CHAPTER NINETEEN
When Tommy ended the call with Hammer, he remained off to himself as if he was still thinking about what he’d just heard. Grace, along with Reno and Trina and Chief Browne, hurried over to where he was standing.
Jaden was about to go too, but the deputy chief stopped him. “Not you, kid. You come sit over here.”
“If you don’t need me anymore, can I leave now?”
“No. We may need you later. Sit.”
Jaden reluctantly sat down. The only thing positive about any of it was that he just might get to see Hammer Reese in person. That was worth the wait. But he’d rather have his friend back.
Over by Tommy, everybody was thinking about TJ too. And they all wanted answers. None more so than Grace. “What did he say?” she asked him.
Tommy looked at the chief. The chief, knowing that look, led them into that private back room, they all and the chief went inside, and he closed the door behind them.
But Tommy looked at Chief Browne. “I need to talk to the family first,” he said. “It’s a family matter.”
The chief looked at Sal, who he knew hated his guts as much as he hated Sal’s guts, and he wanted to insist that he had a right to stay. But he respected Tommy. “You’ll get me up to speed after you talk to your family?”
Tommy wasn’t going to lie to him. “We’ll see,” he said.
It was a no, and Chief Browne knew it. But he also didn’t want any Sinatra or Gabrini heat coming his way. So he didn’t press. He walked out and closed the door behind him.
Sal went to the door, listened to make sure Browne had actually walked away, and then he locked the door behind him. “Fucking cops,” Sal said.
“Didn’t you use to work with him when you and Tommy were police officers, Sal?” Trina asked.
“Oh yeah. I know his ass.”
“You act like you don’t trust him.”
“I never trusted any cop.”
“Not even yourself?”
“When I was a cop I was as crooked as a curve. Hell no I didn’t trust myself. Tommy was straight, but I wasn’t.”
“But to his credit,” Reno said, “he looked out for the little guy. He looked out for his ass and his crooked cop buddies too, but he also looked out for the little guy.”
“What did Hammer say, Tommy?” Grace asked.
Tommy exhaled. It was still tough to process. “Hammer believes TJ’s been implanted.”
They all frowned. “Implanted?” asked Reno. “What the fuck is that?”
“It’s when a seeing and hearing device is placed under the skin, usually on the lower arm, to see and hear an individual’s every movement and conversation.”
They all were floored. Especially Grace. “You think, when they claimed to be taking TJ to juvenile detention on Saturday, that they were really taking him somewhere to put that device in his arm?”
Tommy nodded. “That’s what it’s looking like, yes. But that’s not all, Grace.”
Her heart began to pound. “What is it?”
“If the person implanted says the wrong thing or does the wrong thing, they can remotely eliminate him.”
“Eliminate? What do you mean eliminate?” She immediately realized what he meant. “Oh no, Tommy. Tommy no! Are you telling me that with a touch of a button they can . . . They can kill our son?”
Tommy nodded. He was fighting back tears too. He pulled Grace, who lost her battle, into his arms.
Trina and Gemma were in tears too. Reno and Sal were fighting them as well. “This is worse than a nightmare,” said Sal. “So you’re telling us that some fuckers somewhere have total control over TJ?”
Tommy nodded. “That’s what Hammer believes, yes.”
“What can we do about it?” asked Reno. “I never heard of anything like this before in my entire life. What can we do about it if they can see his every move and hear everything he’s saying?”
“Or what others are saying to him,” said Trina.
“Is there anything we can do?” Grace asked him.
“We can tell no one, first of all.”
“Especially Ron Browne,” said Sal. “He’ll insist we notify the FBI.”
“No hell we won’t,” said Reno.
“We don’t want the Feds anywhere near this information,” said Trina. “They always make it worse.”
“Amen to that,” said Gemma.
“Hammer agrees with that,” said Tommy. “And when he gets here he’s the top Federal agent in charge. And if he doesn’t want the FBI involved either, they won’t be involved.”
But Grace was staring at her husband. She knew him too well. “What aren’t you telling us, Tommy?” she asked him.
“Hammer said that from his understanding there are only three people who can disable an implant.”
Everybody were in shock. “It’s possible?” Grace asked him.
“Hammer says it is. You only need to get within five feet of the implanted person to be able to disable it. But only three people in this world, according to Hammer, have the technology to do it.”
“Can he get one of them to bring that technology to Seattle?” asked Sal.
Tommy nodded. “He’s working on it now.”
“Who are these three people? Did he say?”
“I don’t know all three,” said Tommy. “But one of them is Hammer.”
They were all stupefied with joy when Tommy said those words. “Hammer can get his hands on the technology?”
“Yes. It stays with him.”
“Why would it stay with him if it’s so rare?” asked Reno.
“Because it’s an implant too. Hammer has been implanted, not with a control device, but with what they call a reverse control device. He can reverse their control. If he can get within five feet of TJ, even if TJ’s behind walls, then he can disable the implant and save TJ’s life.”
Grace would have dropped to her knees had Tommy not held her up. “Thank you Jesus!” she cried out.
Everybody could feel Grace’s relief. They felt it too. “When does he arrive?” Sal asked Tommy.
“He and Amelia were in Baltimore when they got the news, so they should be here within the next few hours. So should Mick and Roz. They were in Philly.”
“But how is he going to get within five feet of TJ?” asked Trina.
“You think some local cop or FBI agent is going to stop Hamilton Reese from doing whatever the hell he wants to do?” asked Reno. “If he’s on the scene, he’s automatically in charge.”
“I heard the President of the United States say that more than once myself,” said Trina. “Hammer will take over. And he’ll get as close to TJ as he needs to get. We’ve just got to make sure that special agent in charge doesn’t come up with a plan of entry before Hammer can get here.”
“And how are we going to do that?” asked Reno.
“We aren’t,” said Tommy. “I am. I’m going to stick to Ron Browne like white on rice,” he said, and left the room to do just that.
And for the first time since the ordeal began they all could see a light at the end of that tunnel. It was a dim light, because so much could still go so wrong, but at least it was a light.