Chapter XVI

r. Kny-pel was beside himself with rage.  Why he couldn't take William under as he did before was more than he could understand.  He had him under, but not in the depth and magnitude of the prior times.  There was a couple of times right before the trial that he nearly had the location of the Codes, but time constraints cost him the realization of that goal.

Now, he was losing a second time, because he simply could not take William to the depth of hypnotic trance.  Somehow, he was being blocked.

When he had tried his last bag of tricks, he simply said, "put him on the stand.  We'll try him, and sentence him.  If he does or doesn't give us the Codes, he will hang.  I will try right up to the time you kick the bucket out from under him.  He may be coerced into giving them up when he sees his beloved Sharon and Melinda on buckets with nooses around their necks as well.

But things were not going to go as Dr. Kny-pel had planned. Unbeknownst to him, the investigation was about to come down around his own neck.  Len Mathers had been running around doing the best investigative work he'd ever done.  And he'd run across something that didn't seem like a connection to him, but, at the same time, had a kind of different feel to it.  It just wasn't right.  But, he'd checked it out anyway.

What seemed like a lark had panned out.  He remembered Sgt. Chris James from the trial of William Travis, and didn't like him.  He had tried to run a bluff on Len, but, Len wasn't one to let someone, especially a nobody like Chris James, to bluff him.  But it was curious that he would have turned up dead in a Las Vegas fire.

On a hunch, he dialed the coroners office and spoke to the man in charge of the body.  "Nope," the man had said.  "Mr. James did not die from the fire.  He was dead long before the fire.  He died from a bullet to the head."

Now that was strange.  On a whim, he looked through a stack of cards in his briefcase and found Lane Wardlow's business card. He dialed the number, spoke to the secretary, and waited for Mr. Wardlow to come onto the line.  "Hello Mr. Wardlow, this is FBI agent Len Mathers," he began.  He waited for the reply.

After Lane's howdy-dos, Len asked if he'd seen or heard from William and/or Sharon Travis.

"No, it's been a couple of weeks or so.  I had a puzzling call from Sharons parents last week, and tried in vain to contact William and Sharon both.  I've left messages on each of the voice message system, but have yet to receive an answer from either.  Obviously you have some information, or you wouldn't be calling me.  Would you mind cluing me in on what's going on?"

"Well," Len sighed heavily.  "I have some news for you of which you may not be aware.  Mr. Travis and his wife are missing, as well as an FBI agent and presumed to have been kidnapped by Dr. Kny-pel," he began.

After Lane's quiet "go on,"

He began again.  "We are not for sure at this point, but we think Dr. Kny-pel might be after the Codes."

He paused for a response, but never received one.  "He's awfully quiet" Len thought to himself."

 "We are learning a lot about Dr. Kny-pel.  His real name is Caleb Kimble, and he's wanted for a string of charges ranging from murder to fraud.  He is a psychologist, but, he's had his license pulled and has been banned from practice, but was able to slide the license under an alias and continued under the false name."

He paused to get his breath, and the line was quiet as Lane studied the situation.

" There's quite a story to tell concerning this whole fiasco.  Lane, I am in dire need of your help," he finally said.

"Tell me what I can do.  I'll get a whole crew to help," he said emphatically."  And then the questions started coming; "How long have you known about this?  Where were they when they disappeared?  How did you come to know about this?  What part do you have in this?  Why is the FBI involved?"

"Lane, Lane . . . LANE!  Slow down!  I can't answer your questions this fast.  When can you meet me in Las Vegas?"

"I'll be on the first jet.  Should be there within 6 hours.  I'll call you a half hour prior to arrival.  You can give me the whereabouts to meet."  As soon as he hung up he called Wade Melton and Walter Bension who both agreed to meet at the airport.  Wade Melton owned his own Leer Jet, and quickly made arrangements for the pilot to make ready the plane.

Within an hour, they were gathered at the airport loading their gear.  The pilot was already in contact with the tower and had already filed his flight plan.  Within minutes,the sleek fast jet taxiing to the run up area, was awaiting take-off clearance.  Within an hour of take-off, the pilot was contacting McCarran international airport in Las Vegas.  Lane had arrangements for pickup in Las Vegas, and Len Mathers was making ready his office to receive the gentlemen.

