‘We suspected something like that might have happened, but how did they organize themselves so quickly? How did they know we were going there?’
Murphy sighed heavily. ‘Something we’ve been debating. We think they had a tail on Isakson, a tail so good that he didn’t spot it — remember these guys were the gang’s A-team. They could’ve had a bug on Isakson’s ride, but we took it apart and didn’t find it. The FBI vehicles are searched every day, so a bug is unlikely. Our money is on a tail.’
‘They might also be watching this place, and if they are, they’ll know you guys are back,’ Pizaka added.
Broker thought about the phone in his pocket and the possibility of a call and shook his head. ‘We thought about that too. But if they know we’ve been taken, it’s unlikely they’ll waste any gangbanger on any more surveillance.’
They fell silent as Chang re-entered the room, nodding at the Commissioner.
‘What exactly are you guys working on?’ Pizaka couldn’t direct this question to Director Murphy, so he smartly addressed it to Broker.
‘Need to know. Way above your pay grade,’ Broker growled, deliberately insulting him, telling him to shut up in his inimitable way.
Murphy scribbled something on his notepad and tilted it for Forzini to read, who nodded silently.
‘Tell them,’ Murphy looked at Broker. ‘Forzini should know.’
Broker launched into a second narrative, this time shorter, keeping many of the principals out of the picture, and gave them time to digest it, knowing exactly what the next question would be and who from.
Pizaka didn’t disappoint him.
‘This has worked?’
He looked at Murphy and got a nod in assent. He met Murphy’s gaze and recounted everything, right from the events in Arizona. He felt Chloe, sitting beside him, tense minutely and relax. I’ve held back mentioning the messaging system described by Shattner, and she noticed it. Until we know who the mole is, that bit is not becoming public knowledge.
‘We narrowed the thirty names to a smaller set, and then we found an anomaly. An agent whose pattern changed ever since he was working on this case.’
‘Who?’ Murphy had gone still, his eyes fierce and hard.
‘Floyd Wheat.’ Broker explained his habits and how they correlated to the dud busts.
‘These guys’ — nodding at Bwana and Roger — ‘were heading to the café when they were attacked. They got out of that jam, and then when Isakson told us about this ice deal, we put the café on hold to see how this deal panned out.’
‘We busted that deal, though.’ Chang being Mr. Obvious.
‘Yeah. But Wheat didn’t know you were planning to. He’s been away for a month due to some knee injury and has been cut off from the information flow.’
Broker could see the Director writing Wheat’s name on his pad, his pen digging deep in the paper, willing it to reach out and hurt him.
There was warm appreciation in his eyes when he’d composed himself. ‘Clare said she’d trust you with her life. Or her career. Now I know why.’ He nodded at himself. ‘Now we’ll get the bastard. We’ll pick this thread from here and tear him and his life apart.’
Chloe tapped her watch, looking at Broker. He brought out Hamm’s phone and placed it on the table. ‘There’s more,’ he said.
The call came an hour later, this time from another mobile number.
Broker put it on speaker and held the phone up for the NYPD geeks to note the number and start tracing it.
There was silence from the caller, dead silence, not even breathing. Broker allowed the silence to last for a minute before breaking it. ‘Yo, Scheafer, this is your friendly neighborhood Broker. I guess you’ve heard of me. You know this go-silent thing of yours was aped by Hamm. You must’ve been a real hero to him. Yeah, that’s right. Hamm was, not is. Guy’s rotting away in a NYPD morgue now. Overrated if you ask me. Oh, that was a neat trick at the hotel, but here we still are, and there he is.’
The silence continued. He looked at the tech guys, and they shook their head.
‘You’re down now how many chapter heads? Two, right? And the Russians are taking back territory. Didn’t Hamm tell you there was an easy way to end this? Just tell us who your inside guy is.’
Scheafer hung up.
‘Got anything?’ Forzini barked at his men.
They shook their heads in frustration. ‘One of those voice over IP calls.’
Forzini pounded the table in anger.
‘We’ve enough to crack this now,’ Murphy said mildly, calming him, knowing Forzini’s desire to strike back.
‘Director, did Isakson discuss the other matter with you?’ Broker asked Murphy softly.
‘Rocka and the kids?’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘That’ll be taken care of,’ Murphy said, and Broker sighed in relief inside. They had demanded that Elaine Rocka and her wards be placed in witness protection and the damage to her house be compensated. ‘The danger to her doesn’t go away even after we nail the mole. The gang could come after them. New identities and a new start for them is the least you can do,’ he’d told Isakson.
‘What now for you guys?’ Murphy asked them a few hours later after they’d finished with Chang and Pizaka.
‘We’ll use our powers of persuasion on Scheafer.’
‘Broker.’ The Commissioner’s voice rang out as they headed out. Broker turned, saw Forzini glance at his companions, gave a slight nod to them, and stepped forward, walking alongside him deeper in the building.
‘Rolando’s a good friend of yours?’ Forzini asked him, fully knowing his answer. ‘I’m godfather to his daughter. Lovely girl, going to Stanford this year. His wife makes the best pasta, but don’t tell my better half.’
Broker kept silent, letting him take his time, form his words.
‘Pizaka and Chang are good cops. They know how modern policing works. They’ll go far.’ He stopped, looking up and down the corridor they were in, empty but for them. He placed a hand on Broker’s shoulder, a hand that had turned to a fist earlier. ‘Me, deep down, I’m old school.’ He looked searchingly in Broker’s eyes, nodded once, and walked away.
‘What?’ the others asked when Broker joined them.
‘We got carte blanche.’
Chapter 41
Shawn threw himself at Broker and Roger when they — showered, shaved, smelling nice — met the family in another anonymous apartment. He bumped fists with both of them, and when Lisa kissed them on the cheek, Roger grinned. ‘Whoa, princess, that’s some welcome.’
She looked at them seriously. ‘My dad calls me that. Have you found him?’
‘We’re working on it, honey,’ Broker told her, signaling Rocka with his eyes.
She understood, led them away and, when they were alone, asked in her direct manner, ‘He’s dead, isn’t he?’
They nodded; Roger went on to tell her everything that had happened since they’d found his last page. Silence fell like a weight on them, the distant laughter of the children accentuating it. Pieter glanced in when he felt the quietness, nodded in understanding, and left them alone.
Elaine Rocka drew a deep breath, her eyes bright. ‘It won’t be over till you find this guy, will it?’
‘Ma’am, for you and the kids, the gang remains a threat whatever happens. But there’s a way out of this for you all to lead normal lives.’
Broker explained how WITSEC, the Witness Security Program, worked and what it would mean to their lives, but stopped when she smiled briefly and held a hand up.