David nodded. “Much bigger, and probably something we would never expect. Indonesia and Jakarta is the perfect place to start an attack — the population density is high and there are tons of ex-patriots here, the start of an attack would send wealthy foreigners in Jakarta to the airport and from there to almost every country in the world.”
David motioned to the bank of computer screens behind Josh. “The computers behind you are connected to Central, our own servers, and the remaining cells. They have everything we know about what’s going on around the world, the various terrorist groups and organizations we now know are fronts for Immari International. It’s not much. Start there, get up to speed, then move on quickly to the latest local intel. If there’s anything going on here in Jakarta, we have a responsibility to investigate it first. We will need to hand off what we know in case Jakarta Station falls. Think outside the box. Whatever is going on, it may not fit any normal patterns. Look for something we wouldn’t suspect — like Saudi Nationals taking flying lessons in Germany, then moving to the US; like someone in Oklahoma buying tons of fertilizer, someone who isn’t a farmer.”
“What’s in the rest of the folders?” Josh said.
David pushed a folder across the desk. “This folder contains the rest of the information on Immari that I collected before I joined Clocktower.”
“It’s not in the computer?”
“No. I never turned it over to Clocktower either. You’ll see why. The other envelope contains a letter, from me to you. You should open it when I die. It will provide you with instructions.”
Josh started to say something, but David interrupted. “There’s one last thing.”
David stood and retrieved a small case from the corner of the room. He set the case on the table. “This room and the outer chamber will give you some protection, and I hope, enough time to find something, hopefully to decode the message. Clocktower HQ is the last place they’ll be looking for you. Nevertheless, I doubt we have a lot of time. Send whatever you find to my mobile. The top-right monitor shows a camera feed. That camera is over the door — looking out into the server room, so you’ll know if someone is trying to get in here. As you know, there are no cameras in the main HQ, for security reasons, so you may not have much notice.” He opened the case and took out a handgun. He slid the magazine into the handle of the gun and placed it on the table in front of Josh. “You know how to use this?”
Josh eyed the gun and leaned back in the chair. “Uh, yes. Well, I had basic training when I joined the Agency 12 years ago, but I haven’t used one since. So… no, not really.” He wanted to say, “If covert ops forces get in this room, what kind of chance do I really have?”, but he didn’t; he knew David was showing him the gun to make him feel safer. Not being scared to death would clear his mind and help him do his job, but Josh felt that was only half of the chief’s motivation.
“If you need to use it, you pull the slide back. That chambers a round. When you’re empty, you click here, the clip slides out. You put another one in and press this button, the slide returns and chambers the first round from the new clip. But if that door is breached, there’s something you have to do before you use the gun.”
“Wipe the computers?”
“Exactly. And burn this folder as well as the letter.” David pointed to a small metal waste basket and handed him a small butane torch from the gun box.
“What else is in the box?” Josh thought he knew, but he asked anyway.
The Jakarta Station Chief paused for a seconds, then reached into the box and took out a small capsule.
“Do I swallow it?”
“No. If the time comes, you bite into it. The cyanide works pretty quick, maybe three or four seconds.” David handed Josh the capsule. “Keep it with you. I hope you won’t need it. This is a very hard room to get into.”
David put the gun back in the box and returned it to the corner of the room. “Let me know as soon as you have something.” He turned and walked toward the door.
Josh stood and said, “What are you going to do?”
“Buy us some time.”
CHAPTER 15
Interrogation Room C
West Jakarta Police Detention Center
Jakarta, Indonesia
Kate looked up as the interrogation room door opened, revealing a fat, sweaty man. He carried a folder in one hand and extended his other hand to her. “Dr. Warner, I am Police Chief Eddi Kusnadi. I ho—”
“I’ve been waiting here for hours. Your men have interrogated me about useless details of my study, threatened to imprison me. I want to know what you’re doing to find those kidnapped children.”
“Doctor, you don’t understand the situation here. We are a small department.”
“Then call the national police. Or—”
“The national police have problems of their own, Doctor, and they don’t include finding retarded children.”
“Don’t call them retarded.”
“They’re not retarded?” He flipped the file open. “Our notes say your clinic is testing a new drug for retarded—”