IQ06. Alcatraz Read online

  I,Q SERIES

  Book One:

  Independence Hall

  Book Two:

  The White House

  Book Three:

  Kitty Hawk

  Book Four:

  The Alamo

  Book Five:

  The Windy City

  Book Six:

  Alcatraz

  OTHER NOVELS BY ROLAND SMITH

  Storm Runners

  Storm Runners: The Surge

  Storm Runners: Eruption

  The 39 Clues: Shatterproof; Cahills vs. Vespers, Book 4

  Tentacles

  Elephant Run

  Peak

  Cryptid Hunters

  Chupacabra

  Mutation

  Zach’s Lie

  Jack’s Run

  The Captain’s Dog: My Journey with the Lewis and Clark Tribe

  Sasquatch

  Thunder Cave

  Jaguar

  The Last Lobo

  Legwork (e-book)

  PICTURE BOOKS WITH HIS WIFE, MARIE SMITH:

  B is for Beaver: An Oregon Alphabet

  E is for Evergreen: A Washington State Alphabet

  N is for our Nation’s Capital: A Washington, DC Alphabet

  Z is for Zookeeper: A Zoo Alphabet

  W is for Waves: An Ocean Alphabet

  S is for Smithsonian: America’s Museum Alphabet

  OTHER NOVELS BY MICHAEL P. SPRADLIN

  Into the Killing Seas

  Killer Species: Menace from the Deep

  Killer Species: Feeding Frenzy

  Killer Species: Out for Blood

  Killer Species: Ultimate Attack

  The Youngest Templar: Keeper of the Grail

  The Youngest Templar: Trail of Fate

  The Youngest Templar: Orphan of Destiny

  Spy Goddess: Live and Let Shop

  Spy Goddess: To Hawaii, with Love

  Spy Goddess: The Spy Who Totally Had A Crush On Me

  PICTURE BOOKS

  The Legend of Blue Jacket

  Texas Rangers: Legendary Lawmen

  Daniel Boone’s Great Escape

  Baseball From A to Z: A Baseball Alphabet

  The Monster Alphabet

  www.IQtheSeries.com

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are either products of the authors’ imagination or, if real, are used fictitiously.

  Copyright © 2014 Roland Smith

  Copyright © 2014 Michael P. Spradlin

  All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, transmitted, or stored in an information retrieval system in any form or by any means, graphic, electronic, or mechanical, including photocopying, taping, and recording, without prior written permission from the publisher.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Smith, Roland, 1951-Alcatraz / Roland Smith and Michael P. Spradlin.

  pages cm.

  Summary: “After thwarting the ghost cell’s chemical attack in Chicago, Q and his stepsister Angela arrive in San Francisco to continue their parents’ concert tour. They find themselves helping Boone and the S.O.S. team in the final showdown with the ghost cell and its leader, Number One”--

  Provided by publisher.

  ISBN 978-1-58536-826-6 (hard cover) -- ISBN 978-1-58536-825-9 (paperback)

  [1. Spies--Fiction. 2. Terrorism--Fiction. 3. Stepfamilies--Fiction. 4. Musicians--Fiction. 5. San Francisco (Calif.)--Fiction. 6. Alcatraz Island (Calif.)--Fiction. 7. Mystery and detective stories.] I. Spradlin, Michael P. II. Title.

  PZ7.S65766Alc 2014

  [Fic]--dc23

  2014016045

  ISBN 978-1-58536-825-9

  1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

  ISBN 978-1-58536-826-6 (case)

  1 3 5 7 9 10 8 6 4 2

  This book was typeset in Berthold Baskerville and Datum

  Cover design by Lone Wolf Black Sheep

  Cover illustration by Kaylee Cornfield

  Printed in the United States.

  315 E. Eisenhower Parkway, Suite 200

  Ann Arbor, Michigan 48108

  © 2014 Sleeping Bear Press

  visit us at sleepingbearpress.com

  For all my dedicated readers, but especially Sophia Cajune.

