Chapter 21: Russians

A flight originating from Amsterdam touched down at the Seattle-Tacoma International airport.

The plane taxied to the gate and passengers disembarked the plane and proceeded to customs and immigration.

Of these passengers, six went through immigration, all with different cover stories.

None of the passengers triggered any alarms with the US Customs and Border Protection.

Outside, in the parkade, they all boarded the same large SUV and drove off. If the immigration agents had seen this, they’d grow suspicious. Unfortunately, no one did.

The SUV was soon lost in the traffic on the freeway.

Ed arrived at the office of US Public Affairs. The receptionist recognized him and escorted him through the security checkpoint and to the usual meeting room.

Ed wondered if he should have brought Conner with him.

After a few minutes, Noah Johnson arrived.

“Mr. Tanner, good to see you alive and well,” he said.

“Since you invited me here, I assume you have something for me?” asked Ed.

“We picked up some chatter from the Russians. They mentioned your name in particular. They’re sending over another team to get you.”

“This is their third team. They’re persistent.”

“We could give you a new identity and move you to another state, or hide you in a safe house?”

“I don’t much like those choices. This is my town.”

“Do you have a better choice? You need to be careful, Ed.”

“What if I find them before they find me? I could give you their location and you can scoop them up like before.”

“That’d be nice. You tag them and we bag them.”

“Precisely.”

“You know you’re wasted as a software engineer.”

“I’ll need a doctor’s note saying I need to work from home for a few days. I’ll hide out with a friend until it’s over.”

“Sure.”

Soon, Ed left with his doctor’s note. He walked outside police headquarters and searched for Conner. He found Sara.

“Sara!” he said.

“Ed, nice to see you in the flesh again!”

“Me too. That was scary. I have a job for you and Conner. Could you and him meet me at Ellen’s home? I’ll be there soon.”

“Okay. We’ll be there.”

“I promise you it will be fun.”

Sara flew off. Ed called Ellen on his cell.

“Hello, Ed.”

“Hello, Ellen. Would you let me stay at your place for a few days? I need to lie low.”

“Sure. I’ll have a room ready for you.”

“I’ll explain when I arrive. First, I must fetch some things.”

Ed ended the call and turned his cell off. He didn’t want anyone to track his location.

Ed returned to his car in the parkade and drove to his apartment.

Ed drove past his apartment complex, looking for vans or SUVs that might belong to Russian agents.

He saw no obvious threats, so he parked around the back and went up to his unit. There, he packed a bag of clothes. He also got his laptop and the gun he had previously got from Conner.

Overall, he was less than ten minutes before he left.

Ed drove via an indirect route, hoping to avoid any tails. He thought Conner would be proud of him.

He arrived at the front gate of Ellen’s mansion. The security guard waved him through.

Ed met Ellen at the front door. He walked inside the entrance hall with her, carrying his belongings.

“Wow, Ed! You’re really moving in with me?” asked Ellen with a smile.

“For a few days. I learned a team of Russian agents are coming to Seattle to abduct or kill me. I’ll hide out here and get the ghosts to search for them.”

“Oh, wow! This sounds exciting. I’d better let my security detail know.”

“Please.”

“Oh, you can put your things there. I’ll have someone take them to your room.” She pointed to a nearby sofa.

Ellen picked up a phone and soon, a burly security agent arrived.

“Jace, this is my guest, Ed. He’ll be staying here for a few days. He just informed me that a team of Russian agents are keen to capture or kill him. I need you to step up our security presence. You have my approval to bring in extras,” she said.

“Yes, miss.” He turned to Ed. “Sir, I take it that’s your car out front. Can I have the car keys?”

Ed handed him the car keys.

“And your cell phone?”

Ed gave him the cell phone. “I already turned it off before I came here.”

“Very good, Sir. We’ll hide your car and put this in a Faraday bag. It will ensure they can’t track it,” Jace said.

“Thank you.”

“I advise you both to stay back from any windows and call us before you intend to step outside the main house. Sir should refrain from calling anyone he knows.”

