."
"So you don't know of anything related to a Shooters app?" Tony said, and Ferino's eyes lit up.
"Yes - no - I mean, not with Ivan," he said. "But I heard about it on the street before being arrested. And in jail, afterwards. Heard that, if you know how, you can connect with other people thru the app, texts, direct messages, emails, all under the radar."
"What else have you heard?" Fornell said.
"Heard a few guys talking in jail about using it to move arms, once within the last two weeks, up from Atlanta. Guys, in jail, using the app."
"Atlanta," Gibbs said. "Smartphones are banned for use by prisoners."
"Yeah, and you're not supposed to have them, but people do," Ferino said. "And they use them for everything from selling drugs to sex to running gang operations to putting out hits...and using apps like Shooters."
Gibbs pulled out de la Cruz's, McGuiness's, and Woods' photos out of a folder, and pushed them towards Ferino.
"Two Navy Petty Officers and a Marine Gunnery Sergeant, all from the same town, home for Christmas, were murdered last night," Gibbs said, then pulled out their autopsy photos. "Gunshot wound to the head wasn't enough. Murderer, or murderers, had to leave their signature."
Ferino looked intently at the autopsy photos.
"I know who may have done this."
Gibbs stood up, leaning in Ferino's left ear, as DiNozzo moved and leaned over his right side. Fornell leaned over the table, in his face.
"You know who 'may' have committed these murders?" Fornell said. "How."
"I just do," Ferino said.
Gibbs nodded to Tony, who pulled his notepad, and pen, and pushed it in front of Ferino.
"Names," Tony said.
"Get me outta here," Ferino replied. "Get me outta Metro jail, get me into witness protection."
"Why would we do that?" Fornell said.
"BECAUSE of the names. Who's involved."
"Who IS involved," Gibbs said.
"One guy in jail, calls himself Karl, head of the Aryan Knights gang out of Baltimore. Acts as a distributor for firearms, gets them from all over, including the Confederate States," Ferino said. "I've heard on the street he's smuggled arms into the CSA from as far as West Virginia, and vice versa. Said to be person of interest not just of the CIA but of the Black Fist."
"Why would the Black Fist care about him?" Fornell said.
"Says he knows people in the CSA in the Gwinnett Grey House and as far up the chain as the Cissie Director himself," Ferino said. "I heard something. Now that it's known I went to NCIS-"
"Who would know?" Tony said.
"You freakin' kidding me, right?" Ferino turned to Tony. "It's all over the jail by now. Probably on the street. 'Ferino the Snitch'. I'm already a target."
"Tell me how Karl is involved with these murders," Gibbs said.
"I heard...overheard...Karl saying how he used the app to connect with Ivan. Sold him Soviet Russian ammo, to be used with Confederate weapons - Confederate and Soviet arms are the same, so you can use Russian guns and Confed ammo, and vice versa - in an operation."
"What operation?" Tony said. "Where, and when?"
"Karl said his 'guy' was looking to rub out a few soldiers, or military personnel, as a trial run," Ferino said.
"Trial run for what?" Gibbs.
"That I can't tell you. But Karl said his guy found a couple of people for his 'trial run', and that they were talking on the app, set it up on the app," Ferino said.
"And you expect us to believe all this went down in a city jail," Tony said.
"There's lots of stuff that goes 'down' in a city jail, in DC, Baltimore, Philly...as you should know, Agent DiNozzo," Ferino said. "Not every cop is a patriot, not every cop upholds the law."
"You know of cops who may work with Karl, or someone like Ivan?" Gibbs said.
"Immunity," Ferino said. "And witness protection."
"Not sure I can promise that," Fornell said.
"Or I shut up," Ferino said.
"You've already given us the name of the guy who owned the range, and the guy who provided him the arms and ammo to murder two petty officers and a gunny," Tony said. "We could leave it at that."
"How about the names of men who might be persuaded to help commit an act of terrorism on Industrial soil?"
All three agents looked at one another. "Stay here," Gibbs said to DiNozzo, before stepping outside with Fornell. A few minutes later, they returned.
Gibbs jabbed his finger on the notepad.
"Names," he said. "What do you know about these cops. Who are they?"
