Chapter 5: Hudson's Secret Weapon

On the Lear Jet flight to Paris

Everyone is taking catnaps in the plane so they can all be energized and ready to go when they get to Paris. Jack is wearing gray suit with white shirt and blue tie. Jack gets a call on his cell phone. He answers and hears Jessica speaking. He tells her to hold on and goes to the conference room in the back of the Lear Jet.

Jack: Hi Jessica, I talk to Meg and told her I’m right in the middle of a huge case. Can I take a rain check on lunch with you at The Bistro Café?

Jessica: I hope you don’t mind but I asked Meg for your cell phone number just in case. I didn’t think I was going to ever use it but this is an emergency. So you can’t meet for lunch.

Jack: Afraid not. Actually, I’m in the air and flying to Paris as we speak. I’m glad you have my cell phone number. You know you can call me anytime to talk.  Speaking of which, Meg said you needed to talk to me. Now is a good time as any. Tell me about your dreams.

Jessica: Well, I would prefer to do this face-to-face, but I guess talking on the phone with my best friend’s brother isn’t half bad. I have visions of a woman and a little boy who is in trouble. He is going to die if we don’t do something.

Jack: Slow down, start from the beginning. Can you give me a description of the woman and boy you saw in your dreams?

Jessica: I had several dreams about them. But the last one was the worse. The boy is kidnapped. I’m not sure who took him or where he is right now but I know he is scared. I saw maybe a woman but it is hard to tell because it was so dark. Then I saw, the little boy with four men wearing ski masks. And they are looking at a crate full of ammunition, guns, cocaine, timers, and Russian missiles.

Jack: Are you absolutely sure about your dream? You saw Russian one man portable shoulder arms missiles, Iglas, how many? What is the location?

Jessica: Yes, I saw the missiles. It looks like there are at least 35-40 of them in the crates. I heard the men whispering about a plan. Something full-size is going to go down. But I don’t know the location or when.

Jack: Okay, do you know the boy’s name? Was he wearing something that could be easily identified like a baseball cap?

Jessica: I heard the woman call him Danny. She is in trouble too. I saw someone trying to kill her. But he got away. Not before she use karate on the guy.

Jack: Good for her. In your dream, what else did she say?

Jessica: Something about having nightmares from 10 years ago. Amber, her cousin died because of her. I’m not really sure. It is hard to tell which dreams I have are real and what is not real sometimes. Jack, you have to understand that the visions I have may have already taken place in the past or the events will take place today or tomorrow. I know that doesn’t make a whole lot of sense. I’m sorry I can’t explain it any better.

Jack: That’s fine. I want you to think about the woman’s features and describe them to me in detail.

Jessica: She has raven-black hair, gray eyes, high cheekbones, porcelain skin, and a mole on her left cheek, and a lithe body like a model or actress. She was wearing a pretty sundress and standing on the balcony of the Victoria Palace Hotel when she was attacked. The boy wore an Orioles baseball cap backwards. He must be 8 years old. He is so little and all alone.

Jack: Are you sure? I’m not supposed to tell you this, but I think your dreams may be connected to the case I am currently working on. I can’t get into all the details but I want you to call me again if you have any more of your visions, anytime, day or night.  Now, I have to tell my teammates about your dreams.

Jessica: Yes, I’m sure. No, you can’t Jack. I don’t want more people to think I’m crazy.

Jack: Listen to me. You are not crazy. You are a wonderful person who has a unique gift. Don’t worry my teammates are really great people. I will find the boy and the woman in your dreams. I promise.

Jessica: Okay, what do you want me to do besides calling you when I see more visions? I wish I could stop the images from appearing in my mind. You call it a gift, but I call what I have a curse.

Jack: I’m going to send Sonny Alvarez over to your house in 30 minutes. She is going to hook up a video conference so that you and I can talk to each other on the computer. It’s like a webcam only better picture quality. You can see me and I can see you. I hope that eases your mind.

Jessica: Alright. Sonny can come, but how do I know what she looks like?

Jack: Sonny works with me, she will be wearing a FBI jacket and she will show you her credentials.

Jessica: If you say so. Well, I better go and let you get back to saving the world again. I’ll call you if I have any more visions to tell you about.

Jack: Alright. You did great. I’m glad you told me about your dreams. I’ll call you tomorrow to see how you are doing. Bye, Jessica.

Jessica: Not to put any more pressure on you, Jack. I know you have a lot of work to do. But time is running out for the boy and the woman. I need to tell you that. Sorry to dump this all on you again. Thanks for talking to me about my dreams. I feel a lot better now, Jack. Talk to you later. Bye.

Jack is about to head back to the cabin to talk to the rest of the team when Patrick O’Reilly opens the door to the conference room.

Patrick O’Reilly: What are you doing? I thought you would catch a catnap before we get to Paris. We need to be on high alert for anything suspicious. We won’t get any sleep until he is caught. Just so you know, caffeine and finding Balitran keep me awake every night.

Jack: I may have a new lead.

Patrick O’Reilly: Has there been a new development?

Jack: Yes and No. I just got off the phone with an old friend. She is a psychic. I know what you are thinking.

Patrick O’Reilly: You don’t want to know what I’m thinking. (Puzzled look on his face).

