The Agent's Daughter Read online

  “That sounds pretty cool,” Melina said. “We could sure use one of those right now.”

  “You know what one of your mom’s gadgets we could use right now?” Evan asked. “The magnetic bullet deflector.”

  “Magnetic bullet deflector?” Melina said. “What, no fancy acronym for that one?”

  “Your mother was still working on it,” David said. “She had only built one prototype, so they hadn’t had gotten around to giving it a formal acronym.”

  “You see, kiddo,” Evan said. “It was the last thing that your mother worked on before her accident.”

  “So what did it do? Other than what is apparent from the name.”

  “That’s pretty much what it does. Mom took one of her miniature nuclear power sources, the smallest one she had ever made, and merged it with a small donut-shaped electromagnet.”

  “Wait a minute,” Melina said. “We are studying this in school. You can create a magnetic field with an electromagnet. It turns electricity into magnetism.”

  “That’s right,” Evan said. “Mom took a wire and wound it thousands of times around a solid iron ring. As the current is passed in a certain direction in the wire, a strong repulsive magnetic field is induced. If the ring is pointed in the direction of a bullet, the magnetic field is strong enough to deflect it. Up to five feet of deflection, when the shooter is as close as fifteen feet. It won’t stop the bullet, but it will stop it from hitting you.”

  “That’s awesome,” Melina said. “Is it built into a helmet or do you strap it onto your chest or something?”

  Evan and David looked at each other and smiled.

  “No, Melina,” David said. “It is much smaller than that. Your mother built the whole thing into a wristwatch. She took a standard issue agent wristwatch, like the one I wear, and she built an electromagnet ring around the outside of the dial. The magnet add-on made the watch a little big, but she hoped to make it smaller so that the deflector could be made part of the standard issue watch.”

  “Just not that color,” David said.

  “Yeah,” Evan said as he laughed and turned to David, “The color scheme on the prototype was hideous. It was fluorescent orange.”

  Melina shuddered and looked at her dad, wide eyed. She said nothing. Evan looked back at her and continued.

  “Mom had just finished testing the prototype, and she was bringing it home from the agency to show me. In fact, she was wearing the watch the night of her accident. But after the accident, well, you know the story. All of the things that Mom was wearing that night still hang in a corner of our bedroom. HehhHer jewelry and the watch are in one of the pockets. I just haven’t been able to put them away.”

  Evan looked down and rubbed his face with one of his hands, clearly reliving that night again.

  Melina took a deep breath and put her hand on her dad’s shoulder. “What you said is not entirely true. I mean about the watch.”

  She paused, trying to find the right words.

  “I took Mom’s watch from the pocket of her clothes in your room. I’m sorry Daddy. It’s just that I wanted something of Mom’s to carry with me while she was in the hospital.”

  Evan said nothing and didn’t look up.

  “I didn’t lose it, though,” Melina added. “I have it right here.”

  Evan looked up as Melina knelt down and rolled up one of her pant legs. A bulge was visible in her sock. She reached into her sock and pulled out a watch. A large, ugly fluorescent orange watch.

  Evan and David both looked at her, stunned as she held it up.

  “I took very good care of it,” she said.

  Evan looked at Melina’s sock and then at the watch. “So you carry around the watch in your sock?”

  “No,” Melina said, looking down. “I usually wear it on my wrist, except when I am with you. Then I keep it in my pocket.”

  “So how did it end up in your sock?”

  “Well…” Melina started. “Earlier, when I thought that we were going through the security checkpoint at your work, and I thought I was going to have to empty my pockets, I moved it from my pocket to my sock.”

  Evan thought for a moment and then a look of recognition crossed his face. “When you went to the restroom!”

  Melina nodded as she handed the watch to her dad.

  Evan took the watch and held it in his open palm. He stared at it, still not quite believing that it was indeed in his hand. He figured they were going to face people with guns, and a device that could deflect bullets certainly would help. After a few more moments of looking at the watch, he slipped it on his wrist and began pushing buttons on the bezel.

  “What are you doing?” Melina asked.

  “I’m turning on the GPS transponder,” he said.

  “GPS transponder?” Melina asked.

  “Yes,” Evan said. “All standard agent watches come equipped with a GPS transponder. It allows the agency to find you wherever you are in the field and come pick you up. Most agents leave the transponder enabled, but your mom wasn’t an agent, so she left hers off.”

  “But someone has to have special equipment to pick up the transmission,” David said. “And they have to be looking for you. Unfortunately, I don’t think anybody is out looking for us right now.”

  Evan did not look up but continued to program the transponder. “I’m going to turn it on anyway. It can’t hurt.”

  After he had finished programming the watch, he looked up to see Melina standing right in front of him. She had a pained look on her face.

  “So… you’re okay that I had Mom’s watch all this time?” Melina asked.

  Evan looked up at her and smiled. Then he reached out and gave her a giant hug.

