Dark Weapon Book One: Time of Bombing

Chapter 8

“Captain, these are the files you requested,” Stephany said, walking into Adan’s office.

“Thanks,” Adan said.

“What are you working on, sir?” Stephany asked, glancing at his laptop.

“Just something I’m digging into,” Adan replied, not looking up.

“Wait — why are you going through the gas explosion from three years ago, in Danima?” Stephany asked.

“You know about that?” Adan asked, surprised.

He’d assumed only a handful of people knew about the incident, especially given how thoroughly Swart and Phillips had buried it. No one ever talked about it, and he himself hadn’t heard a word about it until recently — even though he’d been a CIA trainee at the time it happened. It was almost as if the whole country had spoken of it for one day, then forgotten it existed.

“Yeah. I lost my cousin Daniel in it. Remember?” Stephany said.

“Right, right. Was he there too?”

“He was. It always struck me as suspicious — 355 people wiped out at once, without a trace,” Stephany said.

“I’ve got a few questions about it,” Adan said.

“Sure thing, sir. Ask away — my aunt’s dying to know what really happened too. She’s just too scared to bring it up,” Stephany said, taking a seat.

“So this cousin of yours — Daniel. He enrolled in the Defense Academy, went through training, and within months the explosion happened and he died?”

“Yeah. And here’s the strange part — only four burnt bodies were found in his dorm room, when there should’ve been five,” Stephany said.

“Five, you’re sure?”

“Positive. He used to call and tell me all about life at the training center.”

“What about the identities of the four bodies that were found? Was there a DNA test? An autopsy?”

“Neither. The Academy buried them fast, before word could even reach the families.”

“The burial site — do you know where it is?” Adan asked.

“Whose, sir?”

“The trainees from the explosion.”

“I could find out.”

“Thank you, Stephany,” Adan said, smiling.

“Anytime, sir. Ask me anything,” Stephany said as Adan grabbed his car keys.

“Heading out, sir?”

“Yeah. I need to question Swart. And when I get back, we’re going to the burial site,” Adan said.

“Yes, sir. I’ll have everything ready,” Stephany said, following him out.

Adan had new information now, and he was itching to put it to Swart. What he couldn’t figure out was how the families of the deceased had identified their children well enough to bury them, if the bodies were burned beyond recognition and the IDs destroyed. That kind of cover-up needed someone on the inside.

He walked straight into Swart’s office without knocking — Swart was a criminal, and soon he’d be able to prove it.

“Minister,” Adan said.

“Ah, Adan Robertson. You’re becoming a regular,” Swart said, not looking up from the files he was signing.

“Didn’t I tell you we’d be seeing plenty of each other while I investigate Phillips’ death?” Adan said, sitting down without waiting to be asked.

“I’m rather busy right now, Robertson. Perhaps you could come back later?”

“I’m not leaving until I get what I came for.”

“You’ve grown considerably ruder since the last time I saw you.”

“Good to know,” Adan said.

“What is it now?” Swart asked, his patience thinning. If there was one thing he hated, it was being interrupted at work.

“Why were you involved in the deaths of those trainees? Was it to secure the position you hold now?”

“We’re back to this?” Swart said, removing his glasses.

“We are.”

“I wasn’t involved.”

“Funny — I hear you were in the room when the bombing of the training center was discussed. Phillips was there too. And right after that conversation, with someone we still haven’t identified, the two of you left the training center.”

Adan paused.

“Should I tell you what happened next? The so-called gas explosion?”

“Who told you that?” Swart asked.

“Come on. You’re a public official — you know I can’t give up an informant.”

“I’m going to find out exactly what happened three years ago,” Adan said, standing and heading for the door.

“Why does this case matter so much to you? Is it about Phillips?”

“That son of a bitch? No. It’s about someone else.”

“Who?”

“None of your business, Minister,” Adan said, and walked out.

“God, he ruins my whole day every time he brings up that three-years-ago nonsense,” Swart muttered, dropping his head into his hands.

Adan headed for the parking lot, dialing Stephany on the way. He’d gone through more of the audio and video files Phillips had kept, catching fragments of the conversation that preceded the bombing.

He hadn’t actually made out what was said in that meeting — his accusation to Swart had been a calculated guess. But Swart hadn’t pushed back, which meant the guess had landed.

It was a bombing. Not a gas explosion.

“Stephany, is everything set?” he asked.

“Yes, sir. Sending the address now.”

“Good,” Adan said, ending the call and climbing into his car.

The moment he sat down, he noticed someone in the car across from him, staring hard. Dark sunglasses hid the face.

Then it clicked.

Nada.

She peeled off the moment he recognized her, clearly hoping he’d follow. He did — like a cat after a mouse.

“Come on, Adan, you need driving lessons,” Nada said, weaving through traffic.