Jack: But she is real. I can vouch for her ability. She told me about these dreams that she has. I think it connects to our case because she mentioned a boy who is kidnapped and a woman who is a model/actress. I sent Sonny Alvarez to Jessica’s house to set up a video conference call the next time Jessica has a dream about the woman and child in question. She also told me about a shipment of Iglas missiles, and four men whispering about something major going down. One of the men could be Eduardo Sanchez, we know he is an arms dealer & drug kingpin and working with Sean Balitran. What if they are meeting somewhere to discuss plans for a future attack on the U.S.? 

Patrick O’Reilly: Say you are right. I don’t believe in psychic abilities but maybe I have to this time if I want to catch Balitran. Is she positive that the boy has been kidnapped?

Jack: Jessica was really upset when she told me. She is sure that the boy has been kidnapped. I believe her. We have to find the boy before it is too late. Time is running out for him.

Patrick O’Reilly: Okay, it’s your call. Good thinking about the video conference. If you hadn’t mentioned it just now, I would have told you to do it anyway.

Jack: Yeah, I figure that. Great minds think a lot alike. They both laugh to ease their minds for a moment. I’m going to tell my team about Jessica’s dreams.

Patrick O’Reilly: Good. I am going to call the President and give him an update on Balitran and everything else. I won’t mention the psychic to the President just yet. We will go over everything after I finish talking to the President and you fill in your team about Jessica’s dreams.

Back in the cabin of Lear Jet

Jack: Listen up, everybody. I got a new lead. I got a call from Jessica, and before anyone asks Jessica and Meg, my sister, they are best friends.  That is how I know her, and she is a psychic.

Sue: You’re friends with a psychic?

Myles: You believe in that paranormal stuff and psycho babble?

Bobby: Jack, you called Dionne Warwick Psychic Hotline again to talk about your love life or lack thereof?

Jack: That’s hysterical. We work with the Marx brothers.  As I said, Jessica is a psychic and she needs our help. In fact, she had some information about our case. So I’m going to tell you what she told me. After that, Tara I need you to enhance a picture of Linda, the model to see what she looks like now. If I’m right, Linda and the woman Jessica told me she saw in her dreams is one and the same person. We need to find her quickly before anything else happens to her and her little boy.

Sue: Her little boy?

Jack: Yeah, Jessica said she saw someone kidnapped the boy and she also Iglas. They are planning an attack but that’s all we know for now.

Sue: Iglas? I didn’t get that. Repeat.

Jack: Iglas are Russian one man portable shoulder missiles. They can launch and shoot down U.S. military planes.

Dimitrius: Do you think the woman is staying at Victoria Palace Hotel? After all, that is why we are going to Paris because Tara said the money trail leads there.

Jack: Yes, she must be the woman in Jessica’s dreams. Tara, does the money trail lead anywhere else besides the hotel?

Tara: Nope. So far that’s the only hit. But Stanley is still working on breaking the other codes Balitran set up. He’s good, doesn’t want us to find him. Stanley and I will keep digging until we get more info on him.

Wes: We should do a through search of the Victoria Palace Hotel when we get there. Jack’s right. If Linda or whatever name she calls herself now is involved with Balitran and company, than things have just gone from bad to worse. And she could be in a lot of trouble. Just remember not to run out of the hotel in your underwear, boys and girls; looking straight at Ben & Jerry.

Sue: Did I read that right? Wes, you said something about underwear? Who’s Ben and who’s Jerry? (laughs)

Wes: That’s what I said. (laughs)

Jack: Wes, that’s a story you can tell Sue another time. We all need to focus on finding Balitran. I don’t have to remind you all that failure is not an option in this mission! Patrick O’Reilly is going to brief us after he updates the President.

Tara: Jack, this is a picture of Linda when she was 18 years old and modeling. Now take a look at this. On the plasma TV, I enhance the image like you said, and this is what the computer came up with.

Jack: Looking up at the screen; accidentally blurts out she is beautiful. Put me through to Sonny Alvarez, I want Jessica to take a look at the picture and tell me if she recognizes the woman.

Bobby: I second that. That is one hot sheila.

Jack: Better not let Darcy hear you say that out loud. (Laughs)

Tara: Aye, captain. Sonny, this is Tara. Do you have things set up at Jessica’s house?

Sonny: Yeah, the video conference is ready to go. What do you need?

Jack: Hi Sonny, we have a enhanced picture of what Linda would look like now, I want Jessica to see if she is the woman in the dreams she has been having.

Jessica: Hi Jack. You look good.

Jack: Thanks. Look at the picture and tell me if she is the woman you saw in your dreams.

Jessica: Yes, that’s her.  Did you find her and the boy?

Jack: Not yet, but we will find them as soon as we land in Paris. Have you had any more visions?

Jessica: Not right now, thanks for sending Sonny. She is nice.

Jack: Alright. Remember to call anytime if you need to talk. Please put Sonny back on.

Jack: Sonny. Thanks again for all your help. If you could stick around for Jessica another day or two I would really appreciate it.

Sonny: Sure, no problem. But you owe me dinner when you get back. And I intend to collect.

Jack: Sure thing. Let me know when Jessica has another dream. Talk to you later. Bye.

Patrick O’Reilly: Can someone fill me in on what’s going on?

Jack: We are looking for Linda and we think she is staying at Victoria Palace Hotel. Lucy, call the French authorities and have them meet us at the hotel.

 

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