  Chapter 10

  Angela sat on the couch reading a book, but it was difficult for her to concentrate on the pages. She was a little spooked because a few hours earlier, she had received a call from the agency 711 operator saying that Evan’s cell phone had called them but hung up. The operator was following up on the incident by calling Evan’s home number to see if everything was okay. She could trace Evan’s location to the elevator at work using the locator in his phone, but a security team had been dispatched to the site of the emergency call, and there was no one there when they arrived. Angela told the operator that Evan had not mentioned going in to work but that he was not home. In the absence of more information, the operator marked it down as another accidental butt-dialed phone call and said that she would follow up at a later time.

  Since she received the call from the operator, Angela had called both Evan’s and Melina’s cell phones several times, but both of them went right to voicemail without anybody answering. They were way past overdue to return home, and a call to Evan’s work confirmed that while Melina and her dad had been there, they had long since left.

  Angela looked up from her book once more. This time it was because of the sound of the doorbell ringing. She got up, walked over to the door and looked through the peephole. It was Alex Winfield.

  “Hello Alex,” Angela said as she opened the door.

  “Good evening,” Alex said. “I know Melina doesn’t want to speak to me, but I need to talk to her.”

  “I’m afraid that she is not home,” Angela said.

  Alex looked down at the ground, dejected. Then he looked back up at Angela.

  “You don’t have to cover for her,” he said. “I don’t blame Melina for not wanting to see me. Could you tell her that I can explain if she just would give me a chance?”

  Angela looked at him puzzled. “Alex, I’m not covering for her. She truly isn’t home. What happened between you two?”

  “Melina saw me at a sandwich shop down the street having lunch with another girl. But what she doesn’t know is that the girl ambushed me and just sat down at my table. I didn’t invite her. Didn’t she tell you any of this?”

  “I haven’t talked with Melina since she and her father left to go to the hospital to see her mother. They were due home hours ago.
I’ve called both their cell phones, and neither of them have answered. Then, I got a strange call from the agency emergency operator that said Evan had called 711 from the elevator at work and then hung up. They think it was an accidental phone call, but I’m starting to worry.”

  “Did you say he called from the elevator at work?” Alex asked.

  “That is what the operator said,” Angela answered. “She was able to pinpoint his location using a locater in his phone. Why do you ask?”

  “About an hour ago I received a strange text from my dad. I didn’t know what to make of it, but it mentions an elevator. I’ve tried calling him a couple of times, but he doesn’t answer his phone and he had not gotten home when I left the house to come here.”

  Angela’s eyes narrowed. “I want to see that text.”

  She led Alex into the living room and had him sit down on the couch. Alex produced a phone from his pocket, punched a few buttons to retrieve the text and then handed the phone to Angela.

  “The strange part is at the end,” Alex said.

  Angela scrolled down to the end of the message. Her eyes widened.

  “What is it?” Alex said.

  “I don’t like the sound of this,” she said, still staring at the message. “He seems to be texting an ordinary message about coming home. Then it ends abruptly with the words help fcan elevator.”

  “What is an FCAN elevator?” Alex asked.

  “It’s not FCAN elevator,” Angela said. “I think he means FCAN in the elevator. He must have sent the text from the elevator at work.”

  “Okay. What’s an FCAN?” Alex asked again.

  “An FCAN is a small canister that puts out a dense fog somewhat like a tear gas canister. Some of them contain a substance that renders people unconscious. They are standard issue for agents. The weird thing is he used the exact word FCAN. As if that were the exact thing that he had seen. He didn’t text help smoke elevator or help tear gas elevator.”

  “What do you think this means?” Alex asked.

  “I don’t know, but it seems like more than a coincidence that your father sent this text calling for help from the same elevator at work where Evan was when he made the 711 phone call.”

  “That does seem strange,” Alex said. “Look, can’t we just drive down to the agency and tell them what is going on?”

  “They have already sent a security team to investigate the elevator,” Angela said, “and they didn’t find anything. But I’ll tell you what, I’ll call them back and have them look again.”

  Angela went to her purse and got her address book out. She looked up the outside number for the 711 operator and dialed.

  “Good evening, 711 operator. What is your emergency?”

  “Hello. My name is Angela Coleman. You called here earlier in the evening about Evan Roberts.”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “I have been shown a text that was sent by another agency employee about an hour ago that appears to be asking for help while he was in one of the elevators in the building. Could you send security to check it out?”

  “Ma’am, the elevators are part of the normal rounds that security walks every hour. We just completed this hour’s round without incident.”

  “They didn’t see anything?” Angela said.

  “Nothing to report, ma’am.”

  “Okay, then. Have you heard from Evan?”

  “No, ma’am. His phone is still off.”

  “His phone is off?” Angela asked.

  “Yes, ma’am. It has been off since he hung up on the 711 call. Is there anything else I can help you with?”

  “No,” Angela said. “Thanks for your help. Goodbye.”

  Alex watched Angela hang up the phone. “What did they say?”

  “They didn’t see anything of note in the elevators. But one thing is curious. Evan’s phone is off. Agents are told never to turn their phones off. The agency wants to be able to contact them at any time.”

  “So what can we do now?” Alex asked.

