Bleeders

By Jim Franz

The FBI transferred Special Agent Tom Sellinger to its Atlanta Division for one reason: capture a seemingly-invisible bank robber known as the Ghost.

His robberies are all the same. He has no gun; he makes no demands. He wears a ski mask, yet customers and tellers walk around him without a glance as he empties the drawers of cash. The only evidence left behind is his image on security footage, and a throng of people who swear no man like that ever entered the bank.

Tom isn't spooked by the man's unusual ability; he's tracked people like this before, people that the FBI designates as bleeders.

But Tom's personal and professional lives slam together when his best friend's wife Dani becomes the first and only eyewitness to one of the Ghost's robberies. Now Tom's superiors want Dani to jeopardize her life and the lives of her family, without even telling her the risks. As Tom tries to protect her from the dangers, he must also be cautious: He can't let Dani discover the real reason why a man can seem invisible, why only she can see the Ghost, or why Tom's taskforce may be the biggest threat to her of all.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Jim Franz
• Release date: Oct 13, 2011
• ISBN: 9781465861887

Book preview

Chapter One

Danielle Evans spotted a man wearing a ski mask behind the counter at the bank. She thought she should stop moving, stop walking towards the line created by the red velvet ropes in front of the four tellers' windows. Her pace only slowed, as if her legs didn't quite believe what her eyes reported. She was immediately shoved from behind. She shifted her balance and turned, expecting to see a huge man slamming her to the floor.

But behind her was an older woman, her white hair curled and reading glasses dangling from her neck. Oh! the woman said, placing a hand on Dani's arm to steady herself. I didn't see you stop!

Dani didn't reply. She glanced back towards the man in the ski mask. He stood by the drive-through window, near a teller who seemed oblivious to his presence. I'm sorry I startled you, the woman said to Dani. What are you here for?

I . . . have a check to deposit, Dani said, still watching the man.

I'm making a deposit, too, the woman said, taking Dani by the arm and pulling her into the line. My name's Evelyn.

Evelyn explained that she was the treasurer of the local elementary school's Parent Teacher Organization, but Dani wasn't paying attention. Instead, her eyes flicked between the tellers, the two other customers in the bank, and finally to the uniformed guard against the wall to her left. The guard rocked slowly from his heels to the balls of his feet.

Nobody reacted to the man in the mask. The tellers moved around him without comment or acknowledgment, as though he were a poorly-placed lamp.

What's he doing, Evelyn? Dani asked.

I'm sorry?

The man over there.

Evelyn tilted her head in the direction Dani indicated. Then she smiled. Oh, that certainly isn't nice, she said, in a voice that suggested Dani's comment was nonetheless appreciated. No, it isn't nice at all to make fun of her outfit. I must admit I don't know why women want to look like men nowadays, pretending they're straight up and down and not as God made them, and she continued until Dani stopped staring at the man long enough to stare at her.

Who are you talking about? Dani asked.

Evelyn smirked and nodded towards the woman in the shapeless outfit at the drive-through window. Then she looked back at Dani and said, My daughter was a lot like you, or at least she was, before the marijuana.

Dani returned Evelyn's smile and relaxed. In one gloved hand the man held a sack. His other hand was also gloved, but it held nothing. Who robs a bank this slowly? No, Dani thought, she might not understand exactly what he was doing, but Dani spent too many hours telling people that they didn't need to understand the rules in order to follow them; despite his appearance, the man in the mask was not a threat judging by everybody's reaction, and Dani didn't have any reason to break the unspoken rule of politely ignoring him.

Evelyn said, She would dress like you, all business and professional and still looking like a woman, but not looking too much like a woman, if you understand me. Dani understood very little of what Evelyn said, but she still enjoyed this conversation more than any others she could expect to have during the rest of her day. She had just been paid in advance to spend the afternoon mediating a personnel crisis at a subcontractor's office from Dobbins Air Reserve Base, half an hour outside of Atlanta. Given what she already knew about the company's fiscal health, Dani had decided to deposit the check first.

If only she'd stayed that way, Evelyn said.

Who?

My daughter. Then she wouldn't have had a baby that I've had to raise for the last four years while she's off doing Lord knows what.

