Black Flagged Apex

Chapter 18





7:00 AM

The Jacksons' Residence

Fredericksburg, Virginia



Darryl Jackson took a bite out of his meticulously prepared English muffin and savored the melted butter that oozed from the perfectly crisped top. Sweet juices from a thin slice of warmed tomato competed with the butter and perfectly contrasted the sharp taste of sprinkled asiago cheese. Cheryl had created another masterpiece. Damn, he loved that woman.

"Liz will be finished with her finals on May 10th. It'll be nice to have her around here for the summer. Sounds like most of her friends are coming home too," Cheryl said.

His wife was dressed in dark gray slacks and a light pink blouse. Her matching gray jacket hung neatly over the back of a low-backed chair pushed up against their kitchen island. This would be her second year as deputy superintendent of Fredericksburg's Public Schools. He always marveled at her energy level. She had effortlessly balanced the demands of parenthood and an ambitious career within the Fredericksburg school district. She had started off teaching high school English, while simultaneously pursuing a master's degree in school administration. Five years later, she had secured a position as principal of Walker-Grant Middle School, beating out candidates from all over the region.

Nobody had been surprised that she would seek the big position, and serving as deputy superintendent was the only way to eventually secure the superintendent position without an education doctorate. She faced long odds without the coveted doctorate, which was considered a resume requirement for most superintendent positions nationwide, but she felt confident that her work on the ground as a teacher, principal and deputy would overshadow the proliferation of education doctorates acquired by out-of-work teachers.

"The sooner the better. I wish we could convince Emily to postpone her trip to France," he said, watching the television mounted under a row of kitchen cabinets visible from the table in their breakfast nook.

"It was either one month in the French countryside during the summer, or an entire semester right outside of Paris. I think we dodged a bullet with the summer program," she said.

He looked at her and smiled. "I know you're right, but things seem unsettled out there…do you mind if I turn this up?"

The television in their kitchen was small and mainly viewed from the kitchen island, but Darryl had incredibly acute vision at longer distances, a genetic gift that had fortunately saved his life more than once in the field. They normally kept the volume down for breakfast, relying on his hawk eyes to spot anything important to them. What he saw on the screen made him lunge for the remote and raise the volume. As the newscast unfolded, they both listened intently…

"…area around the Mount Arlington station is sealed off for nearly a mile, and authorities are keeping a tight lid on any information flowing to the media. Local hospital officials also declined to comment on the nature of the emergency. Witnesses standing outside of a nearby restaurant said they heard distant gunfire at around 8:30 last night, but dismissed the sound as fireworks. A large police response, consisting of SWAT units, descended on the access road to the pump station at 9 PM.

"Local and federal law enforcement officials would not comment on the nature of the police action in Mount Arlington, but affiliate news correspondents have confirmed that a widespread government effort to stop citizens from drinking public water began at 10:15 PM last evening and continues at this very moment. The efforts appear concentrated on Morris County Municipal Utilities customers, who are served by a series of pumps and wells located in northern New Jersey. Townships served by water pumped by the Morris County Municipal Utilities Authority include Denville, Jefferson, Mine Hill, Mount Arlington, Parsippany-Troy Hills, Randolph, Roxbury, Wharton Borough and Southeast Morris County. Citizens in these affected areas have been warned not to drink water from any public source until further notice. Anyone that drank public water after 9 PM is encouraged to immediately call 911 or report to the nearest hospital."

Darryl lowered the English muffin to his plate and stood up from the table. Liz lived in a dormitory at Princeton University, located less than fifty miles from Parsippany. He didn't need NBC to connect the dots for him. This sounded like a terrorist attack on the water supply, and he wasn't naïve enough to hope that it was an isolated attack. He grabbed his cell phone off the kitchen island and had dialed his daughter before his wife reached his side. While the phone rang, he listened to the rest of Matt Lauer's report and heard him speculate about a link between recent police raids throughout Europe. He also raised the specter of a possible connection to the mysterious tragedy in Monchegorsk. Mention of the Russian city grabbed Darryl's attention, and he listened intently while he waited for Liz to answer her phone.

