Collateral Damage - Marc Cerasini [37]
This time Alexi's knees gave out and he dropped to the tiled floor, one leg out, the other folded under him.
8
THE FOLLOWING TAKES PLACE BETWEEN THE HOURS OF 2:00 P.M. AND 3:00 P.M. EASTERN DAYLIGHT TIME
2:02:06 P.M. EDT
Security Station One
CTU Headquarters, NYC
Jack summoned his team to the security station for a briefing by Morris O'Brian. He leaned with folded arms against a desk while the cyber technician spoke.
"This morning, when Brice Holman refused to answer our friendly phone calls, I followed CTU protocol and issued a trace command on his cell phone."
"A trace command? What's that?" Layla interrupted.
Morris glanced at Jack, then smiled indulgently. "I used the unique identifiers on Holman's phone to trace its activity. Nothing happens when the man's phone is turned off, of course. But as soon as he turns it on, the trace commands imbedded in the telecommunications grid automatically attempt to triangulate his position, and then forward the data to me."
"So what have you got?" Jack demanded. He moved behind Morris's chair to stand over the man.
Peter Randall was there, too, doe-eyed behind his round glasses. Despite his boyish demeanor, Randall had assumed responsibility for internal security in Tony Almeida's and Rachel Delgado's absence.
In the last hour, he'd proved to be a valuable asset. Randall had determined the intruders killed on the roof of CTU Headquarters had entered through the parking garage, and his security team also found the bodies of the murdered guards behind some parked cars.
Now they were hunting a third accomplice, clad in a good copy of a CTU uniform. He had been taped fleeing the scene by the reactivated security cam inside the parking garage, around the same time the firefight broke out on the roof.
"Here's the skinny, Jack-o," Morris replied. "At twelve twenty-eight this afternoon, Holman activated his phone for approximately thirty-nine seconds — not long enough to triangulate his position with any sort of accuracy, but I did learn that the low-power transmission from his cell went to a switch in the farming community of Alpha, New Jersey..."
Layla interrupted again. "A switch? What kind of switch?"
"Darling," Morris said patiently. "In mobile lingo, or as you call it in the colonies, in cell phone lingo, a switch is a transmission tower."
"So Director Holman is in Alpha, New Jersey?"
"I didn't say that, luv. I said his cell phone signal came to the tower in Alpha. But you are correct, in a sense. Director Holman is not far away. Cell phone signals are weak. CTU's phones are better than most, but they only have a range of thirteen kilometers."
Morris looked up at Jack Bauer, who peered over his shoulder at the grid map up on the HD computer monitor.
"About twenty minutes ago, Holman tried using his phone again. It was only activated for fifty-two seconds, but this signal went to different place... a tower in Clinton, New Jersey. Using the location of the prior call and this one, I was able to triangulate his position. Assuming he hasn't moved, I know where Holman is."
"Where?" Jack demanded, though he thought he already knew the answer.
"He's in a town called Milton, New Jersey. A picturesque little community on the Delaware River. According to our geographic database, parts of the Erie Canal still exist in the area..."
"Cut the regional history tour and show me the map."
"All right, Jack-o." Morris tapped a key, and a flashing red dot appeared on the grid. "That's Milton."
Jack nodded. "Where's Kurmastan?"
Layla moved behind him while Morris tapped another key. Instantly a second blip appeared, nearly on top of the first.
"Now we know where Director Holman is," Layla said.
"But what is he doing there? And why hasn't he responded to our calls?"
"We're going to find out the answer, right now." Jack faced Peter Randall. "Where are your choppers?"
"Two blocks away," Randall replied. "There's a secure compound on the banks of the Hudson River. The detention block is there, too."
"Alert them," Jack said. "Tell them to prep a helicopter, and get