  —Roland

  To Jessica Luca For making our family complete

  —Mike

  Contents

  Cast of Characters

  MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15: 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. PST

  The Ghost

  Reality Bites

  The Monkey and the Leopard

  Reunion

  Tension

  Sometimes Surveillance Is Just Showing Up

  Buddy’s Back

  Aroma

  That Was Odd

  Number One

  Hot Pursuit

  Running Out of Numbers

  Start Spreading the News

  Not Staying Put

  The Hand (or the Foot) Is Quicker Than the Eye

  Tangled Webs

  MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15: 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. PST

  Going to the Dogs

  Getting Closer

  The Little Things

  Handling the Truth

  Good Knight

  CE 1104—1106

  Boone

  The Holy Land

  The Discovery

  Digging

  The Stuff of Legend

  Secrets

  The Miracle

  MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15: 2:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. PST

  Lost and Found

  Discovery

  Takedown

  Out of Nowhere

  The Beginning of the End

  Back in Charge

  Lockdown

  MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15: 5:30 p.m. to 7:15 p.m. PST

  Moving Fast

  Taken

  MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15: 7:15 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. PST

  The Trade

  The Rock

  Over the Bounding Seas

  Croc

  Showdown

  Turnabout

  The Big Finish

  About the Authors

  Cast of Characters

  Quest (Q) Munoz: Q is thirteen and wants to be a famous magician when he grows up. His idol is the great magician Harry Houdini. Q is ambivalent about school, but gets As in math and writing. He is seriously opposed to his new stepfather’s vegetarianism and sneaks junk food at any opportunity. Tall with blond hair, he dresses the same way almost every day, usually in some variation of cargo pants or cargo shorts and a polo or T-shirt.

  When Q is nervous, he shuffles cards and practices card tricks. It helps him relax and concentrate. He has a complicated relationship with his biological father, Speed Paulsen. Q is prone to premonitions, occasionally feeling that something bad is about to happen. He calls these feelings “the itch.” The itch proves useful to Q and Angela on more than one occasion.

  Angela Tucker: Angela, fifteen, has shoulder-length black hair with bangs, and olive skin. She has dark brown eyes and, upon first meeting her, Q thinks she is thin and a little frail-looking. But Angela is anything but frail. She wants to be a Secret Service agent like her mother, Malak Tucker, who died in the line of duty. Angela is smart, observant, and highly organized.

  Angela always carries a small tattered backpack, in which she keeps extra hats, sunglasses, and other items that help her disguise her appearance when she practices her countersurveillance techniques and tradecraft (a term spies and agents use that refers to the techniques of trailing a suspect, eluding a tail, and other methods they use in performing their duties). Angela keeps her desire to be an agent secret from her father, Roger, who would not approve of her desire to join the Secret Service.

  Blaze Munoz and Roger Tucker: Q’s mom
and Angela’s dad have recently married. They are musicians and perform together as the duet Match. After marrying in a ceremony in San Francisco, they take Q and Angela on tour with them across the country.

  Tyrone Boone: Boone is an old roadie (someone who travels with musicians and musical acts, performing all kinds of tasks on a tour). Boone is in charge of tour security and keeps an eye on Q and Angela. He travels with his very old, nearly toothless, and quite smelly dog, Croc. Boone is a former NOC (No Official Cover) agent for the CIA. He now uses a network of former spies to run “off-the-books” or unofficial operations.

  Malak Tucker: Angela’s mother and a United States Secret Service agent.

  Eben Lavi: A rogue Mossad agent. (Mossad is roughly the Israeli equivalent of the CIA.) Eben is tracking a terrorist he believes is responsible for his brother’s death. He believes the assassin known as “the Leopard” has a connection to Angela.

  Ziv: The mysterious Ziv is a NOC agent for Mossad.

