Beyond Limits (Tracers #8)(65)
“We sent a pair of agents over to her home earlier, but she wasn’t there,” Gordon said.
“Did they stay?” Elizabeth asked, thinking about Palicek and the murdered college student and the stripper who was now in hiding. “If she saw anything at all, she’s going to need protection.”
The door opened again, and Gordon’s assistant ducked in to give him a message. Gordon read it and shot a look at Elizabeth.
“Send them in,” he told the assistant.
A moment later, a beautiful young woman stepped into the conference room, followed closely by Derek.
Chapter Eighteen
Elizabeth’s first thought was that this was Lexi, the dancer from the Pussycat, but Derek introduced her as Dr. Mia Voss from the Delphi Center crime lab. Mia was dressed casually in jeans and sandals. She declined Gordon’s offer of a chair, preferring to stand beside the whiteboard.
“I dropped by Delphi a few days ago,” Derek said, also standing. “I asked Dr. Voss here to run some tests for me, see if we could learn something about what our friends in Asadabad were up to when we raided their compound.”
“What kind of tests?” Gordon asked.
“She looked at the boots I wore during the op. I spent some time in the basement of the compound, where they’d set up their own little bomb-making factory.”
“And?” Gordon looked at the doctor.
“I tested for a range of substances: explosive residue, ricin, sarin, anthrax—”
“Anthrax?” Torres cut in.
“Al Qaeda’s been working on it for years,” she said. “It’s difficult to weaponize, but that hasn’t stopped them from trying. But that isn’t what I found. Extensive testing revealed trace amounts of white phosphorus.”
Silence settled over the room as eyes shifted to Derek for clarification.
“An explosive packed with a white phosphorus payload—that’s guaranteed to ruin your day,” he said. “In the military, it’s known as Willie Pete, and it’s very bad news. It eats through clothing, skin, even metal.”
“The chemical sticks to skin and burns,” Mia explained. “Absorption in the body causes multiple organ failure. It also produces a hot, dense smoke called phosphorus pentoxide that can cause illness or even death if inhaled.”
Elizabeth sat speechless, trying to visualize a chemical like that being used against a civilian target, such as a mall or a movie theater. Or, heaven forbid, a school.
“Plus, it ignites on contact with air,” Derek added. “Did I mention that? This stuff’s highly flammable.”
“Because of its extreme flammability,” the doctor said, “it’s transported in molten form as a semiliquid.”
“So you’re saying they were working with this material at the compound the SEALs raided in Afghanistan?” Lauren asked Derek.
He nodded. “Yes, ma’am, that’s exactly what I’m saying.”
“Is this stuff hard to come by?” Torres asked the doctor.
“Here in the U.S.? Yes, it’s a controlled substance,” she said. “It’s used in some pesticides and fertilizers. The DEA has it listed as a precursor chemical for a number of illegal drugs, including methamphetamine.”
“Which means it’s around,” Gordon stated.
“I’m guessing it’s easier to come by outside the U.S.” Torres looked at Gordon. “Like maybe in Mexico. If our guys wanted to get their hands on it, I bet they could buy it off the same cartel they hired to smuggle them through the border tunnel.”
Elizabeth looked at Derek. “How hard would it be to make it into a weapon?”
“It would take some legwork,” Derek said, “but an expert bomb maker could handle it. Ameen definitely qualifies.”
“We should test the narco submarine specifically for this material,” Lauren said. “Maybe they smuggled in not just a person but a chemical weapon.”
“I’m betting it’s both,” Derek said. “And this person, whoever he is, is a key player. Someone on our watch list.”
Potter turned to Elizabeth. “We need to find out if your theory is accurate. If we could get a description or an alias, that could be the break we need.”
“What theory?” Derek was watching her.
“Agent LeBlanc found some evidence suggesting that Tango Two might be female,” Gordon said.
“So you’re thinking what?” Derek asked. “She seduced Palicek into helping with the attack?”
“It’s a theory at this point.” She tried to sound low-key, but she was pretty charged up about the idea, because it opened up a whole new set of leads. “If it turns out she was involved with Palicek, he might not have fully understood what she was up to, just that she needed a favor.”
“We should interview that motel clerk,” Lauren said. “Maybe we can even get a composite sketch.”
Elizabeth glanced at her watch. “She’s due at work by six.”
“What about this chemical?” Torres asked. “Should we assume they smuggled it in, or should we start looking for local angles on that?”
“Don’t assume anything,” Gordon said. “For now, we don’t know what they were smuggling. We need to get the CSIs back out to run more tests on the sub.”