“What the hell!” Adan shouted, narrowly missing another car as he tried to keep pace.

“You want a real chase? I’ll give you one,” he muttered, pressing the gas.

He was so locked into the race that he didn’t notice they’d left the road entirely and were deep in the woods until Nada finally stopped, pulled on her mask, and stepped out of her car.

“Hey there,” she said, waving.

Adan climbed out and looked around, suddenly aware of exactly how alone they were.

“Been a while, hasn’t it, sugar?” Nada said as his eyes swept the trees.

“Relax. I just wanted somewhere quiet — figured you wouldn’t want to be screaming ‘Hold her, she’s Phillips’ killer!’ in the middle of town.”

“So you know what you did was wrong,” Adan said.

“It wasn’t wrong,” Nada said. “I’m just not finished yet, so I’m being careful.”

“Is that why the mask? The sunglasses, whenever you’re near me?”

“Careful, you’ll make yourself sound special,” Nada said. “But sure — since you already know who I am and who I’ve killed, the least I can do is hide my face.”

“Why did you bring me out here?”

Nada laughed.

“I didn’t bring you anywhere, love. You came here all on your own.”

“What are you talking about? You were parked there, you drove off, and I—” Adan stopped short, realizing exactly what he’d done.

“Sorry, didn’t catch that. You what?” Nada asked.

“I followed you,” Adan admitted, feeling foolish.

“God, you’re adorable, Adan. You chased me out here and didn’t even realize it.”

A message buzzed on Adan’s phone, and by the time he looked down and back up, Nada was already peeling out.

It was Stephany — the address for the burial ground.

“Damn it — where’d she go?” Adan muttered, then dialed. “Stephany, I’m heading over now. Get the excavators ready. Now.”

“Already done, sir.”

“Good. On my way,” Adan said, and started the car.

The grave site turned out to be an entire field of tombstones, the excavation crew already standing by. He was one step closer to the truth of three years ago.

“Everyone ready?” Adan asked, climbing out of his car.

“Yes, sir.”

“Then let’s get to work.”

Three exhausting hours later, every grave had been opened.

“All done, sir,” Stephany reported.

“Good. Call forensics — get the bodies examined.”

“Sir — a contractor found something. You’ll want to see this.”

“What’s wrong?” Adan asked, walking over.

“Six empty caskets.”

Adan checked for himself. They were, indeed, empty.

“Whose names are on them?”

“Dana, Cathy, Jasmine, Izzy, Chelsea,” someone read off, checking each casket. “And this one says Daniel.”

“Daniel?” Stephany asked, grabbing the man’s arm.

“Yeah. Something wrong?”

“Sir — remember I told you my cousin Daniel was one of the trainees?” Stephany said to Adan.

“I remember,” Adan said, listening closely now.

“I also told you only four bodies were found in his room instead of five. If there’s no body here, then nothing was ever buried.”

“That checks out,” Adan said, crouching to examine the empty caskets.

“Which means Nada was wrong,” he added.

“Who’s Nada, sir?”

“Someone I know.”

“We should figure out why the other six are empty, and why five of the names are girls,” Stephany said.

“These remains,” the forensic lead said, joining them, “don’t look like a gas explosion did this.”

“What did, then?” Adan asked.

“A bomb. Nothing about this says gas explosion.”

“They were murdered,” Adan said, and a ripple of shock went through the group.

“We should get back and tell everyone the truth,” Stephany said.

“Don’t be an idiot,” Adan said. “Tell everyone, and then what? We need to find whoever planned this — quietly.”

“I know who did it,” Jonah said.

“Who?” Adan asked.

“One of their own.”

“Meaning?”

“Daniel was from Horki. But the five others missing? They’re not,” Jonah said.

“The girls, you mean,” Adan said.

“They’re not from Horki at all. Somewhere else entirely.”

“How would you know that?” Stephany asked.

“Their names, and the pattern in how their bodies went missing — it’s obvious they were a unit,” Jonah said. “Either their country came for them, or they got out on their own. Which seems impossible, given how far they were from home.”

“Shut up, Jonah,” Lankan snapped. “You’re just running your mouth. You think anyone here has time for your theories?”

“Sorry, sir. Just trying to ease the tension,” Jonah said.

“Ease it? Sounds more like you’re winding it up,” Lankan shot back.

“I said I was sorry.”

“Leave him be, Lankan,” Adan said. “He’s onto something. An empty casket means they didn’t die — six of them, five girls and one boy. Six, same as the number that hit Phillips. Well, five now, since we know Nada’s one of them.

“It’s possible whoever should be in these caskets is exactly who survived. The real question is how.”

Adan and the rest of the team headed back to the office with that question hanging over them.

He wondered again if their country had gotten them out — but that didn’t add up either, since it would mean they’d left the training center a day before the bombing, and the records showed no trainee ever left.

