Page 66 of Armed ’N’ Ready

“That we’d call him today at eleven thirty with the logistics.” At that statement, every man looked either at his watch or at the round white clock on the wall over Bennett’s head.

“Nick? Randy?” Bennett’s gray brows rose as he looked from Nick to Cox. “How do you want to play this?”

Wolinski slammed his hand down on the table. “I say we get a convoy of marked units, go grab his ass at the border, then haul him to FBI headquarters for interrogation.”

Nick and Eric exchanged knowing looks. So, the FBI can take all the credit. Not that he gave a shit who got the credit. His only goals were to bring Myer in alive then squeeze him dry of every ounce of intel he had on the gunrunning ring and get him to vindicate Andi.

“We could take him directly to a safe house,” Cox supplied.

The SAC’s neck reddened as he glared across the table at Cox. Nick hoped the guy didn’t get demoted for going against his SAC.

“A safe house isn’t a bad idea,” Nick countered. “But we don’t have the luxury of time. We should bring him directly to the courthouse, so we can throw him in front of the grand jury and lock down his testimony before he changes his mind and lawyers up.”

“Or somebody else gets to him,” Eric added.

“I agree.” Bennett nodded. “Let’s not take any risks. I’ll reserve a room outside the grand jury for us to debrief Myer first. I want him to give us all the account numbers and passwords for the tainted bank accounts, along with all related wire transfers, emails…whatever we can use as evidence.”

Eric turned to Nick. “Did he say who he’s working for?”

“Brian Argyle.” He pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pants pocket—the notes he’d made earlier that morning when Myer had called. “Argyle’s company is Argyle Enterprises based in Scotland. That’s where Myer’s been wiring some of the money.”

Cox flipped open his laptop and began typing away. They all waited to see what he could pull up. The man was a whiz with the computer and had access to more government databases than Nick could remember acronyms for.

A few minutes later, he looked up from the laptop. “I can’t find anything on Brian Argyle or Argyle Enterprises.”

“So they’re phony names,” Nick said. “But someone had to open those accounts in person and provide the banks with a name and identification to do it.”

Special Agent Bill Douglas of the IRS jotted something down in his portfolio. “I’ll run these names through our databases. Just in case.”

“I’ll get started on an MLAT with Scotland.” Bennett made a note on his pad. “But that will take a while to work its way through DOJ and then across the pond to our Scottish colleagues.”

Too much time to bother with.

In theory, Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties were great for obtaining information in foreign government databases, but not if you wanted it ASAP. It would be months before the request worked its way through official channels.

Knowing Eric had a police contact in Scotland, he caught his friend’s eye. Eric nodded subtly, acknowledging the unspoken request.

While Bennett stepped out to make arrangements for grand jury time, Nick and the others brainstormed the logistical details of getting Myer in. Before they knew it, it was eleven thirty.

Bennett had returned to the conference room, and Nick punched in Myer’s cell number. He put the call on speaker and set it on the table so everyone else could hear the conversation. The phone rang three times.

“Hello.”

“Joseph Myer,” he began. “This is Sgt. Houston. With me is Assistant United States Attorney Ted Bennett, agents from the FBI, IRS, and ATF. We’re making arrangements to meet you at the border tomorrow and escort you to the federal courthouse in Springfield to testify before the grand jury.”

At first, Myer didn’t respond. He could hear him breathing, so he knew the guy hadn’t hung up. “You with me?”

“I’m with you.”

“Good.” If Myer reneged on the deal, he was fully prepared to cross the border and drag his ass back himself. “Before we go over logistics, we have a few questions about Brian Argyle. His name doesn’t show up in any database, so who is he?”

“I don’t know who he is, and we’ve never met.”

Bennett gave Nick a quizzical look.

“Then how were all the transactions handled?” Nick asked.

“By phone and by wire transfer.”