"…and international news agencies have made little progress in the Kola Peninsula. Restricted to St. Petersburg, foreign correspondents and diplomats have been unable to gain even the foggiest picture of what has unfolded in the northern city. Russian internal security forces have reportedly used heavy-handed tactics to keep foreigners from seeking information beyond the city. Located 750 miles north of St. Petersburg along a single highway, the Russian government has effectively sealed off all access to Monchegorsk. Only military vehicles have been seen heading north into the Kola Peninsula, casting serious questions about the Russian government's assertion that the situation in Monchegorsk is under control."

His daughter wasn't answering her phone. He speed dialed the number for the resident assistant on her floor. She was going to flip out when she discovered that he had acquired this number on a visit to her dorm, but he had a bad feeling about the news coming out of Mount Arlington.

"…the release of shocking video footage acquired by the Reuters news agency from a source deep within the city, Russian officials acknowledged the deployment of armored military units to wrest control of the city from an insurgent group. Officials declined to give any details regarding the insurgency, only sharing the fact that insurgents had caused significant damage to the city's critical industrial infrastructure. Norval Nickel, the world's leading producer of nickel and palladium, maintains an immense mining and smelting operation in Monchegorsk.

"Russian area experts have cast serious doubts on the likelihood that an insurgency could develop so suddenly without warning signs. Aspects of the Reuters video suggest a massive medical crisis, resulting in a widespread pattern of bizarre behavior in the city. Watch groups here at home have demanded immediate transparency in the handling of the Mount Arlington situation, suggesting the possibility of a biological attack on our nation's water supply that may be linked to Monchegorsk."

Darryl struggled to keep calm. He knew this had to be related to Berg's recent request for weapons in Kazakhstan. He disconnected the call to Liz's resident assistant.

"Nobody's answering," he said.

"She'll be fine, honey. The area affected is limited to upper Morris County. Princeton's water supply can't be connected in any way. We'll get a hold of her and make sure she buys enough bottled water to get her through the next two weeks."

"If she's not out buying water right now, there's not much of a chance she'll get her hands on any," Darryl said.

"Then I'll buy it down here and drive it up to her. Easy fix," Cheryl said.

"I'll head out right now to buy the water."

"It sounds like some kind of terrorist attack to me. I think the whole Monchegorsk angle is fear mongering, though," Cheryl said, turning off the television.

"I don't know. It may not be that farfetched. I might know someone with inside information," Darryl said, wishing he hadn't made the statement.

"You're not calling him."

"If anyone knows, it'll be him. If they expect more attacks, we need to know."

His wife stared at him for five long seconds with an impassive face. Darryl didn't like seeing this face and could imagine the effect it would have on her staff or co-workers. She finally spoke to him.

"No requests or favors. Berg has two strikes against him at this point. One more and you're out."

"You mean he's out."

"I didn't misspeak. One more strike and you're out. Make sure to get a hold of Emily. She's on the other side of the country, but now you have me nervous," Cheryl said.

"I'll call her before I call Berg."

"Just hearing that name makes me cringe. I need to get moving here. I have a feeling we'll have more to discuss today than next year's curriculum and staffing levels. Keep me in the loop," Cheryl said and leaned over to kiss him goodbye.

"I will. Have a great day, my love," he said, returning the kiss.

His wife could be a real hard-ass at times, which was why he loved her even more. She'd set him straight a number of times, saving his ass from bad career moves and bad associations. The one bad habit she had never been able to break was his friendship with Karl Berg. They had a bond that could never be broken. Darryl walked through the kitchen into the den and opened one of his desk drawers, removing a "throwaway" cell phone. He dialed Berg's cell phone and waited. His friend answered on the third ring. Ten minutes later, Darryl Jackson called his wife and told her that he would take the day off and drive up to New Jersey to deliver their daughter as much bottled water as he could fit in their Suburban. He confirmed that Mount Arlington had experienced a terrorist attack on its water supply, but decided to omit the part about how the FBI and CIA couldn't account for fifty canisters of the same virus used to poison the city of Monchegorsk and turn it into a scene that would make George Romero jealous.