The teller at the drive-through window typed at her computer then opened her money drawer. The man waited until the teller removed a few twenties before he lifted a stack of fifties. He slid them into his sack along with a handful of twenties, and then he walked to a teller whose name tag read, Megan. Dani's brows furrowed. Maybe this was a new reality show, and she had four cameras on her every reaction.

Megan finished with her customer and said to Dani and Evelyn, I can help you over here. The man loomed over Megan's shoulder.

Dani hesitated, but Evelyn hooked her arm around Dani's and took her forward towards Megan's window. I'll wait here for the next one, Dani told Evelyn.

Nonsense, Evelyn said, tugging Dani's arm. We're practically family.

Dani wouldn't break Evelyn's hold with force, so she allowed Evelyn to guide her to Megan's window. Dani was now less than five feet from the man. He wore a black windbreaker zipped to the neck, blue jeans, and a thick black ski mask. His eyes weren't covered but, as he wasn't looking at Dani, she couldn't make out his features.

Evelyn opened a large manila envelope and removed a stack of bills from it. I need to put this in the PTO account. We made three hundred and thirty-seven dollars at the fair last night! she said, handing Megan her deposit slip. Dear, what is that crackling noise? she asked, turning to Dani while Megan counted the money.

Sorry, Dani said. She opened her hand to Evelyn, revealing her laptop's wireless clicker. I keep it in my pocket. It advances my slides when I give presentations from my laptop.

What presentation are you giving now?

I also click it when I'm nervous.

Evelyn patted her on the arm. So much like my Becky, she said. Dani felt her face warm. She didn't want to look directly at the man, as he appeared to be as equally oblivious to her as everyone else was to him. Megan finished counting Evelyn's deposit and put a hand on her cash drawer.

The teller by the drive-through window gasped. Mr. Connor? she said, checking behind her.

He's in the vault, Megan said as she opened her cash drawer.

Did he take money from my drawer?

Megan leaned back in her chair to see around the man to the other teller. He's not gonna take your money without logging it. The man in the mask emptied Megan's drawer, starting again with the fifties.

Megan's attention returned to her drawer. Wait a minute, she said. Her hand slid into the slot vacated by the fifties as the man withdrew a stack of twenties. Wait a minute! she repeated, but Dani noticed she wasn't talking to the man.

What? the other teller said.

Money's missing from my drawer!

Did Mr. Connor come by or not? the teller asked again.

He wouldn't take all of my twenties!

The guard approached the window. What's going on?

I think we've been robbed! Megan said.

Dani stopped pressing the clicker. You've got to be kidding me! she said, as the man in the mask dropped a packet of tens into his sack.

Ma'am, there's money missing from my drawer, Megan said, first to Dani and then to the guard. I'm telling you we've been robbed.

"You haven't been robbed, Dani said. You're being robbed right now but you're all just choosing to ignore it! The man, with no apparent sense of urgency, reached out for the stack of bills on the counter, the money that Evelyn was depositing. Hey! Dani said, and she felt a surge of anger. She grabbed the man's wrist as he closed his hand around the money. He jerked his arm back, leaving the stack of bills behind. Dani swiped the money from the counter and held it up between them. This isn't yours!"

The man's eyes were wide. Dani heard a sharp intake of breath, then Megan was shouting, Evelyn was screaming, and suddenly Dani felt her skin go cold.

This was no reality television show. For the first time since Dani had walked into the bank, the man focused completely on one person, and it was her.

She thought of her baby and her husband, and she wondered what the subcontractor's office would say if she didn't show up this afternoon because she'd challenged a bank robber and been killed in the process.

The man darted around Megan to an empty teller's window to her left and clambered over it. Dani attempted to follow him with her eyes, but the guard loomed over her, grabbed and twisted her forearm, and rammed her into the ground. Her right cheek and ear burned as they slid against the thinly-carpeted floor.

From her new vantage point, Dani watched the man race towards the door leading outside. A woman in a gray business skirt entered through the door and stepped aside as the man ran out without looking back.

Chapter Two

Jake leapt down the steps of the bank and ran east one block. He passed by an elderly couple, a young man wearing a fast food uniform, and a speed walker. They all moved aside as he approached but otherwise made no eye contact or spoke.

His teeth ground together. The only person in the world who could actually see him when he didn't want to be seen had been at the bank. He let slip a whispered curse.

