Operation Hell Gate - Marc Cerasini [6]
"Seven years ago, Dante Arete, under the street name Apache, was a small time crack cocaine dealer in the Red Hook Projects in Brooklyn," Nina began. "At the age of eighteen he allegedly killed his first man — a rival drug dealer. Since then, Dante Arete has climbed the ladder in the New York City narcotics scene, and recently he went national. It is alleged that Arete is currently involved in drugs and weapons smuggling, primarily across the Mexican border. He is suspected to have played a role in eleven gang murders in the past five years, as well as the killing of an innocent bodega owner who agreed to testify against one of Arete's lieutenants, a member of the gang Dante founded, the Columbia Street Posse..."
"Your source for this information?" Jack asked.
Nina brushed back her black bangs before she faced him. "Primarily the New York Police Department and the Metropolitan Anti-Gang Unit. The DEA has also furnished a profile of Arete's alleged activities over the past five years."
"What does the FBI have to offer?"
"Nothing. They have yet to respond to our request for information on any ongoing investigations."
"Standard operating procedure," Tony observed. "The Federal Bureau of Investigation doesn't share their information, and that goes double for CTU."
Milo Pressman — a systems specialist in his mid-twenties with sensitive features, soft eyes, and an earring — tapped the table with a well-gnawed pencil. Jack found Milo to be competent, though frequently naive.
"Maybe we should raid their database," he suggested.
Almeida rolled his eyes. "We're supposed to be on the same side."
Jamey Farrell, a petite young Hispanic woman, displayed a printout. Jamey was head programmer. A divorced mother of a young son and an LA native, she had been recruited by Walsh out of Microsoft's Seattle office. Jack found her to be a loyal worker and reliable under pressure. "Using the Federal Aviation Administration airline database, I've found Dante Arete's name listed on the passenger manifest of half-dozen flights to France — Marseilles — over the past two years alone."
Milo Pressman scratched his scraggly goatee and unshaven cheek. "A lot of heroin still comes out of Marseilles. Maybe he's got a French connection."
"I'm thinking more about the illegal arms trade," said Jack. "Arete is already involved in gunrunning — which may mean he also has ties to international terrorism and is looking to expand."
"The weapon his men used? Was it recovered from the explosion?" Milo asked.
Jack shook his head. "Just bits and pieces. Nothing specific to any surface-to-air missile system we're familiar with. All we have is the unidentified object Arete was trying to destroy."
"It's a memory stick," said Milo Pressman. "And you could be right. This memory stick might interface with a targeting system of some kind; there's a port for the transference of data, and there's a chip inside that seems to contain a massive amount of information."
"Like what?" Tony asked.
Milo shrugged. "It's blocked by a security code, but the Cyber Unit is working on it now. They'll come up with answers soon."
"What about the Japanese characters inscribed on the outside?"
"They're Korean, Jack," said Nina. "North Korean, specifically."
A moment of perplexed silence followed.
"We need to put this investigation into high gear, ramp it up," said Jack.
Nina stepped forward. "We got lucky. The Marine Corps agreed to send an officer from their Special Weapons Unit to examine the device. Seems they've seen something like it once before..."
Milo perked up. "And the embedded software?"
"Division is dispatching a software security expert to extract the data it contains. She's apparently an expert on the intricacies of Korean software."
"What about Dante Arete?"
"He's giving us the silent treatment," Tony replied. "A real tough guy. Acts like we're not even in the room."
Jack activated one of the monitors in the center of the conference