The following night came faster than anyone really wanted it to. Edgar's decision to give everyone as little prep time as possible paid off because his own people watching the front of the mall didn't see any activity that would suggest a double cross. Carlson's confession of bugging the entire coffee shop the night before with scramblers to prevent any recordings made tonight the perfect time to pull off the trade. Zero notice for prep and he had someone watching the spot ever since he left the building and there had been no activity around the main entrance. With so many people coming and going through this entrance, it would be hard to do any kind of work like that without scaring up some suspicion which is the last thing Edgar thinks Carlson wants while one of his residents is still at large. He had his own people come in early and set up. Devon and Cyrus were a bit surprised by his decision to go tonight, but they knew he must have had a good reason to pick that time. It was rather last minute, but that seemed like the best way to keep everyone off their game. Edgar wouldn't have set it so soon if he didn't have confidence his people would be all right with it and he was correct to think that. Devon got into town rather quickly with their captives and was ready to make the deal once he gave the signal.
Given the impression he got from Carlson, he wasn't anticipating anything funny because what he had was too sensitive to mess around with. Once the 'resident' was stashed away and back behind the iron curtain, all bets would be off after that. Edgar arrived at the mall alone in a rental car around fifteen minutes before the time set and this time Carlson wasn't early as he had been in the coffee shop. He didn't have to wait long, as just a few minutes after he parked in front of the main doors, another car all the way and the other end of the lot turned on its lights and slowly pulled up. It was a van, and its black coat made it hard to notice when Edgar made his approach. As he watched the vehicle approach, Edgar would have been the first to admit he was a little nervous. Not shit your pants kind of nervous but worried enough to take precautions to make sure that he himself didn't become a future 'resident' as well. A few moments later, the van came right over and eventually stopped ten feet short of Edgar's car and parked as well, but left the lights on for a little illumination. Just after coming to a stop, Mr. Carlson stepped out of the van's front passenger seat and slowly strolled over. Edgar walked up and greeted his current nemesis.
"Nice night for a trade, isn't it?" Edgar said as he walked up, "Not too warm and yet not too cold either."
"I agree, a nice night for an exchange." Carlson said as he stopped five feet short of where Edgar was standing, "Before we start this thing, I have some Intel I need to pass your way."
"Concerning what?" Edgar demanded, not in the mood for surprises.
"It's concerning the demise of Mr. Tucker and your workers." Carlson answered, "I wanted to let you know that the person responsible for it has been apprehended and taken into our custody."
"Was this person one of your people?" Edgar questioned, eager to see how much info the man was willing to give out for him.
"He was," Carlson confirmed, "But what he's done over the last few weeks was without our knowledge or permission. Once we figured out what was going on, we acted quickly to neutralize him and any future actions he was planning against you. He will no longer be a problem for anyone. I just thought you might want to know that it was taken care of."
"I appreciate that," Edgar said as he digested the information. He knew Carlson didn't have to tell him that and keep denying it till he was blue in the face. Yet if he was telling the truth and since it was one rogue in the group knocking people off, it was nice to know he wasn't at large anymore.
"I also want you to know that I rarely if ever take someone's life when working any operation." Carlson began, "I don't take actions like that unless I've exhausted every other option at my disposal, and believe me I have a lot of them. To me the perfect operation is when everyone is alive and oblivious to what is going on. I've conducted some of the world's biggest black ops miracles, but the reason why you know nothing about them is because no one was hurt in the process. I try to avoid violence as much as possible. I didn't not authorize the killing of your people, and am sorry for the unnecessary loss of life in this matter."
"I believe you." Edgar surprisingly said, "The offer in the coffee shop was proof that you are willing to try some pretty big things before having to cross that line. But I'm not here tonight for money, and you know that."
"So how would you like to start this off then?" Carlson asked, realizing that Edgar was eager to get things on the move.
"I wouldn't mind seeing at least one of my people first. Just to make sure this thing is going to actually go down." Edgar stated, not even trying to be polite about his fears of a double cross.
"I can agree to that, but only one of them for now." Carlson tapped on the hood and pointed to the driver, signally for only one to come out. A few seconds later, one of them was dragged out, hooded and tied up. Carlson removed the hood to reveal that it was Jerome, "The other is still in the van. Where are my people?"
