Read Online They'll Call It Treason by Jordon Greene - Free Book Online Page B

could not place his finger on.
    After twenty-one calls, Ethan and Jason started to form an idea of who the man was. Town drunk still seemed a fitting title to Ethan. There had been several calls to family up in West Virginia. At least four in which Russell was obviously drunk. Two to his wife. Another six to a mistress that Russell had been seeing. They had plans to meet for a night of activities, as his mistress had phrased it, after Russell's wife left town on the following weekend.
    “What a douche bag,” Jason groaned as they endured their suspect’s kinky phone calls. “This guy deserves to be in jail.”
    Ethan clicked on to the next recording. He was tired. So far the calls had revealed nothing helpful to their investigation beyond the initial call to the Congressman's office. Instead they had learned plenty about the man's infidelity and his love of the phrase, “I tell you.” Ethan hoped talking to Russell in the morning would produce something of more value.
    The next call was from an unknown number. Jason immediately took note.
    “Where is the phone number that called in?”
    It was unusual. Even with traditionally blocked calls, the carrier usually stored the caller’s number. Yet, on this call there was nothing. As if in answer, a deep synthesized voice came on the line.
    “Are the others on board?”
    There was no greeting, no acknowledgement of Russell’s “Hello.” Just a cold, emotionless, question.
    “Yes sir,” Russell responded fearfully. It was not the fear he had displayed when he had called the Congressman’s office. No, it was a darker fear, almost a reverential fear. Ethan could tell the drunk was trembling over the recording.
    “Good.” The voice was slow and deliberate.
    “Uh… Who is going to knock off the Congr…”
    “Shut up, you imbecile.” The cold voice grew to a loud synthesized rage.
    “I... I’m… I’m sorry sir,” David apologized.
    “Just keep your mouth shut and everything will work out as planned,” then a click as the phone disconnected.
    Jason shared a look with Ethan, both knew the investigation had just reached a new level.
    “Well, that just got interesting,” Ethan stated as he played the recording again, paying closer attention to the synthesized voice.
    “Russell’s DUI charge may have actually just given us the heads up we needed,” Jason pointed out. “Why he ratted to the Congressman in the first place is still puzzling, though. Why would he jump ship before he was in police custody?”
    “Good question. His record showed he suffers slightly from bipolar disorder, so maybe that’s playing a part. We’ll have to see if he is ready to tell us more in the morning though.” Ethan noted. “I’ll notify the Atlanta Field Office and the Atlanta PD. Just in case.”
    Ethan's heartbeat quickened. They were on to something. The synthesized voice and Russell’s slip had, if nothing else, given them confirmation they were on target.
    “What does the Georgia Militia think it will gain from killing a Congressman?” It was Ethan's job to understand what motivated terrorist, to know why they took such extreme actions. Yet, he still could not shake how counterproductive their actions often were.
    “I agree, it makes little sense. But it does gain them attention and it scares people. That’s effective too,” Jason concurred. “Either way, it'll have to wait until morning.”
    Ethan grinned and nodded to Jason. “Good night.”
    Jason pulled down the sheets and slipped in bed. As the lights went off, he closed his eyes. Memories of Amanda and Kallie filled in the black void behind his eyelids. He could hear Kallie’s giggle as he recalled her learning to ride a bike just last year. He felt his hand on her back guiding her, being there for her.
    Jason sighed, wishing he had not let himself get so immersed in all the other cares of life. He had missed so much in Kallie’s most formative years, too concerned with lesser things. He promised himself