Day 86 - Darwin's Game - Chapter 35 (3055 words)

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DARWIN'S GAME

By Wayne Webb

CHAPTER 35

As Agent Levy was getting the news that he was narrowing down the search area for the Darwin Town complex, Jacob Edgerton was touching down at Leonardo Da Vinci International Airport just outside of Rome, Italy. Blake and he had agreed that the obvious choice would be to check out the local site in Montana first, and that would be exactly what Darwin would expect of the FBI as well. After all they did not have international jurisdiction to investigate beyond their borders, there was no specific suspect and it was getting harder and harder to nominate a crime, that they had any evidence of, that had been committed. So instead of taking the route that everyone else would be taking they both agreed that Edgerton should get on the next flight to Rome, and after a quick conversation with their private security contacts they sorted out a false identity for Jacob to fly under and to not trigger any alerts with the NSA or FBI on his movements. Just because it was Blake who was staying public did not mean that Jacob was not being watched carefully, and with his dropping off the radar as often as he had been since the brief kidnapping, they were under no illusion that the FBI were flagging them as persons of interest.

The flight from San Francisco to Rome took a day or two organise, the time it took to get the information about a number of companies and invoiced orders through back channels to Agent Levy at the FBI and then by the time he got on the plane Levy was already rounding up agents from the Salt Lake Field Office. The flight itself was thirteen hours and though Jacob had booked in under an assumed name and had taken the economy option he was bumped up to Business Class when he checked in. They gave no explanation other than he was to get upgraded, and that it had been 'arranged' and all taken care of. Jacob didn't argue and just accepted it as turning it down would probably cause more fuss than taking the free and much easier option away. After all it was a thirteen hour flight and other than a chance to catch up on some reading and maybe a movie or two, sleep seemed like the best choice, so he may as well have the extra comfort. He was unsure if it were the security liaison or if it were Blake who sorted it out, but he'd have to thank them when he got in to Rome, rested and ready to chase out to Tuscany.

The flight gave Jacob a chance to look over the episodes again, he reviewed each one with a critical eye and made copious notes of questions he had if he ever caught up with Darwin. Then he got some sleep, he took a pill and put the mask over his eyes and got several hours uninterrupted sleep, he woke about 2 hours away from Rome and felt more refreshed than he had in weeks. The enclosed and safe chamber of the plane meant he could actually relax for once. The constant chasing, the feeling that while he was pushing forward and trailing Darwin, that he too was being watched like some metaphoric Ouroborous. While here he was safe enough and could actually settle down without looking over his shoulder, it was conceivable that he was being watched on the plane of course, but they and he would not be able to go anywhere so it was a zero sum while in flight at least. He found that thought comforting and so he slept the sleep of the unanxious, the unsuspecting and for once could allow himself to truly let go.

The plane landed and in a short time he was through customs and security to wait for his bag in the terminal. He called Blake from the baggage carousel and as he was waiting for the luggage to spin around to him he could see across the concourse to the exit area and as the doors opened he caught a glimpse of his name on a card, a car was waiting for him, they really had thought of everything.

“Hi, how was the flight?” Blake's voice came down the line thin and reedy as the cell reception was not great inside the airport.

“Great, I got some sleep actually, first real rest I have had in weeks, I feel really good after that. Thanks very much”

“Okay then?” Blake sounded confused by the thanks but carried on, “Good, good now I have organised a car for you at...”

“Yeah, yeah I can see it now, oh wait a second, this is my bag” Jacob tucked the phone under one arm and picked up the bag and headed to the screening area his passport in one hand and the phone in the other. “Look I've got to call you back, got to clear though the bag check and then I'll call you from the car yeah?”

Jacob hung up and got into line with the other passengers from his flight, waiting patiently to be called forwards. His phone buzzed impatiently in his hand and he stared at the name on it in disbelief as he swiped it to answer impatiently.

“What? I told you I have to clear through...”

Blake cut him off equally terse. “Shut up and listen! Now what did you mean when you can see the car? You should not be seeing a car from where you are.”

“Well duh, I don't mean I can see the car, I mean I can see the driver with the card, he's just beyond the doors, it's like thirty feet away, now I have to go.”