All he had were names, nothing more. A dead end.

He walked into his office and found Swart already sitting at his desk.

“I hear you went sightseeing at the grave site,” Swart said, flipping through files on Adan’s desk.

“Give me that,” Adan snapped, snatching the file back. “What are you doing in my office?”

“Your office?” Swart said. “If you want to keep calling it that, I’d tread carefully.”

“Is that a threat?”

“A warning. And the truth.”

“Do you realize what you’ve done, exhuming the dead after three years? Disrespecting them like that?” Swart asked.

“That’s exactly what I want to ask you. Why wasn’t an autopsy ever done? Why did everyone agree it was a gas explosion when you knew it wasn’t?”

“The higher-ups never bothered to check. Why would I, some ordinary Commander, order an autopsy on my own?”

“I just saved your ass by not going to the press or the President about what I found. Do you have any idea how those families would feel, learning the truth now? Do you want to reopen that wound? Watch yourself, Adan Robertson.”

“And another thing — the way you kept those files was appalling. Anyone could have walked off with them.”

“Why? Worried your involvement’s going to get out and cost you your seat?” Adan asked.

“I could sue you for slander.”

“I’ll see you in court, then,” Adan said, walking fully into his office. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”

“Instead of throwing accusations at me, why don’t you ask your father whether he was involved in that little crime you keep obsessing over?” Swart said.

“My father is nothing like the snake you are,” Adan said through clenched teeth.

“We’ll see about that,” Swart said, and walked out.

“Damn it!” Adan swept the files off his desk.

“Sir, you okay?” Stephany asked.

“Get out!”

The whole case had become a headache, and now Swart had planted a seed of doubt about his own father.

No. There’s no way my father was involved, he told himself, grabbing his jacket and walking out.

“Sir, are you leaving?” Stephany asked, worried his captain was cracking under the weight of everything — three years of burned, decayed bodies would mess with anyone’s head.

“Yeah. I need a break. Even a short one,” Adan said, and left.

“Sir, your son’s here to see you,” Sonia said, stepping into Robertson’s living room.

“Send him in,” Robertson said.

“Yes, sir.”

“Good to see you, son. It’s been a while since you visited your old man,” Robertson said when Adan walked in.

“Father.”

“As I suspected,” George said. “You’re here for work, not to see me.”

“I came to ask about a case I’m working.”

“If there’s anything I can do, I will.”

“Were you involved in the so-called gas explosion at the Danima military training center — the one that killed 355 trainees?”

350, not 355, Adan corrected himself silently. Probably 349, since Daniel’s body’s missing too.

“Straight to the point, huh?” George said. “My turn — are you accusing me, or asking me?”

“I don’t know. You tell me, Father.”

“Ask yourself instead. Is the man you know as your father the kind who’d spill blood like that?”

“That’s not the man I call Father,” Adan said.

“Then you already have your answer.”

“Fine. I’ll hold you to that,” Adan said. “But if I find out you were involved, I’ll go by the law — father or not.”

“Stay for lunch, son. You’ve lost weight.”

“No, Father. Work to do,” Adan said, and walked out.

George turned to the window.

I knew 1954 would come back around eventually.

Swart got a call from the hospital — Hannah had been in an accident.

His first thought was the Five, targeting his family the same way they had Phillips’. He didn’t know who to turn to, since the CIA seemed to think he deserved whatever was coming, just as Phillips had.

He rushed to the hospital, relieved to find it nowhere near as bloody as Phillips’ house had been.

Hannah was sitting up in bed when he reached her room.

“Are you okay? They told me you had an accident,” he said, taking her hand.

“I’m fine. Nearly slipped in the bathroom, but a nurse caught me just in time. Could’ve been bad.”

He let out a breath. Just a bathroom accident — nothing more.

“Who’s this nurse? I’d like to thank her properly,” Swart said, glancing around.

“No need. She’s already gone.”

“Can you describe her? I can ask around.”

“She was wearing a mask — I think she’d just come out of surgery.”

“A mask? What do you mean?”

“Don’t you dare start accusing some innocent nurse,” Hannah said, smiling. She knew exactly what he was thinking — that this woman might be connected to Phillips’ killers.

“She was coming out of an operating room, that’s all.”

“Fine. Anything suspicious about anyone here, tell me right away.”

“Yes, my sweet, worried, overprotective daisy of a husband,” Hannah teased.

“Not the daisies again.”

“Seriously, though — aren’t you overthinking this whole Phillips thing? We were just in the wrong place at the wrong time. Don’t wear yourself out — the kids can’t handle both their parents in the hospital at once.”

“That reminds me,” Swart said. “A date’s been set for Phillips’ burial.”

“Good. I’ll be there to pay my respects.”

“I was just telling you, not asking.”