Jake sprinted into the parking lot and used the keyless entry to unlock the blue Honda Civic waiting in front of the grocery. He swung behind the wheel, dropped the sack of money in the passenger seat, then leaned low and watched in the direction of the bank.

His heart pounded. Would Dani chase after him?

After a minute of no activity, he sat upright in the seat. His black mask reflected in the rearview mirror. He yanked it off, and his blond hair fell at odd angles. With as little effort as it would take him to blink, Jake made himself visible to other people before he started the car. He pulled onto the road and speed-dialed work. Lyle answered. Fidelity Accounting.

It's me, Jake said.

That's record time! The withdrawal went well?

I need you to go to the back of the office.

Silence. Then, No.

Lyle, I need you to go --

I'm not going to the back, Lyle said, interrupting him. We agreed I'd only go to the back if something bad happened, something really bad, some serious badliness.

You're a forty-three year old accountant, Lyle. 'Serious badliness?'

Lyle's voice lowered. If you're not dying or in custody, I'm not going to the back.

Dani was at the bank.

Hold on while I go to the back. Lyle returned to the line by the time the light turned green. He asked, What was she doing at the bank?

I don't know.

Didn't you use the checklist?

Yes, Lyle, I used your checklist.

Then where was she supposed to be?

She was going to take Hannah to the zoo today.

Jake merged onto the road leading back to the freeway. Lyle asked, I know it's something parents are supposed to do, but why would you take a six-month old to the zoo?

I need you to focus, Lyle.

Why? Why do I need to focus? What's so wonderful about focus?

Because I was just caught robbing a bank by my wife! I don't know if she understood what she saw or even recognized that it was me robbing it. Jake waited again at a red light then drove onto I-75 northbound. At the tail end of the morning rush hour, traffic trickled on the freeway.

Are you on your way here?

I need to swing by the warehouse to change back into my clothes and grab the Camry. I also need you to meet me there.

The warehouse? Why?

The bulging sack sat next to him in the passenger seat. Because I need to get this money into the special account at Fidelity, and somebody has to handle the prep work for the next shipment at the warehouse. I just don't know how much time I've got if Dani recognized me.

Even if she didn't recognize you, EAS will now have Dani's name in your folder because she was there when the Ghost robbed a bank.

Jake's fingers burned, and he tried to relax his grip on the phone. He said, We have to notify the science team and get them ready to move. And prepare an alibi for yourself.

Why did we decide I'd go to the back if there was a problem? Why didn't we make it the bathroom?

Lyle, if I get caught in this, I don't want the rest of you getting caught with me.

All I'm saying is I need to go to the bathroom.

Don't let the government seize my half of the business. Make sure it goes to Dani and Hannah.

I'll tell the FBI they can't have it because you'll need money for a lawyer.

I'll never see a courtroom, Lyle. You know they wouldn't let me.

Chapter Three

Assistant Special Agent in Charge Thomas Sellinger squeezed his hands together, turning the knuckles white. His boss, Special Agent in Charge Brian Nogle, jammed a finger into the x-shaped conference call telephone positioned in the middle of the table.

I'm tired of getting my ass chewed for something I can't control, Nogle said.

When is this inquiry going to be over? Tom asked.

Before the senator from Alabama got involved? Yesterday. Now that he has? Who knows.

It's been two months. How did the senator get involved now?

Apparently the senator's god-daughter lived next door to Regina Lake.

It was his god-daughter's son who died?

Agent Nogle nodded. And his clearance isn't high enough to actually learn our mission or how we're involved, but it was just high enough for him to find out which agency handled the cover-up. He's putting pressure on the sub-committee that oversees our budget.

We couldn't have prevented the Lake incident.

Remember that when you write up the new after-action report, Agent Nogle said as he stood from the table.

I'll have it to you by the end of the day, Tom said, following him to the door.

I'm telling you to do it.

I will. I meant I'll have it ready for your signature.

Nogle turned and stepped into Tom's space. Tom's arms stiffened, but not because Nogle physically dominated him; he didn't. Tom was thirty-one, seven years younger than Nogle, had a good two inches on him, and was in much better shape. Nogle said, My signature's not going anywhere on that damned report, do you understand me?