"There aren't a lot cooperating with the likes of Karl," Ferino said. "You're looking for a guy named Dennis Blake. He and his buddies - no I don't know their names - help Karl and guys like him pass messages outside. And that's all I know."
Gibbs and Fornell moved to leave. Tony sat down. "Why are you telling us this? What's in it for you?"
Ferino looked upwards, towards the mirror, and back at DiNozzo.
"I want a clean conscience. I don't give a crap about some dude roiding up at a gym, selling coke to a frat boy. I DO give a damn about some Cissie scum shooting up a mall or school, or military installation. My aunt died at their hands. My grandmother moved momma and me up here from Georgia through the railroad."
Gibbs sat down. "So you repay her by dealing drugs, stealing jackets, selling them to enemies of your adopted country."
"NO!" Ferino said, in a half-shout. "THIS is how I repay her - telling you about those men, putting my life on the line."
The bullpen
Gibbs and Fornell made their way down the stairs from Vance's office and into the bullpen, where DiNozzo, Bishop, Palmer and McGee were working.
"Ferino getting his witness protection, boss?" Tony said.
"If Vance can help it, yeah," Gibbs said. "Whatcha got for me on Jones, and Karl, and Blake, and 'James'?"
Four mugshots, two from drivers' licenses, one from Baltimore, another from Metro PD, appeared on screen.
"First things first: James Coulter, one of Baltimore's least upstanding citizens, rap sheet longer than the Anacostia River of low- to medium-level crimes throughout Maryland, mostly in Baltimore," Tony said. "He couldn't have been involved, because not only was he arrested two months ago after trying to sell stolen weapons to an undercover cop, he was beaten up in the Baltimore city jail by a gang he stiffed. He's still in medical care."
"So Ferino was lying about Coulter, or didn't know Coulter was in jail," Bishop said.
"Information on Jones is sketchy and all signs point to it having been fabricated," McGee said. "He looks like he's in his mid-40s to early 50s, but his birthdate is 12/27/85. And nothing checks out - his birth certificate, schooling, employment history."
"For example, Fuji/Motown Park, head manager of rides, 1996 to 2007," Palmer said. "I thought the Confederates were better than this."
"I've seen it before," Fornell said. "Details aren't important as much as making sure the agent has what he or she needs to operate in the country. Drivers license, credit cards, etc. If Ivan or Mark or whatever his name is was a sleeper agent-"
"They wouldn't be this sloppy," Gibbs interjected. "He's short term...what about Karl."
"Karl, legally Karl Heinz, refers to himself as Karl Auschwitz," Bishop said. "Laundry list of crimes. His latest was assault of a mixed-race couple, Caucasian female, African-Industrial male, after a Bruce Hornsby Orchestra concert. Expressed numerous pro-Nazi and pro-Confederate sentiments to the arresting officers. Known as a small-arms dealer to gangs and individuals by Metro police."
"And rumored to smuggle arms into the CSA from here to Ohio," Fornell said. "Maybe our friend Annie at CIA can shed some light for us."
"DiNozzo," Gibbs continued.
"Dennis Blake, officer, Metro PD, once a rising star who could have become a detective," Tony said. "Disciplined over excessive violence issues. Bumped down to the Metro jail, has been there for six years."
"Anything on the print from the SUV?" Gibbs asked.
"Nothing," McGee said. "We ran it through AFIS. No hits, in any North American police or government database."
"Means the shooter or shooters came straight from the Confederate States," Gibbs said.
"How, Boss?" asked Bishop.
"If they were Industrials working with the CSS they'd have fingerprints on file," Gibbs replied. "Let's go get Blake and Heinz. DiNozzo, with me and Fornell."
"I've already contacted Metro," Bishop said. "And emailed my contacts in Plains Intelligence, and TISA. So the BOLO on Mark Jones slash Ivan has been extended to the Plains and the LSR."
Gibbs nodded, then headed to the elevator. Palmer's phone rang and moments later he rushed to the elevator, stopping it from closing.
"That was Metro," Palmer said. "There's been a couple of shootings."
"Shootings?" Gibbs said, not liking what he would hear next.
"Officer Dennis Blake, and inmate Karl Heinz. Both dead."