the San
Marcos facility acquired by Smithfield.”
John interrupted. “Smithfield
being the holding company that also acquired Tilbury?”
“Yes,” answered Frank. “Robbie
asked my friend Evan Bozak to check purchasing records, and everything destined
for that location was bypassing the regular purchasing process on a special
shortcut directly to top management. Robbie found something else, or else
Hozie gave it to him. It was a document that he felt would expose something
serious. Robbie decided to contact the FBI and died shortly after that, while Bozak
disappeared before Robbie’s death. By the way, I’m very sorry. I know you
were at the scene.”
John frowned and gave his head a
quick shake to indicate he’d rather not rehash Robbie’s death. “Did that
document ever turn up?”
“No,” replied Frank. “Not in his
office or anywhere I could think to look.”
“They tore up the camp looking for
something,” added John. “At least now I know why. What do you know about Bozak’s
disappearance?”
“Nothing, really. His wife filed a
missing persons report and it was totally out of character for him to go
anywhere without telling her. I’m assuming the worst.”
“Robbie mentioned something about
that. I’m sorry about Bozak.”
“There’s something else I have to
tell you,” said Frank, almost interrupting John lest he say anything else. “I
had precious few visitors stopping by at the office to express their
condolences over Robbie’s passing. Only the old timers knew we were close.
But earlier on the day I first called you, one of the new Smithfield guys who
had only been around since the merger came by asking what I knew about Robbie.
I told him I was an old friend from way back, and that we hadn’t spoken for
some time. I didn’t want to say more, thinking he was digging for
information. But he wasn’t digging, he was giving. He said that Bozak had
discovered an arms smuggling operation that in his words had ‘geopolitical
significance.’”
“That sounds like nukes.”
“I’ve thought of that,” replied
Frank. “But neither Evan nor I knew what to do with the information. Robbie
went to the FBI and now he’s dead. This Smithfield guy says he has documents
to prove it. He may have found Hozie’s folder of papers. But he was worried
about being linked to any information leaks, so he asked me if I thought there
was a way to get the papers to someone who could use them properly. Robbie
himself was going to come to Chicago to get them, so they’re probably
important.”
“And you think I can find a way to
blow the lid off an arms smuggling operation when going to the FBI gets you
killed?”
“Robbie thought you could. I’m
sorry if I was mistaken, and I’ll understand if you don’t want to get
involved.”
“Robbie always thought I could do
stuff like that, but I couldn’t even get the SEC to do their job when I worked
there. How do you expect me to pull off something like this?”
“Robbie believed in you, John. If
we don’t try, none of us is safe. Have you heard about the plane crash?”
“Yeah, management from Tilbury was
wiped out. You think that was suspicious, too?”
“Wouldn’t you?” asked Frank.
“Point made. When do I meet this
guy?” asked John, still unsure why he was here or what he would do with any
information he found.
“This afternoon at 4 pm, in the
Hancock building.”
“And where will you be during this
meeting?” asked John, slightly suspicious of Frank.
“I’m not going to be there. He
insisted on that,” replied Frank.
“Well that’s nice,” said John with
evident sarcasm. “Doesn’t this sound like a trap to you?”
“I’ve thought about that and it
might be a trap. I’m not asking you to give your life for nothing. I’ll
gladly give you my gun to take with you, if that helps.”
“That does help,” conceded
John, now calmer than
Marcos facility acquired by Smithfield.”
John interrupted. “Smithfield
being the holding company that also acquired Tilbury?”
“Yes,” answered Frank. “Robbie
asked my friend Evan Bozak to check purchasing records, and everything destined
for that location was bypassing the regular purchasing process on a special
shortcut directly to top management. Robbie found something else, or else
Hozie gave it to him. It was a document that he felt would expose something
serious. Robbie decided to contact the FBI and died shortly after that, while Bozak
disappeared before Robbie’s death. By the way, I’m very sorry. I know you
were at the scene.”
John frowned and gave his head a
quick shake to indicate he’d rather not rehash Robbie’s death. “Did that
document ever turn up?”
“No,” replied Frank. “Not in his
office or anywhere I could think to look.”
“They tore up the camp looking for
something,” added John. “At least now I know why. What do you know about Bozak’s
disappearance?”
“Nothing, really. His wife filed a
missing persons report and it was totally out of character for him to go
anywhere without telling her. I’m assuming the worst.”
“Robbie mentioned something about
that. I’m sorry about Bozak.”
“There’s something else I have to
tell you,” said Frank, almost interrupting John lest he say anything else. “I
had precious few visitors stopping by at the office to express their
condolences over Robbie’s passing. Only the old timers knew we were close.
But earlier on the day I first called you, one of the new Smithfield guys who
had only been around since the merger came by asking what I knew about Robbie.
I told him I was an old friend from way back, and that we hadn’t spoken for
some time. I didn’t want to say more, thinking he was digging for
information. But he wasn’t digging, he was giving. He said that Bozak had
discovered an arms smuggling operation that in his words had ‘geopolitical
significance.’”
“That sounds like nukes.”
“I’ve thought of that,” replied
Frank. “But neither Evan nor I knew what to do with the information. Robbie
went to the FBI and now he’s dead. This Smithfield guy says he has documents
to prove it. He may have found Hozie’s folder of papers. But he was worried
about being linked to any information leaks, so he asked me if I thought there
was a way to get the papers to someone who could use them properly. Robbie
himself was going to come to Chicago to get them, so they’re probably
important.”
“And you think I can find a way to
blow the lid off an arms smuggling operation when going to the FBI gets you
killed?”
“Robbie thought you could. I’m
sorry if I was mistaken, and I’ll understand if you don’t want to get
involved.”
“Robbie always thought I could do
stuff like that, but I couldn’t even get the SEC to do their job when I worked
there. How do you expect me to pull off something like this?”
“Robbie believed in you, John. If
we don’t try, none of us is safe. Have you heard about the plane crash?”
“Yeah, management from Tilbury was
wiped out. You think that was suspicious, too?”
“Wouldn’t you?” asked Frank.
“Point made. When do I meet this
guy?” asked John, still unsure why he was here or what he would do with any
information he found.
“This afternoon at 4 pm, in the
Hancock building.”
“And where will you be during this
meeting?” asked John, slightly suspicious of Frank.
“I’m not going to be there. He
insisted on that,” replied Frank.
“Well that’s nice,” said John with
evident sarcasm. “Doesn’t this sound like a trap to you?”
“I’ve thought about that and it
might be a trap. I’m not asking you to give your life for nothing. I’ll
gladly give you my gun to take with you, if that helps.”
“That does help,” conceded
John, now calmer than
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