Tom didn't flinch. I'm not falling on my sword for you.

Yeah? Atlanta now has the highest new incidents of bleeders than any other regional office in the country, and you can't manage to take care of even one. In case you missed it, you're not the hot shot you were when you came here four years ago.

I've neutralized dozens of bleeders, updated our internal security and implemented new engagement protocols. The Ghost's ability just makes him harder to track.

That doesn't mean shit to the subcommittee. If you want to stop the inquiry, you find a way to stop the Ghost.

Nogle shoved open the door to the conference room, right into Agent Blackford's path. Blackford said to Nogle and Tom, We've got another hit on the Ghost. He robbed a bank just over an hour ago on the northwest side.

They followed Blackford down the hallway and turned left towards the room known as the command center. Why did it take so long to pop on our server? Tom asked.

They thought they had several witnesses.

Tom almost tripped. He was seen?

Yes and no. Witnesses thought a woman tried to take the money. They subdued her at the scene, but she didn't have any of the missing money on her. They entered the command center and moved towards its central table and chairs, just outside of Nogle's office.

An accomplice?

We don't think so. Blackford handed Nogle the on-scene incident report.

The woman they accused, she got a record? Tom asked Blackford.

Nothing criminal. She's already in the system because she's got a Top Secret clearance. She works with government and military contractors.

What's her name?

Danielle Evans.

Tom placed a hand on the tabletop. Dani? Do we have a picture? Blackford nodded. Pull it up, Tom said, and he turned towards the projector screen at the head of the room. A picture of Dani appeared. In it, her brown hair fell out of sight behind her shoulders. Must be old, Tom thought. Her hair hadn't been quite that long when he first met her four years ago.

Tom took a deep breath. I know her, he said. She's not a bank robber. She's a consultant, specializing in personnel and problem-solving.

You vouch for her? Nogle asked, not even looking up from the report.

Tom had met Dani through his best friend. Their families spent a great deal of time together. I do.

Then you're vouching for a bleeder. Nogle tossed the report across the table towards Tom, who grabbed it. She saw the Ghost.

Tom skimmed the on-scene officer's report. She must have seen him before or after he robbed the bank, maybe when he got careless.

She claims she saw him from when she got there until he ran out the door. Your girlfriend's a bleeder.

Tom closed the file. Where is she?

At the local PD. Agent Rohrbeck's handling containment, and Agent Gaiser is assisting.

Tell them to stop! he said.

You're walking a fine line, Tom, Nogle said. If you want me to break protocol for this girl, you had better give me a better reason than a high school crush.

Tom met Nogle's gaze then said to Blackford, Anything else to add?

No, sir.

Leave us. The sound of Blackford's footfalls died as he stepped out of the command center into the hallway, leaving only Tom and Nogle in the room. Am I correct, Tom asked, that I am still assigned to head up the field operations team and am responsible for the capture of the Ghost?

Check yourself, Agent. You are my second-in-command, not the other way around.

"Then let me be clear, sir. When my signature is the highest ranking agent's on a report, I consider myself first-in-command on that matter, and I'll break any protocols I choose."

You want that authority? You got it. You just make sure you remember that because if you don't find a way to neutralize the Ghost, I will serve your head to the subcommittee.

Tom turned towards the hallway. We're not done, Nogle said. I won't risk another Lake incident. I don't care how you handle her neutralization, but make it happen. I will not tolerate any bleeders in my region.

Tom went to his office, retrieved his sports coat and keys, and walked into the hall. Agent Blackford waited there. Do you need any backup, sir?

Not for this, Tom said, and he slapped Blackford on the shoulder as he passed by.

But that wasn't true. He did need backup; it just couldn't be an agent. Dani would never forgive him if he sent an agent for her baby. As he left EAS's secured area for the overflow office of the Atlanta Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Tom pulled out his cell phone.

He still had the cell phone in his hand as he got into the car and started driving. He'd rather go another few rounds with the senate subcommittee than make this call. He'd avoided it for a week and a half already. He'd driven halfway to the police department before he finally selected the number off his personal list and pressed Send.

Tom's best friend answered on the second ring. Fidelity Accounting.