“I want to be there. Elisa was my best friend. Can you imagine what she’d think, watching from wherever she is, if I didn’t show?”

“Fine. Suit yourself,” Swart said, standing to leave.

“You’re leaving already? You just got here.”

“I’ve got a meeting,” he said, and walked out.

Is he angry with me?

“Man… what a day,” Macleod said, dropping onto the cushions in his living room.

“Why are there never any girls around your place, Macleod?” Gerald asked, grabbing a beer from the fridge.

“Just—” Macleod started.

“Just what?” Hillary asked.

“Not interested.”

“You need to find a girlfriend before you end up dying alone,” Gerald said, taking a sip.

“I’ve got bigger things on my mind. My mom’s in the hospital, my dad’s running himself ragged over Phillips’ death — you think I’ve got time to date?”

“Suit yourself, man,” Gerald said, frowning slightly. He couldn’t see how any of that would keep someone from dating — he figured Macleod was just being lazy about it.

Or maybe he wasn’t into girls at all.

Macleod wandered into his room and picked up a photo of his family.

He was going to have to go back to Horki, a place he hated.

He groaned and started packing. Phillips’ burial waited for no one.

The mysterious nurse who’d caught Hannah before she cracked her skull was, of course, Nada.

Getting close to the Swarts was going to be harder than it had been with the Phillipses — their family life was kept far more private.

Her plan was simple: slip into their lives as a friend, take what she needed, then leave the bodies for the vultures.

From what the Five had gathered, Swart’s children didn’t live in Horki, and their names had never gone public.

She wanted the whole family — not just the husband and wife.

“Hello, ma’am. How are you feeling?” she asked, walking into Hannah’s room.

“Oh — it’s you, nurse.”

“Doing well, I hope?”

“Fine, thank you.”

“May I ask your name?” Hannah said.

“Nurse Meredith.”

“Well, Meredith, my husband wanted to meet you, but you’d already left.”

“That’s a shame. I’d have loved to see him too — it’s been a while.”

“A while? You know him?” Hannah asked.

“I’ve seen him on television, but that was ages ago,” Meredith answered.

“How nice,” Hannah said, smiling.

“Anything I can do for you?”

“If you don’t mind — could you help adjust my bed?”

“Of course.” Meredith moved to help her, slipping a listening device under the frame as she worked.

“Thank you, dear. I don’t know what I’d do without you.”

“Your children could help with that.”

“Or don’t you have any? Sorry if that’s forward.”

“No, I do. Two, actually. My daughter’s still in school, and my son runs a company — but he’d rather hang around with his friends than come home.”

“What are their names?”

“Daisy and Macleod.”

“You really must love daisies — you’ve got quite a few in here.”

“I do,” Hannah laughed.

Nada, Swart’s on his way. You need to go, Fae’s voice came through her earpiece.

“I should head out, ma’am. My supervisor’s probably looking for me.”

“Come back tomorrow?”

“I’ll always come back to you,” Meredith said, and walked out.

Just as she left, Swart walked in with a bouquet of flowers.

“Well, look who’s here. I thought you were mad at me for not answering your calls,” Hannah said.

“You’ve clearly got too much time on your hands if you’re thinking things like that.”

“I’ve had my phone the whole time — and Meredith was here again.”

“Who’s Meredith?”

“The nurse. The one who helped me yesterday. She just left, right before you walked in.”

“The girl in the mask?” Swart asked.

“You saw her?”

“I did,” Swart said, glancing toward the door.

“Heard from Macleod?” Hannah asked, sniffing the flowers.

“He’s coming in for Phillips’ burial.”

“When is it?”

“Day after tomorrow. You’ll be discharged tomorrow.”

“Tell Daisy not to bother coming here — have her go straight to the house instead.”

“I’ll do that,” Swart said, pulling out his phone.

Daisy didn’t answer.

“Just text her. 54 Yield Street, Danima.”

“I hear you’re getting discharged today,” Meredith said, walking in to find Hannah packing.

“News travels fast around here.”

“Why do you always wear the mask? I’d love to see your face.”

“Actually, I’m not a nurse — just an intern. We don’t show our faces to patients we’re not assigned to.”

It was a flimsy excuse, but Hannah bought it without hesitation. She knew nothing about hospital procedure, after all.

“Well, thank you regardless. This place would’ve been unbearably dull without you.”

“Trust me, ma’am — knowing me guarantees your life stays interesting.”

“You say the strangest things,” Hannah said, still packing.

“Anything I can help with?”

“You’re a dear. Could you grab my phone? It’s in the bathroom.”

“Sure.” Meredith stepped in, pulled off her mask, and copied every contact from Hannah’s phone before swapping the SIM for a bugged one.

“Here you go, ma’am.”

“Thank you, dear.”

“I should go. Goodbye, ma’am,” Meredith said, and walked off without looking back.