Page 48 of Yankee in the Wind

Half an hour after he’d had the premonition of Tiger’s brain being scanned, Jack stared at a dot on the map.

“You sure that’s the place?” Jack asked, looking at Fox and Michelle.

“Positive,” Fox said. “Shortly after Thomas’s death several vans drove onto the street where this building is located. Unfortunately, there are no cameras that would show that the vans entered the building and unloaded their cargo.”

Fox pointed to the video taken by a traffic camera at an intersection. “An hour later, the same vans are coming back.” He pointed to the next recording. “Do you see this?”

Jack focused on the vans and their wheels. “Can you zoom in on the wheels?”

Fox did as asked.

Fox was correct. And Jack could see it now too. “They unloaded their cargo. On the way there, the vans were heavier. These are lighter… You can see more of the wheels.”

Fox nodded. “Exactly. There are very few buildings on this street. And the only building that had increased electricity use in the last month is this one.” Fox switched to Google Street View and zoomed in on a large warehouse. “It coincides with the delivery of the equipment. And earlier today, their electricity usage increased even more. Not quite to the spike we saw at the previous location though.”

“They’re ramping up,” Ace interjected. “It’s as if they’re doing a dry run before…”

He didn’t need to finish his sentence. Everybody in the room knew what he meant.

Jack nodded. “They could be calibrating the machine so it’s ready for tonight. We’ve gotta hurry.”

Ace looked at Michelle. “Do you still have control over the satellite from yesterday?”

“Sure do. It’s gonna take less than five minutes to reposition it to cover this building,” Michelle said. “And once set up, I can monitor it remotely.”

“Why remotely?” Jack asked.

“Because I’m coming with you.”

“Too dangerous,” Jack said and looked to Fox, surprised that he hadn’t already protested.

But Fox just lifted his shoulders in surrender. “Don’t look at me, man. Michelle makes her own decisions, no matter what my objections are.”

Jack saw Phoebe and Lilly enter.

“I’m more useful if I come with you guys,” Michelle added. “I’m the only one who’s ever heard Smith’s voice. If he’s there, I’ll recognize him. It’s our chance to catch him.”

“She’s got a point,” Ace said. “But we only have one Kevlar vest.”

“Actually, we have more than one,” Phoebe said. “Van’s ready by the way.” Then she looked at the large monitor on the wall. “Is that the place?”

Ace nodded. “Yep. What did you mean by saying we have more than one Kevlar vest?”

Phoebe motioned to Michelle. “Michelle ordered some after you guys went to the warehouse in Great Falls.”

Jack, Ace, and Fox stared at Michelle.

Michelle smirked. “Turns out you can buy Kevlar vests on Amazon.” She shrugged. “With next- day delivery. They arrived just before lunch.”

“You had them delivered here?” Jack asked, incredulous. “They can track—”

“I’m not at idiot, Yankee,” Michelle interrupted. “I used an account I’ve never used before and had them delivered to a house a few blocks away. The family who lives there is on vacation. Phoebe picked up the package earlier today.”

She walked to one of the computers, and sat down, her fingers already hovering over the keyboard.

Phoebe grinned. “At least I get to do something useful occasionally. I left them in the garage.”

Jack exchanged a look with Fox and Ace. “Okay, then, let’s hit the road as soon as Michelle is done with the satellite repositioning.”