Nowhere to Run - Chapter 28

The city frightened her. It was crowded and noisy and everyone seemed in such a hurry. Stopping at a street vendor, Evie bought copy of the New York Times. The contact information was on the inside of the first page. She found what she needed.

     A half hour later she stood in front of the building that housed the New York Times and thought of Michael. She wondered where he was and prayed he was okay. 

     “Hang on, Michael. It’s almost over.”

Evie went over to the pay phones and dialed.  She asked for the news desk.

     “James Nelson” answered the voice on the phone and Evie's mouth went dry. She had to swallow several times before she could continue.

     “Hello?” James Nelson prompted.

     “Yeah, I ..um...hi.”

     “Can I help you?”

     “I have a story.”   

     “Yeah, what story?” Nelson couldn’t keep the boredom out of his voice. He got a dozen calls like this each week and only a handful of them ever checked out.

     Evie lowered her voice and cupped a hand over the mouthpiece, shielding the phone from the crowd on the street. “I have information of a covert government agency and their illegal operations.”

     The man at the other end of the phone laughed. "Yeah, right, and I'll bet aliens are involved too."

     "I have proof."

     "Yeah, well that’s good sweetie cause you're going to need it." James Nelson's voice dripped with skepticism. "How do I know this is for real?"

     "They call themselves The Team. They were organized to rid the U.S. of terrorism. But they're doing more than that."

     She swung around, searching the sea of faces that surrounded her. Watching for anyone who had overheard. 

     Everyone on the street looked normal. Or at least as normal as this city could seem.

     “Keep talking.” James Nelson ordered, still with that same bored voice.

     “Not on the phone. Can I see you?”

     “This sounds mighty mysterious, ma’am. Can you give me any other hints as to what this is all about?”

     “I can be there in one hour. Please don’t tell anyone I called.”

     “Fine, fine. Fifth floor. Just ask for James Nelson. Someone will point me out.”

     Evie hung up the phone and turned and entered the building. She rode the elevator directly to the fifth floor and sought out James Nelson.

     He was a middle-aged man, tall and thin with a piercing stare that seemed to cut right to the core. His cheeks were lean and bore a small scar right below his left eye. It should have made him look menacing, but instead Evie got an immediate sense that she had done the right thing in coming here. His gray eyes were honest, if not a bit jaded. Still, she felt James Nelson had been the right choice for this job.

     “Mr. Nelson?”

     “You just called me?”

     Evie nodded.

     “My watch must be slow. Have a seat.” he motioned to the chair beside his desk.

     Evie hesitated. The newsroom was so open and there seemed to be a lot of people wandering through. “Can we go somewhere more private?”

     Nelson shrugged and got to his feet. He still appeared to be bored by the whole thing. Evie sensed he had been in the business too long to get excited until he saw proof.  She just hoped he would be ready for what she was about to show him.

     “We’ll need a computer too.”

     Nelson rolled his eyes and led the way down to an office that was off to the side.  He poked his head in and asked the man inside if he could borrow the office.

     “Now?” asked the man, looking at the papers he had spread before him, “I’m a little busy.”

     “Give me ten minutes. Come’on Joe, you look about ready for a coffee break anyway.” His eyes shifted to Evie and back to Joe, "It's important."

     Grumbling, the man got up and pushed past them out of the office. He paused for a minute in front of Evie, then looked back at Nelson. “Don’t do anything funny on my desk.”

     “Oh yeah, Joe,” Nelson announced loud enough for anyone within earshot to hear. “I live to do the funky monkey on your desk.”

     "I know you, Nelson." Joe shot back.

     Evie ducked her head and slid pass them into the office. So much for trying to keep a low profile. She systematically went around the room and closed the blinds on the windows that opened onto the newsroom.

     "You're going to give me a reputation." He quipped.

     “Sounds like you and the funky monkey already have one.”

     Nelson grinned, “Okay lady, show me what you got.”

Nelson moved to take the chair behind the desk and Evie closed the door and turned to face him.

     “Okay, Miss....” he left the word hanging in the air, waiting for her to fill in the blank.

     “Just call me...a...Mary.” She paused, “For now.”

     “Mary.” Nelson nodded and looked at the ceiling. “Mary, what a lovely name. Have you had it long?”

     “Can we just get on with it?”

     He took a deep breath and picked up a pencil, “Okay, shoot. What is this big crime you're about to tell me about. And make it quick I haven’t got all day and Joe wants his office back.”

     “Is this computer on line?” she asked pointing to the monitor on the desk.

 Nelson flicked a few buttons, “Yes.”

     "Pull the network line out."

     "Oh, this is ridicules! What could you possibly have that needs all this secrecy?"

     Evie reached behind the machine and yanked out what looked like a cable line. She hoped it was the right one.

     "Hey!" Nelson got to his feet, "If that’s broken…"

     Lifting her shirt, she revealed two computer discs sealed in ziplock bags and taped to her stomach. 

     James Nelson leaned back in his seat, one hand came up to rub his chin thoughtfully.  He watched as she slowly pulled the tape from her skin, wincing as she did so. It had to hurt.

     She handed him the first disc.

     "The Team is a covert organization within our government set up to hunt down terrorism with in the United States and end it any way they can. In the beginning, everything went fine.  Then it got out of hand.  People were murdered for no other reason than they were in the way."

     Nelson stared at the disks.

“Open it, read it and you’ll understand.”

“If this is some kind of joke—“ Nelson took the disk from her and slipped it in to the machine. As the disc opened and began to reveal its secrets Nelson stared, transfixed on the screen. He asked questions and she answered the ones she could. They went through both disks. Nelson had gotten up and locked the door after the first one. She told him the whole story from that morning in the boarding house to the minute she picked up the phone and called him.

“I believe the fact that I have these disks is the only reason Michael might still be alive. And you have to help me save him.”  

 Nelson nodded thoughtfully, taking it all in and trying to piece together her story with what he saw on the discs.

"I also have these but I don't know what they are." Evie handed him the small black squares she had found in the bag. "And there are eight more discs."

Nelson took the small plastic container from her and opened it.

"This is microfilm." He said, almost in awe. "If half of what is on the disks, is on the film, we have an incredible story here."

"Everything we do have to be done to free Michael. I want these to be a bargaining chip to force them to release him."

"Are you sure he’s alive?"

Evie felt the tears prickle behind her eyes, "I-I think so. Please help me."

"Okay, Mary." Nelson said getting to his feet. "I have to talk to my Editor. We have to decide when we're going to break this story."

     Nelson's editor, George Webber, was an older man who wore his steel, grey hair in a crew cut. His gold wire frame glasses gave him a grandfatherly look. After hearing the basics, he acknowledged they had a heck of a story on their hands. He also knew a lot of people in the news industry to make sure everything were done right.

     They stayed locked in that room all day and late into the night.  Opening the door only to tell Joe he couldn’t have his office back and to send out for food.

“Remember, we have to get Michael back alive.” Evie repeated. “You get him out and I give you the other disks.”

James looked at her, “You do know that’s a long shot. He might already be—“

“No Michael, no disks.”

James and George exchanged glances.

“Okay,” George finally agreed. “We can offer an exchange. The disks for your boyfriend.”