Disclaimer: For the legal stuff please checkout the usual statements and protective rhetoric in Chapter 1.
Author's note: Hope you like it!
Joint Venture
Chapter VI
By Callisto
The Centre
Blue Cove, DE
Broots had just finished completing the assignment given to him by his former boss when his current boss, Mr. Lyle intruded on his blissful solitude with the ever-distasteful Chairman, Mr. Raines trailing squeakily behind him. Broots quickly cleared from the computer screen his latest task at hacking into the Federal government's employment records and returned it to his usual stand-by screen showing the scrolling results of his latest scanning program. Today he was searching the databases of several national newspapers looking for pictures or any mention of any avenging Samaritan. By the time Lyle reached Broots' workstation, everything was as it should be.
"Broots, we have a small, out-of the-usual task for you today. We need you to find out what is being said on this audio file," Lyle stated with a pleasant smile that made Broots' stomach churn. He knew that whatever Lyle wanted would be something unsavory.
Uh-h, of course. I mean, I'll see what I can do. What do you have?" he asked apprehensively while blinking nervously.
Lyle handed over a compact disc and taking a step away, gave the computer tech a bit of breathing room, which indicated to Broots the importance of whatever was on the disc. Taking a deep breath, Broots inserted the disc and waited for his program to play the audio file. What came out of his speakers was an irritating squelching noise. Broots tried the different filtering programs he had personally loaded on his computer but to no avail. Intrigued, the computer expert looked directly into Lyle's eyes. All his previous nervousness had disappeared as he stated clearly, "This is interesting. According to my program this recording was made with anti-blocking, auto-filtering software that is being obscured by some type of interference."
"What exactly does that mean, Broots?" Raines asked slowly taking a deep breath before pronouncing the tech's name.
Raines' sepulchral voice reminded Broots eerily of the Bella Lugosi Dracula flick he and Debbie watched the other night. "Well, er, ummm, ahem" he replied trying to clear the lump of dread that suddenly lodged in his throat. "It means that we need to go to the electronics division--specifically audio research to gain access to the equipment that will, umm clear up the interference on the, er, disc."
The room remained still and silent for a few seconds until Raines backed away from the nervous tech and stared broodingly at him. Broots took the hint and quickly got up. He had walked away from his computer before remembering the reason for the interesting, if not disturbing, interruption of his day--the disc. He uttered a short exclamation, then turned back to retrieve the disc from his computer drive.
Twenty minutes later, Broots, Lyle and Raines were gathered around Fritz, the audio tech researcher, who was on a par with Broots' computer skills but with anything audio. At first the distortion on the disc had him stumped, then leaning back with an admiring smile and shake of the head, Fritz emitted a deep sigh.
"Were you able to clean it up at all?" Broots asked with interest.
"Yes and no. This surveillance recording was made using a pretty sophisticated, not-yet-on-the-market device. There were two counter-agents used to obscure the conversation that was being recorded. Due to the device, I was able to filter out most of one of them, it took some time but my equipment was able to do it. Tell me, does Miss Parker have anything to do with this?" the rail-thin tech asked abruptly.
Broots was taken aback by the question but answered almost immediately, "No, why would she?"
At this point, Lyle who was leaning against the wall next to the doorway inquired with quiet menace, "Why do you ask?"
Broots looked from Lyle to Raines, then back at Fritz. In that split second he realized that Fritz was right and Miss Parker was somehow involved.
"Because she's the only one I know of who could think of a way to beat this state-of-the-art equipment." Fritz replied with a wide smile. The open menace in Lyle's voice and the unusual presence of the Centre's Chairman in his lab failed to alarm Fritz. The audio expert absently nibbled on what appeared to be a stale Pop-tart. His cloths enveloped his skeletal frame, while his limp, dull and overly long hair was bound neatly at the back of his head with a rubber band. Lyle stared balefully at the tech's wan complexion when his eyes met the sharp, inquisitive intelligence of the other's.
"How's that?" Broots asked.
"She was the head of security for several years, plus in case you didn't know, she holds a couple academic degrees, one of them a master's degree from a certain Ivy League college in optical engineering. Now usually a degree in that field of engineering would mean working with top secret guidance devices developed primarily for government aerospace contracts but our Miss Parker went far beyond those parameters." At the surprised look on Broots' face, Fritz grinned happily as though glad to have surprised his brainy friend. "Yep. That knock-out babe is a certified Engineer; I bet you never knew, huh? She's always able to run circles around us mere mortals in Theoretical; you should see how nervous the guys in security get when she's around."
"Really? I thought that was because she used to be their boss," Broots responded.
"Hey, guys. I'm sure this conversation about my sister's intellectual prowess and her ability to intimidate her subordinates is fascinating but frankly the Miss Parker fan club will have to call an emergency meeting later. Right now, we're interested in hearing what was being said on that disc," Lyle said with impatient sarcasm.
"No problem, Mr. Lyle. Especially since I've already given you the good news---I was able to filter out most of interference from a counter-surveillance device that was stationed close to the targeted speakers. The bad news is that there was a secondary device engaged that makes this disc useless. The reason I mentioned Miss Parker is that she was interested in developing something like it. The device that was used to defeat the high-tech eavesdropper employs a technology she was interested in implementing for our security division. She had been given a demonstration of the J-35 Eavesdropper several months ago and she was interested in countering it. The sound on this disc has been diffused and the signal reconfigured in such a way to make it practically impossible to untangle. There isn't any way or any machine made yet to reconstruct signal damage on this level. I would love to see what her device looks like." Fritz answered with renewed admiration.