  Buddy T.: Buddy T. is Blaze and Roger’s manager. Though he is obnoxious and offensive in practically every way, he’s still one of the most successful managers in the music business. Roger jokes that the “T” stands for “To-Do,” because when Buddy talks he sounds like he’s giving everyone a “to-do” list.

  J. R. Culpepper: J.R. is the president of the United States, or POTUS, as he is referred to by the Secret Service. Before being elected president he served in the U.S. Senate, was vice president, and was director of the CIA.

  Marie and Art: Marie and Art are Roger’s and Blaze’s personal assistants, or PAs. Buddy T. thinks that he hired them but in fact they are highly trained agents and bodyguards working for Boone.

  Heather Hughes: Heather is the president of a record company and responsible in large part for putting Match back on the charts. She knows Boone well from all her years in the music industry. Mostly her job appears to be keeping Buddy T. mollified and out of everyone’s way.

  P.K.: P.K. is short for President’s Kid, the Secret Service code name for Willingham Culpepper, son of J. R. Culpepper. P.K. is ten years old, but smarter than most and wise beyond his years. He knows the location of many of the secret passages in the White House and has a Secret Service radio, which he uses to keep tabs on the agents so that he can practice eluding them.

  Bethany Culpepper: J.R. is widowed and his daughter, Bethany, takes on the role of first lady.

  Speed Paulsen: Q’s biological father. Speed is a rock star and loves to play the part. He earned the nickname Speed because he could pick guitar strings faster than anyone alive. It’s been a while since Speed has had any hit songs and he is jealous of his ex-wife’s sudden, newfound success. Speed is annoying, hapless, confused, in and out of rehab, but at the same time strangely likeable.

  Agent Pat Callaghan: A Secret Service agent assigned to Boone’s team. Callaghan is capable, trustworthy, and devoted to J.R. and his family.

  The SOS team: A group of Boone’s most trusted operatives. SOS stands for “Some Old Spooks.” The team consists of:

  X-Ray: The technical genius. He spends most of his time in a van the team calls the “intellimobile.” There is no computer system and no database or piece of electronic equipment X-Ray cannot hack, master, construct, or duplicate.

  Vanessa: The team’s designated “world’s deadliest old broad.” She is a master knife thrower, and Boone refers to her as a “human lie detector” due to her ability to read people and determine if they are telling the truth. Vanessa is also an exceptional driver and adept at tailing suspects without being noticed.

  Felix and Uly: Formal Special Forces operatives. Given their size (both are nearly six feet eight inches tall) and matching buzz cuts, they could easily be mistaken for brothers. Their strength, expertise in hand-to-hand combat, and knowledge of nearly every type of weapon imaginable make them invaluable members of Boone’s squad.

  MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 15

  8:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. PST

  The Ghost

  The apartment’s balcony stood empty. Without warning, Number One appeared there, silently and with only the barest movement of the surrounding air. It was as if he had stepped through some invisible curtain onto a stage: not there; then, unexpectedly, there. His face was drenched in sweat and his knees buckled. Unable to keep his feet, he collapsed, clutching at the balcony railing for support. He leaned forward, his head resting against the cool metal. Exhaustion racked his body. In the past ten days he had used his ability at unprecedented levels. It was taking a fearsome toll on him.

  Ever since he had first gained his power hundreds of years ago, the things he could do never ceased to amaze him. Yet all power came with consequences. Now the cost of his gift racked him with pain and nausea. He slowed his breathing and closed his eyes. There was much to do, and use of his power would be required again soon. After a few minutes he gathered himself and stood up straight, groaning with the effort. He stood still, letting the cool breeze blow over him.

  The balcony overlooked the city below and it was a grand view. Farther out, the blue water of the bay sparkled brightly in the sunlight. Despite all the things he had seen in his life—and he had been to every corner of the world—he still marveled at the Golden Gate Bridge. There was something about this massive feat of human ingenuity juxtaposed against the natural beauty of the bay that stirred him. A small part of him was saddened that it would all have to be destroyed.