Without hesitation, Edgar jumped on the phone and made a call. A few minutes later, that same truck they used to make the abduction with a new coat of paint to change its identity came into the parking lot and stopped just behind Edgar's car. A few minutes later, both goons and Mrs. Johnson were escorted out by some of the same armed men that were used to apprehend them,
"One of them is a little roughed up," Edgar informed him, "But if it's any consolation, he didn't talk."
"I'll put a note in his file." Carlson said, appreciating the Intel. He tapped on the hood again and another person brought out the last person necessary to make the as Jessica came out. Once her hood came off, Mrs. Johnson started to tear up as she realized what really was going on. Edgar had told her that some of his people were captured but he failed to mention that one of them was her daughter. He didn't want her to panic and back out at the last moment, so discretion was a little necessary given the situation. After Jessica was unbound, Edgar made a motion to Mr. Carlson, "Give them a moment together. It has been five years since they've seen each other."
"Alright, let her go." Carlson barked to his goons.
The moment Jessica was let go, she ran over and hugged her mother. The two women began to cry and made all the other men who were standing there a bit uneasy to be there.
They hugged for a few moments. Jessica couldn't believe that after all these years she was holding the person she thought she would never see again. She took a step back.
"I still can't believe it's you." Jessica said.
"It is baby," her mother said as she hugged her again, "I've missed you so much. I wish I didn't have to go again."
"What do you mean?" before anyone could say anything Jessica seemed to figure it out herself, "He's trading you to get me back, isn't he?" she turned to face Edgar, "So after all we did to get her, you're just going to give her back?"
"Not exactly." Edgar replied, trying not to sound so cold.
"We brokered what was an acceptable deal for both sides involved." Carlson replied, "Mr. Willis and I agreed this is for the best."
Jessica didn't seem to like what was going on, "Do you really think I'm going to give up now that I've seen here again and confirmed she's still alive with my own eyes! I'll never give up and spend the rest of my life looking for her and for everyone you've locked up!"
"We had a feeling you were going to feel that way," Carlson replied, "That's why you're coming with us."
"What?" Jessica said, somewhat confused.
"What the hell is going on?" Jerome finally managed to spit out once he was close to Edgar.
"Part of the deal was to let Jessica stay with her mom." Edgar replied, "She'll be relocated again, but this time with her daughter. This way they'll be together with her mom again and never have to look for her again."
"You'll let her come with me?" Mrs. Johnson asked Mr. Carlson. She was also surprised to hear that he would agree to such a deal.
"It was actually Mr. Willis' idea." Carlson responded, "After much thought, I agreed it was the best course of action. I'd rather give in and let you two relocate together than have to worry about her looking for you for the next twenty to thirty years." he said, as he made a motion to Jessica, "This way you don't have to worry about resuming your search or going back to a life and job you don't like."
"This was your idea?" Jerome whispered to Edgar, somewhat disgusted.
"We can talk about it later," Edgar replied, not too eager to say anything with his adversary within range to hear what he might say.
"Alright." Jerome conceded, knowing that Edgar likely had a plan, "Can we have a moment to say good bye?" he then asked Carlson.
"Of course you can." Carlson replied as he watched his two men walk into their van and take a seat.
Jessica walked over and hugged Jerome before hugging Edgar, "Thank you for helping me find her. I really meant a lot to me."
"You're welcome." Edgar said as he returned the hug, and then he whispered in her ear, "Enjoy being with your mom and do as they tell you. Be a good little resident and we'll come to find you. Alright?"
"Sounds like a plan." Jessica said as she started to tear up, "Good bye Jerome, Devon."
"Bye Jess." Devon called back. He grabbed Jerome by the cuff and slowly dragged him back towards the truck and then tossed him into the front passenger seat.
Edgar waved to Mrs. Johnson and then watched as she and Jessica got into the black van. He didn't know if he would ever see them again, but if he didn't he was determined to make sure the reason wasn't a lack of effort on his part. He looked over to Carlson who was still standing in the same spot since the beginning.
