Galilee Rising(60)

Over the commotion in the background, he says, "Captain O'Hara."

"It's Jo."

"Hold on a second." I can hear him walking to shut the door. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, but I need a favor. Have you processed the prints from the hospital bomb yet?"

"Just about to. Why?"

"You're going to find the one from the hospital has prints all over it. I need you to…lose that report."

"What? Why?"

"The prints on it don't belong to any of the perps, they'll belong to the person who defused the bomb. And his life will be ruined if word gets out he's in anyway associated with this. You know I wouldn't ask if it wasn't absolutely necessary."

The other end is quiet for a few seconds. "If you're withholding evidence, Jo--" he warns.

"I'm not," I lie. "Look, I know it's a lot to ask, but I swear on Justin's grave the man whose fingerprints on that bomb had nothing to do with this. Not directly, anyway. I saw him handle the bomb, and we are damn lucky he did. I can't get more specific than that. I know I have no right to ask, but I am. I am asking you to trust me. Please."

More silence, more tense fucking long horrible silence, then, "You have been working with them, haven't you? I knew it! Jo, what the hell are you thinking? After everything--" I think he moves the phone away in an attempt to regain his composure. I do have that effect on him. On all men it seems. "Jo," he says, calmer now, "whatever you're doing, or thinking of doing, don't. Get out. Get away from those people before you become too involved."

I don't know what it is about that last word, but it makes tears well in my eyes. I bite my lip to stop the fuckers. "It's too late for that, Harry." Get a hold of yourself, for Christ's sake. "Um, I assume you're helping the Feds with this one, so I'll send you all I have on Cain. We think he was responsible for an explosives theft a few weeks ago. I'll send you that file too. Just please get rid of that report or you'll ruin a great man's life. Please."

"I'll see what I can do," he says.

"Thank you, Harry. Bye."

I'm about to end the call, when he says, "Joanna? Look after yourself, alright?"

No one else is going to, right? "I will. Bye, Harry." I hang up, pulling my legs up so I'm hugging them to my chest, and stare up at the starry sky.

Here I am again. All alone.

Fuck hope.



*



I didn't want to see any of them after that so I retreated into my bedroom, passed out after five minutes, woke at 5am, and returned to work. I've never been good at doing what I was told. Never. Rebel with several causes, me. I review all the progress the others made--very little-- save for IDing a partial print on the disk. Only problem is that the man it belongs to a man that has been dead for over five years. Danny Watkins, Alkaline henchman, was presumed dead after being shot during a police raid led by Justice. The body was never recovered because the place then exploded. Watkins specialty was bombs. The search on him through the databases came back empty. He hasn't used any past aliases or been flagged in any worldwide search since his "death." Our best lead and it is a literal dead end.

They also reviewed the CCTV footage in and around the bombing sites last night. The cameras on the bridge were too high to get a decent look at who planted the charges, but it does show a five man construction crew working around 4am yet no permit was authorized. They did get a shot of the license plate. The truck used was stolen that same night, and it was found torched in the Ward last night. Even less luck at the hospital. There are no cameras in the boiler room or stairwell that far down and with thousands walking in daily, and no idea the time it was planted, we can't identify who carried it in. Pendergast Industries footage wasn't much better, and city hall's cameras were bypassed as best we can tell. The park footage was a bit better. The bomb was in a shopping cart pushed by a homeless person. A few cameras caught the face of a man in ratty clothes leaving the cart by the fountain. After Doris works her magic, he'd ID'd as Gary Acevedo, thug for hire. Per his wrap sheet, he worked for Alkaline too. Small world. I send all the information to Harry as promised.

Now know thy enemy time. From my earlier search on Jem, I know Jordan Ambrose has been wiped from records almost as if he never existed. No birth or death certificates, no social security number, no drivers license ever issued in that name. The only time his name pops up is in a newspaper article about the death of their parents and in a witness statement regarding the death of Uma Gupta. He was never a suspect. Bought himself an alibi. His past aliases prove more fruitful. Jackson Adler, Lee Harper, Finch Adams, one or the others pop up in South America, various countries in Asia and Europe, and even in New Urbana all connected to high profile hits and criminal organizations. Jordan seems to spend his time between terrorist attacks as a hit man or consultant. He's wanted by Interpol, the Moussad, and is on a terrorist watch lists in many countries. Per reports, he mostly works alone, and the few who have ever evoked his name during interrogation shortly never uttered another word. The few surveillance photos of him are fuzzy and he has a different hairstyle, facial hair, even noses in them. This fucker is good.