“Wait! For fucks sake there is no driver!” Blake was screaming down the phone at him

“Uh what do you mean?”

“I mean I hired a car, for YOU to drive, it's waiting under the new name for you at the desk of the agency.”

“Sir? Can you please turn off your phone and step this way?” A uniformed man with an obviously holstered weapon on display was standing in front of Jacob and gesturing where he should go, his other hand out for the phone.

“Look I gotta go, call you back soon.” He closed the phone with a weak smile and handed it to the man, following him to a small room where he was personally searched and his bags opened. He was gone for maybe thirty minutes as they took a personal interest in the man that was holding up the queue and gumming up their system, but then every time someone new came into the room it was just a delay and no real threat to his coming into the country. Jacob made a mental note to try and not stand out so much. In the meantime he was cleared to go and the passengers from his flight had cleared the area and the walkway was empty except for himself.

As he approached the doors he could see that the man who had been waiting for him was no longer there, and he quickly stepped through the archway and out to slip away in case he was still hanging around just out of sight. He checked a number of different exits and took the one furthest from the international arrivals and ignored the car agencies altogether and caught a train, looking behind himself the whole way to check for the man with the sign that had been waiting for him

Once the carriage was on the way he moved through the cars and sat two cabins away from where he had got on the train and put a hat on from his bag, pulling it down as much as he could for the half hour ride to Rome Termini. The insanity of Termini at that time of day was a blessing and Jacob scurried into the thickest part of the crowd and out the nearest entrance when he was sure he was not being followed. Crossing the road turned out to be a dangerous prospect and he narrowly avoided being hit by a scooter and a Taxi both going in opposite directions on what he thought may have been the same side of the street.

Via Marghera loomed in front of him and the narrow space between the blocks was lined with bikes, vespas and tiny cars, making driving down it impossible. The road was a sequence of hotels, and one after the other all in competition for travellers spilling out of the Termini so he picked one at random and booked a room under a completely made up name. They asked for a Passport as he was obviously American and he balked, and looked out the door. The younger man who was behind the desk held up his hands in apology and motioned for him to sign the register and ignored the passport request as if he had never made it. There was an extra fee on the schedule of charges he was showing him and it came with a smile and a shrug, Jacob accepted it and went to his room immediately via the stairs.

He set his bag down and opened the window, looking out to a derelict courtyard between high buildings of apartments or cheaper hotels on the next block down, it was hard to say as it looked like they may have been peoples homes with laundry hanging out on makeshift lines with people who looked like locals leaning out of windows, smoking freely.

He did not unpack his bag, instead he plugged in his phone to charge and waited a hour nervously before having the requisite battery strength to call Blake and run if need be, without losing the connection of a live phone.

“What the fuck man? Where are you? What the hell is going on?” Blake was full of questions and Jacob could hear the slam of a door, probably his office or apartment as he shut himself away from whomever was nearby, assumably a bodyguard from Dragon Ridge.

“I'm in... I'm in a hotel in … well I'm here in Rome anyway, I don't want to say where in case, you know?”

“Good! Don't tell me where you are, what the hell happened to you?” Blake was concerned but he sounded more angry, that was his style though and Edgerton was feeling better already just hearing the overly grumpy tones of his business partner bringing him down to earth from all the cloak and dagger paranoia at the airport.

“There was a man with a card with my name on it waiting at the arrivals lounge. Not my name but you know, John Dunstan the name that we chose for travelling under. Only you and me and the Dragon Ridge guy knew about the name right?”

“Well yeah and the travel agent, the rental agency, a couple of people in the office and whoever Pete got to make you an 'identity', that's a small list of people, but someone or something is leaking information.” Blake looked about the office where he was taking the call and wondered if they were right to say less on the phone and maybe they should have said less in the office before Jacob left for his flight. “I don't know how they, or he got that information but it's obvious that he's well connected and watching us pretty closely.”

“I think maybe I should just introduce myself next time I see the guy or if I find someone waiting for me.” Jacob was musing the impossible task of avoiding detection, it felt like a mammoth effort.

“Why?”

“Because if Darwin wanted me dead, he could have done it in San Francisco, and if he knows I am here in Rome, then he knows that I know where to go, and now he'll be waiting, or someone will be waiting so why not just accept it and see what he has in store?” Saying out loud came with a huge sigh, all the tension that that leached out of him on the flight was back and twice as bad as before he left for Rome.

