FBI Field Office, Chicago
The woman at the head of the long table called the meeting to order with an efficient, ‘Let’s begin, boys.’ Angela Dawson’s words, spoken with a familiar authority, were barely out of her mouth before the rapid-fire comments of the briefing began. The commanding woman, her first silver hairs beginning to make their appearance among a host of brown but with the posture and strength of a woman half her age, was accustomed to speaking to everyone in the department as her ‘boys’, and they were all – male as well as female – used to hearing it.
‘The threats on the ground are, so far as we can tell, the routine for any run-up.’
‘All the relevant sources are being monitored.’
‘The wires are lively. Same shit as before most events, most of it. That’s good. Familiar means fewer surprises.’
The city’s famous Fourth of July parade was less than seventy-two hours away, and given the calibre and number of dignitaries participating, oversight of security rested in their hands.
Special Agent Ted Gallows, sectional head of foreign intelligence assessment, leaned back in his chair. His words were marked by a strong Boston accent, a constant reminder to everyone around him – if his general brusqueness and ability to make everyone in his presence immediately uncomfortable did not do the trick on their own – that the imposing man’s roots were not in the Midwest, but in big city, east coast intelligence operations.
‘Most of our attention’s been on the Big Three, as it’s been for the past week. The Swords of Righteousness, the Church of Truth in Liberation and the Soldiers for Justice have all issued threats on the parade, and each has yielded background data that suggests their threats could amount to more than just words.’ Gallows spoke the dramatic words nonchalantly, leaning back in the large chair.
As usual, threats had been flowing in for weeks – a routine happening in the run-up to any major public spectacle. The current bomb-threat count was seven, while declared assassination intentions stood at three and included the mayor, the police commissioner and the head of one of the city’s most conservative churches, all of whom would be participating in the procession. There had even been one threat to situate a sniper atop the Willis Tower, still better known as the Sears Tower, picking off as many people as ammunition would allow. That there would be a special contingent of religious leaders in this year’s parade – a ‘Unity Procession’ as the Governor was billing it – meant that the pro- and anti-religious threats had been coming in thick for months. Most of the threats were hoaxes. Separating the dross from the rest was the group’s chief aim.
‘The Swords of Righteousness have issued ultimatums here before,’ Deputy Director Dawson noted, glancing down at her notes. ‘Two years ago.’
‘Almost to the day. They threatened to “devastate and destroy” the Fourth of July parade the year before last.’ Gallows leaned forward, the front legs of his chair coming down with a sudden thump. ‘A day after their video arrived, our agents located an improvised explosive device in Fourth Presbyterian on East Chestnut.’
‘Currently there’s a general threat posted anonymously on two tourist websites for this year’s parade, claiming an “explosion of wrath” will come from the Two Prudential Plaza tower twenty minutes in.’ The detail came from Special Agent Laura Marsh, one of the principal members of the anti-terrorism squad. Her sandy-blonde hair was cut relatively short and her hazel eyes seemed to flare with intensity.
‘But our suspicion is that these are mock copies, playing to the group’s former MO.’ A modus operandi, once known, was easy to imitate.
‘All the same,’ Dawson interrupted, ‘I trust we’ve scoped out the building and heightened the security detail on site.’
‘We’ve coordinated with the Chicago PD’s Bureau of Patrol to ensure the whole block has heightened force presence for the next three days,’ interjected Alan Mayfair, another of the Division’s sectional heads, a man known for his obscure demeanour and penchant for speaking briefly and rarely. ‘The force’s Intelligence Service is working with us on expanded safety checks.’
‘It’s pretty much the same with the Soldiers for Justice,’ Marsh cut back in. ‘The threats have come in the form of online postings to local discussion groups, but the IP addresses on the posts trace to a series of cyber cafes where we’re aware hoaxers congregate. Chances are good these are idle threats, but we’ve sure as hell got the resources to see where they lead.’
The stature of the FBI’s Chicago Division was a matter of pride to the agents who staffed it. Still technically a ‘Field Office’, a cachet that would otherwise suggest something small, mobile and situational, the massive complex the Division now populated at 2111 West Roosevelt Road was anything but temporary. The Chicago Division Field Office had a reputation that was second-to-none within the Bureau. Not only was it the heart of the most effective counter to criminal activities in the nation – a reputation that harkened back to its work to bring down the Chicago Outfit and post-Prohibition mob activities in the 1930s – it was also one of the country’s most active hubs of activity in defence of the national security.
‘What about the other group, this “Church of Truth in Liberation”?’ Dawson asked.
‘Our knowledge there is scant at best,’ Ted Gallows answered. ‘We wouldn’t know about them at all, had it not been for an anonymous message left on the anti-terrorism tip line almost eight months ago. No follow-up was possible: the callback number was a dead line, and the information too general to bump it up the priority chain for detailed scrutiny.’
‘But the name has been in our files since,’ Marsh added, ‘and especially as the few details in the message mentioned Chicago and some kind of attack, we’ve been keeping our eyes open here.’
‘It’s not a faction that’s ever shown up on our radar before,’ followed Gallows. ‘Our background research has them as some kind of New Age religious group originally based in Los Angeles. Their rhetoric’s mostly about enlightenment and spirituality, but they have no track record of violence.’
The Deputy Director, however, had seen the video.
‘Boys, that’s no longer a safe assumption.’ She clicked a small remote on the tabletop and the grainy internet video began to play on a wall-mounted display.
‘If this so-called Church of Truth in Liberation doesn’t have a past in terrorism, it sure as hell looks like they’re trying to forge a future.’