The Speed of Sound (Speed of Sound Thrillers #1)(93)
From the moment the assassins had arrived and seen what Michael Barnes was unearthing inside his storage shed, they knew they needed to have a Plan B. Plan A was a repeat of their performance from earlier that night. But Michael Barnes was most certainly well armed, and one slight misstep could lead to a messy firefight. That would lead to a thorough investigation, and their employers would not like that. Plan B would be similarly displeasing to their bosses, due to the attention it would later bring, but it would have the benefit of a plausible explanation. Emergency kits such as Barnes’s always contained six things: a variety of clothing, freeze-dried foodstuffs, a water-filtration system, medical supplies, a large amount of cash, and an even larger number of weapons. This often included explosives. After all, theirs did.
Giles had required less than two minutes to affix orange-colored Semtex to the car’s front left wheel well as Michael Barnes dug out the first of his storage cases. Four pounds of the waterproof putty would have been sufficient. Ten pounds would have eviscerated the body. But the National League East fans had decided to go with twenty pounds of the Czech-made explosive, because Barnes would have had at least that much in his survivalist stash. And everybody knew that explosives were dangerous, especially when they were moved.
Giles watched Barnes get inside his car and start the engine. As he put the car in gear, Giles flicked off the safety of the remote detonator in his hands. He then said quietly to his partner, “Fire in the hole,” and pressed the button beneath the blinking red light.
BOOM!!!
The jolt would measure as a magnitude-3.1 earthquake in a seismic-activity-measuring station seven miles away. In Barnes’s yard, Giles was thrown hard to the ground with the wind knocked out of him. Murphy, already on the ground, momentarily lost consciousness.
At ground zero, Michael Barnes was vaporized. The largest piece of him that would be recovered measured less than two inches long. He was scattered across his entire fourteen-thousand-square-foot lot, as well as several of his neighbors’ yards. Some of him would remain lodged in another homeowner’s gutter for months.
CHAPTER 94
American Heritage Foundation, Alexandria, Virginia, May 28, 1:53 a.m.
The heat signature of the explosion flashed so brightly on the American Heritage Foundation’s high-definition monitor that Daryl Trotter thought the screen might have to be replaced. Caitlin McCloskey sat next to him with her eyes glued to the screen. “So much for subtlety.”
Jason Greers stood behind them, looking over their shoulders. “All that matters is that Barnes will no longer be a problem.” He texted the news to Stenson, who was not on American Heritage grounds.
“He won’t be happy if Forensics finds anything.”
Jason scoffed. “If they do, we can make that disappear, too.”
Caitlin shook her head. She hated when testosterone got the better of her counterparts, especially Jason. She focused her attention on the monitor, where she could now see something fluttering in the air. “What is that?”
“What?” Jason looked closer, but couldn’t tell what she was looking at.
She pointed to the screen. “There. In the air. It looks like confetti.” The thermal-imaged sky above Michael Barnes’s residence became filled with what looked like thousands of pieces of large confetti.
Daryl smiled. “I’ll give you both a clue. It was inside the cases Barnes had loaded into his car.”
Caitlin kept studying the screen. It looked like paper. “Pages from a Bible?”
“You’ve got to be kidding.” Jason snickered. “Michael Barnes never opened a Bible in his life.”
Caitlin disliked being embarrassed. “Then what?”
Daryl answered quickly, intent on defusing the tension between them. “Cash.”
Jason was stunned by the sheer volume of money fluttering around in the air over Swedesboro. “That’s got to be a couple hundred grand.”
“At least.” Daryl nodded. “I think I can tell you why our guys used so much explosive . . .”
Caitlin wasn’t about to ask another dumb question, so she let Jason do it for her. “Why?”
“A small amount would look exactly like what it was. A hit. A large amount will give investigators the impression that a stockpile accidentally ignited. Anybody who kept that much cash on hand was preparing for something. Extremists often include a variety of weapons and ordnance in their stashes. Further investigation into Barnes will reveal the disappearance of two of his employees earlier last night. While those cases will go unsolved, the presumption will be that Barnes snapped, was somehow involved with their disappearance, and then accidentally blew himself up while setting out to make himself disappear.”
Jason was truly impressed. “Goddamn, they’re good.”
Caitlin had a different thought. “I just pray we never do anything to piss them off.”
CHAPTER 95
Philadelphia Office, Department of Homeland Security, May 28, 2:17 a.m.
Homeland Security Agent Kendricks led Skylar down a corridor lined with cells inside the Philadelphia office. “When do I get my phone call?” she demanded.
“You’re joking, right?” The agent smirked.
“Do I sound like I’m joking?”
They paused outside a cell at the end of the hall, where the agent removed her handcuffs. The cell door opened electronically. “Doctor, you were in illegal possession of classified technology. If the technology is deemed to have been a threat to national security, you will be classified as an enemy combatant. That means you will lose your rights as a United States citizen. We can hold you indefinitely. So if I were you, I wouldn’t hold my breath for any phone call.”