Jay stopped outside the DHS conference room when he heard his name mentioned in a heated argument.
“Marty, wait,” Jay said before they went through the door.
“He shouldn’t be on the team,” Natalie Choi said. “He isn’t even a government official.”
“But he’s an integral part of the investigation,” a male voice said. Jay recognized it as McCoy. “McFarland has hurt him more than anyone else in this room.”
“That’s what I’m trying to say,” Choi said. “He is too tied into this case. Come on, this McFarland guy raped his girlfriend, blew his sister’s leg off, and tried to kill Jay three times. It doesn’t get more personal than that.”
“It doesn’t mean he won’t be an asset to the team,” McCauley said. “Natalie, you know Jay as well as anybody. Has he ever let his emotions get in the way of his job?”
“Well, he didn’t follow orders on the Coast Guard cutter in Falmouth. Commander Brennan said she ordered him not to board the lobster boat.”
“But he saved the lives of the Coast Guard operatives,” McCoy said. “Jay acted at the appropriate time and put his own life on the line.”
“Exactly,” Choi said. “And he almost died. When is he going to take a risk that’s going to get others killed? Like you, Mack. I can’t live with the prospect of going to your funeral or CJ’s or Madman’s.”
“Natalie,” Gia Khalil said. “You’re the one getting emotional. He’s not going to be doing any field operations for a long time. We don’t know how much strength he’ll be able to regain in his arms and legs.”
Jay’s face turned red as he listened to his team members talk about him. Finally, he pushed the door open and walked into the conference room. Natalie stopped talking midsentence and looked down at the table. Jay glared at her as he took his seat at the front of the table.
“If you don’t want me on the investigation team, please say so,” Jay said. “I don’t want to be a burden to anybody.”
Natalie stared at him as if he walked on water. “I didn’t mean for you to hear our conversation. I just…”
“I know, Natalie. I appreciate your concern.”
Jay felt the tension as the room fell silent. Finally, Mack broke the stalemate, “Come on, everyone, we have a bombing to solve.”
Jay and Marty took their seats at the conference room table. Gia Khalil sat next to Marty and Mack next to Karen Whitaker from the New York FBI field office. A young, blond man Jay didn’t know sat in a chair up against the wall.
“Okay, let’s get started,” McCoy said. “There are a few new members to our team. I’ll give them a chance to introduce themselves.
A brunette woman with oversized glasses and her hair pulled back in a tight bun stood up. “My name is Amanda Brigham. I’m a Deputy National Security Advisor representing the President.”
A young Asian man stood up next. “My name is Andrew Lee. I’m a Terrorism Analyst with the NSA.”
The third man, a rugged-looking African American man, stood up. Jay thought he recognized him from a previous special ops mission. “My name is Roger Beasley. I’m representing the CIA.”
“Thank you, everybody,” McCoy said, pointing to the man sitting against the wall, “I’d like to introduce one other task force member. His name is Oleg Crishenko. He’s a prosecutor with the Justice Department based here in Boston.”
Jay sized up the young prosecutor. His hair was unruly, and his eyes bloodshot. His suit hung off his shoulders like it was two sizes too big. He either borrowed it from his law school roommate or lost a lot of weight in a hurry.
“Oleg,” Jay said. “What cases have you worked on related to terrorism?”
“This is my first.”
“Terrorism case?”
“No, my first case. Period. I graduated from Harvard Law last spring.”
“Really?” Jay looked at McCoy.
“Oleg interned with me at DHS,” McCoy said. “He graduated first in his class at Harvard, and he turned down offers from several law firms in Boston and New York to work for the Justice Department. We’re lucky to have him as part of our task force.”
Jay looked at McCoy and shrugged his shoulders.
McCoy continued, “As you know, a lot has happened since we last met.”
McCoy launched a slide presentation on the front screen. A picture of Reginald McFarland appeared. “Special Agent McCauley, can you update us on the bombing case?”
Mack stood up. “Thanks to the hard work of the task force, we have a suspect in the Boston and New York bombings. His name is Reginald McFarland. In addition to the bombings and the sniper attack, we have a laundry list of accusations against this guy. He’s suspected of the murders of Falmouth Police officer Bill Shannon, Father Berle in Fall River, and the attempted murder of Bishop Ramirez. We also believe he kidnapped Charlotte Cranmore and Kyle McPhee and sexually assaulted Olivia Cataldo. Witnesses last saw McFarland on the evening of July fourth.”
“Do you mean he survived the explosion?” Gia asked.
“We don’t know. We didn’t find McFarland’s body, so we assume he survived. This guy is slippery and seems to have nine lives. The FBI has moved him to the top of our most-wanted list. I won’t declare him dead until I see him on the coroner’s table. Consider him armed and dangerous.”
“The Justice Department is convening a grand jury,” Crishenko said. “I’m writing up the indictments.”
“We have a new person of interest,” Mack said. “His name is Daniel McPhee. He may be an accomplice of McFarland’s.” A junior FBI staffer handed out information sheets to the task force members.
“He may be a victim of kidnapping,” Jay said. “He disappeared twelve years ago without a trace. He knew McFarland before the disappearance.”
“How are they connected?” FBI agent Wilkinson asked.
“They met working at a defense contractor. McFarland was an instructor and mentor to McPhee. They’re both electrical engineers with interests in robotics and drones.”
“I’ll need a FISA warrant to investigate McPhee’s internet activity,” said Lee from the NSA.”
“I’ll get that for you this morning,” Crishenko said.
“We still have the drone catcher from Falmouth in custody,” Mack said. “He’s provided little information, and we don’t have much to hold him on. If we don’t have an indictment within 48 hours, we’ll have to let him go.”
“He did identify the fishing boat in Barnstable Harbor,” Jay said. “Isn’t that enough evidence to implicate him in the explosion?”
“It’s a tough one to prove,” Crishenko said. “He could have been a witness or a business associate.”
“Any idea where the fishing boat originated from?” Gia asked.
“No, we haven’t been able to find any registration information,” Mack replied.
“I’d like permission to question him,” Gia said. “I’m experienced in coercing information out of suspects.”
“You’re a private citizen,” Brigham from the White House said. “You can’t use any enhanced interrogation techniques,”
“Oh, believe me, I won’t need to torture him to get him to talk.”
“I didn’t say torture.”
“But that’s what you meant,” Gia said.
“I’ll give you thirty minutes with him,” Mack said.
“Thanks, that will be more than enough.”