* * *

After changing his clothes and switching out the Ghost's car for his own at the warehouse, Jake had briefly coordinated with Lyle before speeding to Fidelity. Once there, he finessed the accounts such that the money from the bank would never appear on any government forms or transaction records but still be available as necessary. When the direct line on his desk rang, he reached for the phone, hoping it would be a safe but clueless Dani calling to talk about her eventful morning.

Hello, Jake, Tom's voice said.

Jake's stomach muscles clenched. Tom. Jake glanced around him. Several employees stood within earshot of his office.

Sorry I haven't called before now. I've thought about it. I've wanted to.

Would EAS call him before storming his offices? That didn't seem likely. If Tom didn't know that Jake was the Ghost, then Jake certainly didn't want to take this call. He wasn't ready to hear Tom's apology. Still, he said, What do you want, Tom?

Look, I know we need to clear the air, but now's not the time. Dani's in trouble.

What do you mean she's in trouble?

I can't say a lot, but she's been exposed to something, and she's going to need a shot. And, Jake, you're probably going to need to bring Hannah in.

Jake couldn't breathe. Why? His voice was thin.

Like I said, I can't go into it. Can you bring Hannah in, Jake? I'd rather it be you than a stranger who doesn't know her. I think it's what Dani would want.

Is Dani with you?

Not yet. I'm going to pick her up and bring her back to my office.

I don't know where she's at, Jake said, trying to stall for time.

Dani?

Hannah. She was going to be with Dani today. They were going to the zoo.

I'm sorry about this, Jake.

Sorry about this, but not about before?

I can send a car to pick Hannah up, if you want. I'm sure Dani would have left her with the sitter, there in Marietta.

Jake's thoughts slipped through before he could stop them. I don't want them getting any shots. I mean, I think maybe we should have our physician and Hannah's pediatrician make any decisions like that.

You know what? Don't worry about it. I'll have a car get Hannah.

Jake couldn't think. I can get her. I mean, I'm already in Marietta, just on the other side of it. I'll get her. Where will you and Dani be?

My office in Smyrna. Jake ignored the address and directions. He'd been there before, even if Tom didn't know it.

Okay, he said and hung up.

Jake sunk into his chair. Tom knew Dani was a bleeder. And he was going to inject them with the blocker. Dani would survive the injection. Adults almost always did.

Hannah might not.

Why had he never told Dani the truth? If he'd told her the truth, she wouldn't have given him away at the bank. She wouldn't have been identified as a bleeder. Their daughter . . .

Jake stared blankly at the papers on his desk. He'd prepared for the eventuality he'd be taken into custody. He'd made plans for Dani and Hannah in case he were killed or they made him disappear. He'd never considered that his work could expose his wife or jeopardize his daughter.

It wasn't fair! The EAS, the shadow-op Enhanced Abilities Subversives unit of the FBI, it wasn't their right! He didn't care about their protocols, or their reasons, or their government status.

Hannah could die.

Jake collected the papers on his desk into a folder and left it on Lyle's desk. He'd know what to do with it. Jake wouldn't be able to.

He would have to take his daughter and run.

Chapter Four

Dani didn't realize how much she liked the holding cell until she'd been moved to the interrogation room. True, the holding cell was a four foot by five enclosure in the corner of the detectives' office, and she'd felt like an animal on display. But at least the detectives had treated her like a criminal who was smart enough to lie. This new guy who'd introduced himself as Mr. Rohrbeck and taken her into the interrogation room acted as if she were a moron.

And you're twenty-eight years old? he asked her for the third time. She shook her head in disbelief. You're not twenty-eight years old?

How old are you, Mr. Rohrbeck?

I need you to answer my questions, Ms. Evans, not the other way around.

I asked how old you are, not how you lost your virginity. He shifted in his chair and adjusted his tie relative to his sports coat. She asked again, How old are you?

Twenty-six, he answered.

You're twenty-six?

I'm twenty-six.

I see, she said and paused. And you're twenty-six years old?

He put his pencil on the table between them and looked over his shoulder towards the one-way mirror behind him.

Dani said, Let me help you interrogate me, Mr. Rohrbeck. You see, that's what I do. I'm a consultant and a well-paid one, which I'm betting you already know. I help people take their jobs and do them better. I help people be more efficient and more effective.

Ms. Evans . . .

"It's Mrs., not Ms., which you