"You do realize this isn't over." Willis told his nemesis. "My employer isn't the kind of man to give up that easily."
"It's never over for me, Mr. Willis." Carlson replied with a smirk, "Long after you've packed things up there will always be other family members, other investigators, bounties and documentaries that will always try to expose my operation. To ignore that is to invite defeat, and I'm not that kind of man. Try if you like, but it's one hell of a mountain to scale, and I'm the man at the top with a lot of boulders to push over to knock you off."
"You mean like how your man did to my people?" Edgar snapped back trying to provoke a more emotional response.
"Hardly, Mr. Willis." Carlson retorted, "I have many weapons at my disposal that allow me to keep the program well hidden. Weapons of mass distraction, massive PR plans designed to keep the masses duped and filtered from getting any kind of information that will make them stop drinking the kool-aid as Mr. Ryan so colorfully put it. Without any evidence Mr. Willis, you're just another whack job with a conspiracy theory. Out of all the tactics at my disposal, none have ever been more effective than deniability. Regardless of how close you come, I have people on my side that are trusted by the masses and they will stand on their soapboxes and deny, deny, deny. The networks will cover what they have to say, and give them slots in the Sunday morning political talk shows for another chance to say it over and over again. This is the closest you will ever get to one of my residents ever again. You got this close because we underestimated you, and that is a mistake that won't be made again. I already know about Sir Norsberg. His daughter has already been moved to a secondary location, and will have another set up if I even smell you coming near the spot I have her stashed in. Chances are Mr. Willis that you and I will never meet again. A shame really, I was actually beginning to like you."
After saying that, Carlson started to walk backwards until he was right beside the passenger door of the van. He slowly slid into the seat and closed the door. Edgar watched as the van slowly backed away for a few moments before turning and vacating the parking lot as soon as possible. There was no telling where everyone was going from there, but he'd do his best to find out, eventually. Before pondering about it more, Edgar backed up and jumped back into the truck while one of Cyrus' men took care of the rental car. Devon pulled the truck out and started to drive out of the parking lot. As they were pulling out of the lot and onto the streets, Jerome couldn't help but speak first.
"Congratulations guys," he said rather angrily, "We had the person we were looking for and had to give her back."
"You're welcome," Devon called back, "You ungrateful little shit."
"I am grateful, but angry!" Jerome called back, "Now we are right back where we started: all theories and zero evidence! Can I take 'back at square fucking one" for $500, Alex?"
"Well, it's not like we're out of money." Edgar said as he slouched in his chair to relax, "We have two options. We can split what's left and go on a very, very long vacation or use those funds to try again."
"You heard the man, mate." Devon started while making a sharp left turn, "He said he already moved Norsberg's girl to throw us off."
"He could be bluffing, but if he isn't..." Edgar suddenly pulled a piece of paper from his jacket, "We have many more names to pick from. Once one or two of them is exposed, what would be the point of keeping them all in hiding? They would have to let them go if caught."
"Interesting plan, I'll have to think about it." Devon replied honestly, "I might need some time after what happened to my people."
"I wouldn't mind doing a little more research before trying again anyway." Jerome added, "So maybe a little break wouldn't hurt."
"I kind of thought so." Edgar concurred as he put the manifest back into his coat pocket, "We have plenty of time. Let's also see what Norsberg has to say about it as well." After he said that the three of them were pretty much silent as they made their way to a rendezvous point to meet up with Cyrus. He was waiting there with a few cars and about half a dozen armed men. Before any of them got out, his men did a sweep to make sure there were no bugs tossed onto it. Then after taking more than a few minutes to make sure Jerome was clean, Cyrus handed Edgar the keys to one of the cars.
"All clear." Cyrus called out, "Thanks again for your business. No offense, but I might be keeping my distance for a little while after this job."
Edgar laughed, "While I certainly don't blame you for feeling this way, I'm sure we can negotiate something later. Until then, thanks for your help. This won't be forgotten."
He held out his hand and they shook before Edgar took the keys and took the car. Devon and Jerome jumped in and they sped off for a new destination, a temporary location where they could sort stuff out until they knew what to do next. Like the trip to the rendezvous, none of them said a single word on the ride back to the city.