“Well you COULD do that, or you could just harden the fuck up and get on with it!” Blake was concerned and worried that the giving up would lead to worse behaviour, but this was the only way he knew how to deal with Jacob or any of the other people he worked with, confrontationally.

They spoke for a little longer and Jacob made a decision to stay the night where he was, take in a meal and a drink in a local bar to try and get a day and night between him and the James Bond rigmarole he had put himself through. For now at least he was Guido Beltrami, a name he had pulled out of a travel guide, he was a local booking agent and Jacob had kindly borrowed the name for the hotel check in with the less than questioning hotel clerk.

When he came down later the clerk gave him some hints on where to find good food and some decent local beer, he talked Jacob out of looking for American beers with a cheeky grin and a “When in Rome!” that made them both laugh as Jacob/Guido set out into the evening.

The place he had chosen had an indoor and outdoor seating on offer and he took a table just inside the walls that had easy access for a quick getaway and a view to the road outside where he could see people coming and going. The food was basic but elegant in it's simplicity and warmed him as he followed up the cold beer with a meal and a coffee to top it off. He had had good coffee before, it was not unheard of in San Francisco, but a real espresso in Rome was a thousand miles away from the twenty ounce franchise coffees he had grown used to when sending interns out for drinks to bring back.

The next day he was rising and planning his day, looking for a car agency that was a little more relaxed with documentation requests, the hotel clerk made some suggestions that led him to hiring a car from a mechanic for much more than he should have paid, but it was a cash deal and the car could be dropped off with the mechanics cousin in Florence where Jacob was headed.

At the same time that Edgerton was braving the roads out of Rome and heading north he was getting updates from Blake about the raid on the Montana complex, it was coming in dribs and drabs as the various sources gave him information until finally Blake called Jacob just outside of Florence and conferenced in Agent Levy for a three way call.

“Thanks for the tip guys, I'm sure you have heard by now that we found nothing?”

“What are you talking about Agent Levy?” Edgerton asked innocently.

“We can dispense with the back and forth gentlemen, I know it came from you two, let's just move on. Thanks for lining me up with it, not sure we would have got to it even eventually without it being... highlighted. But I know that there must be another site, and I can tell you are on the road somewhere Mr Edgerton, is it to the second complex by any chance?”

“No idea what you are talking about Agent Levy, and even if we did know, it's not like we'd share the information that freely with you now would we?” Blake was being the harsher of the two and his tone was final, he did not want to admit anything.

“Like I said, let's leave that out, but you can't go to the site without back up, these are serious guys and you can't handle them, not on your own, not even with the Ridge boys backing you, this is a job for the FBI, gentlemen. I'm not interested in you or you company I just want to get this guy, and keep everyone I can alive.” Levy was having the call traced while talking to them.

“IF we were looking for Darwin, which I won't say we are, I don't think the FBI will be of any help.”

“Look don't take that kind of attitude with me, if I have to play hard ball with you guys you are not going to like it one iota you hear me? I've been trying to do this the nice way and bring you guys in the easy route, after all you helped me – I can help you, but you don't want to try and cut me out, cut the US Government, your Government out of the deal, we don't negotiate – we do our...” The conversation paused for a moment and a muffled Agent Levy could be heard talking to someone before a little louder he said “He's where?”, the the muffling went away and a clear line was back before Agent Levy asked in a blunt tone. “Where the hell are you Edgerton?”

Blake answered before Jacob could say anything. “Out of your jurisdiction.”

The conversation ended on less than amicable words from Agent Levy and Jacob continued into Florence, again finding a hotel but feeling a little freer to book in under his new identity and risk being detected by whomever he was here to find.

A little after midday he was standing in the Piazza de Santa Croce, wandering back through Florence seeing the sights near his hotel waiting for the call or email that he knew would be coming soon. The next instalment had arrived in a box that was left for them by a bike messenger. Blake assumed that the pick and drop off would be dead ends, but none the less he sent those details to Agent Levy with the video and gave him a fifteen minute head start, as a peace offering, before they uploaded the video publicly.