  Now that he knew everything he needed to know, he would bring it all crashing down. Western Civilization, as it currently existed, would end. For hundreds of years he had waited—no, he had yearned—for this moment. And although he was physically drained and desperately needed time to rest and recharge, he was also excited.

  This apartment was one of the few places in the world he could truly relax and be himself. He had others like it in several other cities: Los Angeles; New York; London; Brussels; and Istanbul. But this haven in San Francisco was his favorite. It was the ideal place for him to recover from what had been a very busy few days.

  Stepping inside the apartment he glanced at his reflection in a large mirror that hung on the wall. He looked tired and weak. He aged slowly, but he had aged nevertheless. When he first gained the ability he was so young. In the hundreds of years he had been alive, he had changed his name, identity, and look so many times that there were days he scarcely recognized the man who stared back at him from inside the glass.

  To the hundreds of members of his organization he was Number One, leader of the ghost cell. And his current public persona was perfect for running the organization. It allowed him to travel to a variety of cities and countries. It kept him near people who had great amounts of money and influence. But he had been alive for so long that sometimes it felt like he couldn’t remember his real name. And he often speculated whether a “real” name mattered to someone who had lived through dozens of lifetimes.

  For many years he had wondered (and occasionally worried) that his grand plan—to destroy the West and restore the Caliphate—might not be possible. Western technology and military superiority had advanced. His people had spent centuries fighting amongst themselves. But in the last fifty years, as their numbers grew, the tide had turned. Westerners had become lazy and distracted.

  Now he was poised to bring it all crashing down. Once he had the item back in his possession, he would begin. He would use its power to raise even more warriors just like himself, all with the same unique capability. With their newfound power he would place loyalists in positions of power around the globe. He would raise an army that would wrest control of the very bedrock of the West. Such an army would be unstoppable.

  But like everything else, wars must happen at the proper time. He had things to do first. The most important was to make sure that that moron Buddy T. found the item. Buddy had the badly mistaken notion that he was going to escape. No. Buddy could never escape him. No one could. But he would recover the item first and then he would deal with his idiotic underling.

&
nbsp; For a moment he cursed himself for giving it to Buddy in the first place, though he could not have risked having it discovered. The best security systems in the world could be beaten. He should know—he’d defeated most of them himself. That was why he’d entrusted it to Buddy T. The man had no idea what it was. To him it was just another piece of art or some other valuable antique locked in a weird-looking container. Another trinket among the hundreds of others he had given him over the years. And Buddy was far too terrified of him to do anything stupid.

  Traveling from town to town, on the road all the time, it made more sense to keep it safely locked away. The power it possessed was the key to everything. When he first realized he would live far longer than a normal human being, he’d always kept it nearby. For centuries he had studied the box that somehow kept the item concealed from him. He tried hundreds of different ways to open it, to unlock its secrets. And up to this point, opening the box was the only thing in his life he had ever failed at. Finally, a few years ago, he’d decided to have Buddy hide it. He would instead devote his efforts to finding the one he knew would be able to open it and give him what he wanted.

  That was a perilous path in its own right.

  In recent years, Western intelligence agencies had grown smarter, more cunning and capable. Despite his carefully crafted secret, he was not so foolish as to believe he could not be identified or even captured one day. At times like this, when he could not use his ability, he was as weak and vulnerable as any mortal man. Keeping the item locked away, where he had no knowledge of its whereabouts, was insurance. If he were to be captured and put in a place he could not escape from (and there were such places) he would not be able to reveal its location.

  He entered the apartment from the balcony door. How he loved this place. It had been built with the millions of dollars he had accumulated over the centuries. The rest of the building was empty. Bribes and payoffs kept the code inspectors and other city officials away. No one had ever visited here. Had he allowed someone in, they would find the top floor of the building to be a virtual museum of music history.