“Jace, you have my approval to use extreme methods. Ed is very important to me.”

“Very good, miss.” Jace then departed.

Ellen turned to Ed. “This’ll be fun!”

They walked together to the family room.

Ed and Ellen were in the family room when Conner arrived with Sara.

“Hello, Ed,” said Conner.

“Hello, Conner. I’m glad you both could come. I need your help.”

“Okay, tell us about it.”

“Noah at the CIA warned me that another team of Russian agents are coming to Seattle. They’re coming for me. Can you arrange a search of the city for the Russian agents? Once you find them, we can send the CIA in to arrest them.”

Conner looked at Sara, who nodded. “Sure, Ed. We can mobilize the ghosts from the cemetery to help us, like before.”

“Good. Thank you. I’ll be staying here until you find the agents. As soon as you get an address, please inform me and I will pass it on to Noah.”

“Understood. We’ll go now. Stay safe.” Conner and Sara left.

Ed turned to Ellen. “They’ve gone now.”

Ellen leaned toward Ed and rested her head on his shoulder.

“How long will they take?” she asked.

“They found the kidnapped girl in under twenty-four hours,” said Ed.

Ellen sighed and turned to face Ed. “That fast? They could take their time. I mean, we don’t want them harassing anyone who speaks Russian. They should be certain they have the right ones,” she said.

“Hmm. I need to email to my boss. My doctor wrote a note that says I have a contagious disease and I should work from home for a few days.”

“Do you need a computer?”

“I brought my laptop. I’ll use a VPN to hide my location.”

“Yes. Can’t be too careful.”

At the new Russian safe house, the agents were talking.

“So, he wasn’t at his apartment?”

“Пиздец! We’ve got it staked out in case he returns.”

“What about his work?”

“He left before we got there. We don’t know where he went, but he hasn’t returned. Do you think he knows?”

“How could he know? He’s a computer geek, and doesn’t know Russian. We have the advantage.”

“So, we watch and wait for him to show himself...”

“Da! We wait for the Мудак. He is bound to show up soon.”

“Da! Then we get the Сука...”

Conner and Sara flew to the cemetery and hovered above it.

Several other ghosts converged on their position.

“Hello. We have another search to do. Are you interested in some more fun?” asked Conner.

There was a consensus that yes, they wanted some fun and they’d help. The poltergeist caused a rock to go flying into the distance. A moment later, they heard a clatter and a loud meow sound.

“Our friend Ed is in trouble. There are some Russians after him. They’ll have a safe house as a base for their operations. I don’t have more details. If you hear them speaking Russian or you see weapons or even you have a suspicion, then you tell us.”

“Is this the same Ed who helped us with those chains?” said one ghost.

“Yes. That’s him. We must find them before they find Ed. If he dies, everything perishes with him.”

“Then we mustn’t fail,” said another ghost.

“As before, we’ll divide into two groups. Sara will lead one group, and I’ll lead the other.”

“Conner, I have an idea. I’ll take my group and search around his apartment. I bet they’ll be staking it out,” said Sara.

“Excellent idea. I’ll take my group and do the warehouse district first.”

Soon, they divided into two teams and left.

Ed sat with his laptop on the sofa. Ellen sat beside him.

He’d sent a copy of his doctor’s note to his boss, with a message that he’ll be working remotely for a few days. So far, he hadn’t received a response.

“Ed, why do the Russians want you?” asked Ellen.

“I did something for Conner and uncovered some double agents in the CIA. The Russians abducted me twice, but both times, they got arrested. You helped me the second time.”

“I remember.”

“So now they believe I’m a big CIA asset, or they want revenge. Either way, I have to stop them somehow.”

“Once the ghosts find the team, you’ll pass their location to the CIA.”

“Exactly! After three failed attempts, maybe they’ll learn to leave me alone.”

“Perhaps I should arrange you a security detail of your own?”

“Once this threat is gone, I’ll be fine.”

“If you change your mind, it’s no trouble.”

“Understood, and thank you. I think it’s enough to have sanctuary here with you.”