Task Force Headquarters
Denver, CO
Upon returning to headquarters several hours after meeting with Parker, Jarod found himself unceremoniously summoned into Lt. Randall's office. The mood at headquarters was tense and uncertain; he had been watched closely ever since he rejoined his colleagues at the main crime scene. Jarod had earned his place with them; however there were two or three enviously loud-mouthed detectives who felt threatened by Jarod's good looks and obvious intelligence, that attempted to take advantage of his reticent tendency of not talking about his personal business by inventing unflattering scenarios for him. One of the culprits was the deeply embarrassed Elliot whom Parker had no trouble subduing in short order. Jarod was certain her negative reaction to Elliot was the reason he was sitting in the Lieutenant's office.
"Douglas, I've received some disturbing news about you and the security of our investigation," Lt. Randall started slowly, carefully watching for any stray expressions on Jarod's face that would indicate guilt or complicity. Unsatisfied, Randall continued on with his verbal reprimand. "To put this bluntly, you were seen at a possible crime scene in a compromising position with non-secured personnel. I don't have to tell you the seriousness of this charge and because you've contributed a great deal to our search efforts, I'm giving you this opportunity to explain yourself." The look on Randall's face told Jarod that he didn't believe there could be a reasonable explanation but he was hoping for one nonetheless.
Jarod was the picture of confident composure. He listened to what the Lieutenant said with interest but otherwise showed neither concern nor indignation. When it was finally his chance to speak, Jarod nodded thoughtfully, and then reached into his inside jacket pocket. From there, he pulled out a pair of Ray-Ban sunglasses and gingerly placed them on the Lieutenant's desk blotter.
"Before you make any decisions about my 'misconduct', please have Teddy run a check on the fingerprint located on the right lens. I asked her to hold them for me. On my way back, I noticed she left behind a print in the middle of the lens. After you run the print, then I'll be more than happy to discuss inter-departmental cooperation with you."
Randall had a puzzled look on his face as he stared at the glasses. Jarod rose and returned to his desk, eager to find out what further leads the forensics' teams had been able to cull.
Over an hour later, Randall yelled at the top of his lungs for Jarod to come into his office. Jarod walked in, still reading the scant results of the preliminary reports handed to him. Looking up, he noticed Elliot was already there with the Lieutenant and casting Jarod a nasty grin.
"Next time you feel the need to involve another federal agency in our affairs, clear it with me first. I have my hands full as it is with the FBI breathing down my neck," Randall stated to Jarod with a mixture of anger and relief. Turning to Elliot he said, "Normally, I would have told you in private what I think of guys always looking for a chance to smear a fellow officer's name. Given some of the rumors flying around this office and some of the comments I've heard you spew to you buddies out there, Douglas deserves to hear what I have to say. The next time you come to me with a half-baked story about a serious breach of conduct, check your facts first or you'll not only be off my team but will never be part of another task force again.
"The prints on Jarod's sunglasses came back to a M. Parker, International Investigations Bureau--the covert arm of the NSA. For an agency that is already secretive to the point of paranoia, having a covert branch is serious business. How Teddy was able to pull her file is beyond me and a detail I won't dwell on. In case you're unaware of their existence, Elliot, consider this a heads up--don't screw with them. Most federal agents suspect the NSA has an inside track to international affairs. The federal intelligence branch knows they exist but doesn't know who or where these spooks are or where they're headquartered and while even fewer NSA executives know where they are, there are even fewer of them are able to get a handle on the Bureau's agenda and methods. The IIB manages to obtain intelligence no other agency is able to discover, along with the more difficult aspect of getting proof to back them up. Rumor has it that once the CIA's covert methods were exposed by the international terrorists and despots they were spying on, the NSA's IIB stepped in to take over the void. Not only does she have a security clearance that rivals the President's but she has juice in places and with people I've never conceived of."
Elliot's face was a study of disbelieving shock. He sat silently in his chair at a complete loss for words. He was thankful that he had kept to himself the fact that the Parker woman had practically beaten him up and though he did tell the Lieutenant that he caught Jarod kissing her, Elliot doubted Randall would say anything to the others because it would raise too many questions. Feeling secure in the Lieutenant's indolent silence, Elliot was confident the rumor of Jarod's sexuality would go unchallenged and continue to irritate the profiler.
The following days were spent in a flurry of inactivity. Forensics was unable to get the team any closer to the Unsub, leads had dried up and everyone was out of rational suggestions. Frustrations were running high and after a few days of round the clock brainstorming, Jarod had decided that he needed to take a step away from the case in order to regain his perspective. It was with this in mind that while ostensibly revisiting one of the Unsub's previous lairs that Jarod spotted the large Asian who protected Parker. Happy to have found the sweeper, Jarod eagerly pulled to the curb, retrieved a bouquet of flowers he had stowed away in a cooler and tucking a note among the blooms, approached the Centre sweeper.
If Moriyama was surprised by Jarod's appearance, the expression never touched his face. Reluctantly, he accepted the flowers and the brief instructions given to him by this renegade pretender. As the muscle-bound bodyguard slowly turned away with the gift, Jarod smilingly returned to the car, jumped in and continued on his way.
Teddy had surreptitiously followed Jarod and watched the exchange with a sinking feeling. He was confused by what he had witnessed because he had always prided himself in accurately reading people. Jarod then confirmed Elliot's vicious rumors and Teddy's shifting opinion of him by asking for directions to the forest house he had offered a couple of months ago.