From the Pulpit, Chapter 26

Chapter 26
 

The Crime Scene Investigations team from FBI Headquarters was going through the wreckage of the van in the Mound Builders Country Club parking lot as paramedics checked out the three survivors from the blast. 

The men watched as Agent Coopers body was zipped into a vinyl bag and carefully hefted onto a gurney, which was then rolled into an ambulance to take him away.

John Goode looked over to Hogan and Farris.  His eyes were moist with sorrow for his friend as he started to speak.

“I’ve served with Phil since Quantico.  He was a really good guy, too good to die in such a random way.”    Goode rubbed the lines on his creased forehead, trying to press the stress away. “A God damned piece of shrapnel.  Why didn’t it find one of us instead?”

Farris nodded at the comments “Did he have family?”

“Yeah.” Replied Goode. “Wife and two kids, boy and girl, five and eight.  Cutest kids you’d ever meet.  And his wife is one of those sparkly, bubbly types.  I don’t know how she’s going to take this.”

“No one ever takes it good when their spouse dies, not if they really loved them.”  Replied Farris.

Neither Goode nor Hogan said anything, knowing that Farris understood what Mrs. Cooper was about to go through more than anyone else there.

The momentary silence was interrupted by the loud warbling ring tone of Hogan’s cell phone. 

“Hogan.”  He replied.

“Paul this is Hilde.”

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“We just got a report from the CPD Worthington precinct that they picked up a speeder in whose car they found fifty pounds of heroin.”  Said Hildegard.

“Yeah, so?”  Answered Hogan tersely, irritated that she would try to talk to him about a different case at a time like this. “We’re not the damn drug squad. Turn it over to narcotics.”

“Paul,”  Hilde said, “Narcotics called me on it because they found a GPS on the guys front seat.  When they asked him about it he mumbled something about ‘that damn African’ but other than that was totally uncooperative.  They brought me the GPS and I gave it to Andy.”

“OK, so get to the point Hilde, I’m not in the mood for a building drama.” Replied Paul impatiently.

“The guy was picked up less than a mile from the scene where one of the other vans exploded.  Andy is trying to hack into the GPS.  Whoever set it up seems afraid of getting caught.  They have so much security on this thing that he …”

In the background Hogan suddenly heard Andy Fleiss’ voice shouting.

“Got it!”  Fleiss said, “Hilde!  Talk about bait and switch!” 

His voice grew louder in Paul’s cell phone speaker as he walked closer to Hildegard Rottbruck’s phone. 

“The way this thing is programmed is crazy.  It has locations that pop up at specified times between now and Saturday morning. I am manually pushing the time forward on the GPS and it is running me all over the map of Ohio.”  Andy said.

He continued, “It looks like he was to go tonight to an address in Dayton, then head out first thing in the morning where the programmed route was to lead him to an address half way to Cleveland, then at 8 am Saturday he is to go to…oh dear God….dear sweet Jesus!” Fleiss voice grew very agitated, sounding choked up as he finished.  “To Ohio Stadium.”

“We were right.  Detective Martin was right.  They are going to try to bomb Ohio Stadium.”  Said Hilde. 

“This is like that Tom Clancy movie, ‘The Sum of All Fears’!”  Fleiss said, “The one where they blow up the Super Bowl!”

Hogan tried to calm Fleiss down. “Hey don’t worry, we’ll get teams in there with radiation monitors and catch these guys.  They won’t get to set that thing off!  The good guys always win right?”

“Not in Clancy’s book!”  replied Fleiss, his voice getting higher pitched as his emotions rose, “They caught the bad guys, but not before the bomb went off! You guys have to catch this bomb.  There will be almost…maybe… I don’t know…half a million people there!”

“Calm down Andy.”  Hilde said softly, “We will catch them in time.”

Her voice didn’t hide her own uncertainty very well though.  She knew that even if a suitcase nuclear bomb was brought there, it may not be traceable until they open the case, and then they would only have a few minutes to find it and capture the terrorists before they armed the detonator and set it off.

“Hilde, Andy,”  Hogan said, “Work on finding out if the other vehicles involved may have one of those GPS’s as well.  Figure out a way to track them down.  In the meantime me and Mike are heading back in, we’ll work it together once we arrive.”

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