  “I know,” Angela said. “I can call my brother. He is a lieutenant with the Dallas Police Department. He may have an idea what to do.”

  Angela picked up the phone and dialed her brother’s direct line.

  “Good evening. Dallas Police Department. Lieutenant Coleman speaking.”

  “Hey, little bro. It’s Angela.”

  “Sis! What’s shakin’? Certainly you’re not in trouble?” he said as he laughed.

  “You know me,” she said. “I’m not one to look for trouble. Wink. Wink.”

  “I thought so,” he said. “So what’s up?”

  “The son of one of my co-workers just came over and showed me a text his father had sent from the elevator at work telling his son that he was coming home. It looks normal until the end of the text when it just ends with the father asking for help. Also, earlier, I got a phone call from the agency emergency operator saying another co-worker had made an emergency call from that same elevator, but then hung up. Neither one of the co-workers has come home yet, and we haven’t been able to reach either of them on their phones. I don’t know if all this is related, but it does seem weird that they were both last seen in the same elevator.”

  “When did all this go down?”

  “About an hour ago.”

  “Oh,” he said. “Unless you have more evidence that something is going on, it’s way too early for the police to get involved. A person has to be missing at least a day for us to come out. I’ll tell you what though, give me their names, and I’ll run them through the computer and see if they have been involved in anything tonight.”

  “Okay. One name is David Winfield. The other is Evan Roberts.”

  “All right. Hold on.”

  After a few moments, Angela’s brother returned to the phone.

  “I’m sorry, sis. I don’t see anything on either of those names. No accidents, hospital transports, arrests, nothing. I’m sorry.”

  “That’s okay. Well I know you are busy, I don’t want to keep you on the phone. Thanks for checking things out for me. See ya.”

  “No problem, sis. I will call you if I hear anything. Bye.”

  Angela hung up the phone and let out a deep breath, unsure what to do next.

  “You know,” Alex said, “I think you’re right that my dad, Melina and her dad being missing are somehow related. I can’t get past that they both happened in the same elevator.”

  “Yes,” Angela said, sitting down on the couch. “And they are both unable to be reached by phone. An FCAN would explain why Evan didn’t respond to the emergency operator. However, for the two of their situations to be related it would seem as if they were-”

  “Kidnapped,” Alex said.

  “Precisely,” Angela said. “But the agency has looked into the elevator, and the police won’t do anything until tomorrow.”

  “If they were kidnapped, tomorrow may be too late,” Alex said.

  “What can we do?” Angela asked.

  They both sat in silence on the couch, trying to think what their next move should be. Finally, Alex sat up and turned to Angela.

  “I remember my dad telling me that the watches that agents wear have a GPS tracking feature on them. Doesn’t Melina’s dad have one of those watches?” Alex asked.

  Angela’s face lit up. “Yes, yes he does! The problem we have is that since I do not work as an agent anymore, I don’t have access to the specialized agency equipment I would need to track him down. It’s locked up in a secure room at the headquarters downtown.”

  “Oh,” Alex said. “Do they keep that equipment anywhere else?”

  Angela looked over at Alex and smiled. “Why, yes. As a matter of fact, they do. ”

  ………………………….

  Melina, her dad, and David had spent an hour scouring every inch of the room looking for anything that they could use as a weapon. While the room was rich in shelves and drawers, they had found nothing beyond the old paint cans that Evan had found earlier
and the extension cord that Melina had found. The room was empty.

  Evan picked up the extension cord and took it over to one of the metal shelf units. Grabbing the cord near the end, he rubbed it on the exposed metal of one of the sides of the shelf until the end of the extension cord sheared off. Then he rubbed the end of the cord on the cabinet until the bare metal of the two wires inside was exposed. He carried the end of the cord over to the door and wrapped one of the exposed wires around the doorknob and the other one around one of the door hinges. This would complete the circuit and give anyone that touched the doorknob quite a shock. He walked over to the plug end of the cord, picked it up, carried it over to a nearby outlet, and laid it down on the floor.

  They had already established a plan to try to overpower whoever showed up at the door to the room, and they all had a role. Melina would be in charge of plugging in the extension cord. David would be behind the large shelf unit next to the door, ready to tip it over on anyone that entered. Finally, Evan would be positioned behind where the door opened, ready to try his best to fight them, using the bullet deflection capabilities of the watch as a shield and a paint can as a weapon. Now all they had to do was wait for the sound of footsteps.

  After he had finished setting up the extension cord, Evan looked around the room. Melina was sitting on the floor with her back against the far wall. She had her head in her hands as she stared down at the floor. David was across the room, pacing nervously in the area near the door. It appeared as though he was muttering to himself as he paced. It had been a while since anyone spoke.

  Then it occurred to Evan what was going on. Melina and David were unaccustomed to pressure of this magnitude. They had never been in the position of having to fight their way out of a room with people trying to kill them. Evan realized that they were going to have to loosen up, or they were not going to be very useful in the coming battle.

  After a moment of thought, he walked over toward David, waving his arm for David to join him.

  “You want to see something funny?” Evan said in a low voice as he approached.