While on the flight to Las Vegas, Lane contacted Sharon and Williams parents and gave them the news.  He got a little news himself.  Both sets of parents had been called, and they had been been told Williams plane had crashed in a remote area of the mountains, and as of yet, had not been found.  Both dads were ready to make the trip west to assist in the search, and/or claim the bodies of their children.

Lane felt as though he'd been slugged in the chest with a baseball bat.  His whole being sagged as he considered the news.  "Why hadn't I been informed of these happenings?" he thought to himself.  Had he known that, he wouldn't have even made the trip.  As it was, he was over here, so he'd at least take the time to talk to Len and get some answers.  Plus, they'd help in any way he could.

Len Mathers was walking up as they stepped off the plane.  After a quick hand-shake, he turned and led the way to his car.  The atmosphere was somber as Lane explained to Len what he'd just heard.  But Len's face was all scrunched up into a scowl.

"How could they have crashed in William's plane, when we have possession of it?" he asked.  He opened his phone and quickly dialed a colleague.  "Where's the Travis plane?" he asked.

He quickly hung up the phone and said "the Travis plane is in our hangar there in Reno.  It has been sequestered and guarded there since we arrested William and Sharon two weeks ago.  So, that little bit of information is wrong."

He looked over at Lane who now had a scowl on his face.  "What do you mean you arrested them?  You need to start at the beginning and lay it all out for me, and I mean fast."  The emphasis in his voice belied he meant business, and, he wanted some answers . . . now!

Len began talking, beginning from the President's order, all the way until the current.  It was quite evident Lane was mad about the whole situation.  And, when he'd considered it, and had thought it out, he realized that their arrest had probably saved Will and Sharon's lives.  He also had to admit it was very sloppy work to allow them to get given right back into the hand of the enemy.

Lane was not sure whether to be mad at Len or not.  But he was definitely mad at the government, and would fire off a letter to the President about this whole mess.  All he was sure about right now was he wanted William and Sharon found, whether dead or alive, and he wanted it done right away!

Len was just finishing up with the reason they were in Las Vegas instead of Reno.  "The FBI computer had a hit on a piece of property here in the Las Vegas area owned by a company which was nothing but a front for a Caleb Cain Enterprises.

The name of the company was a play-off on the names of Dr. Kny-pel, and part of the holdings for that company recently burned.  In it were found the bodies of a man and a woman.  The findings were that Sgt Chris James, whom we all know, was the male, and had been killed with a single bullet to the head.  The woman had been shot through the lower section of the heart.

How their bodies turned up in the morgue in Las Vegas, no one knows.  We have men staked out at the warehouse as we speak.  Zero hour is at midnight, and, anyone leaving the place is followed, then arrested while not on the phone, then the calls record of the phone is downloaded and traced.

 The stakeouts have been present since six o'clock, and it's half past eight now.  One of the men seen entering the place was ex-police chief, Don Siegal.

"It's looking like half of the police force was tied up in this deal Mathers," Lane was saying.  "All they wanted was the Codes?  Seems like an incredible risk to me," he finished.

He couldn't see the relevance for National Homeland Security involvment, and he especially couldn't see them important enough to have the President of the United States issue a arrest warrant.  He thought the whole thing was just incredulous.

A row between Len Mathers and Lane Wardlow was heating up.  "We're going in at midnight, and you'll have to stay away for your own safety," Len was saying.

Lane looked at Walter Bension, who had strapped on a bullet proof vest, and was now strapping on the shoulder holster for his .45 automatic  He pulled the mag, checked the loads, spanked it home and racked it.  If there is no round in the chamber, all you have is an expensive ammunition storage device.

He then put a 38 snub on his ankle, and shoved a paddle holster into his left side holding mags.  He then put a concealed holster on his right side, checked the big automatic and shoved it home.

Wade Melton was loading up as well.  You could tell by the way they were arming, they meant business!  They'd come for a mission, and that mission would be done, as soon as they could get on location.  The FBI can sit by and grow beards while they waited, but blood was going to be let before those beards had a full days growth.

Lane had stopped talking to Len, and reached into his suitcase, pulled out his own vest and a .45 Springfield ACP.  He was nearly completely armed before he looked at Len.

"Finally . . ." thought Lane.  "He's finally growing some testicles!"

Len was getting ready too.  He was strapping on a vest, and checking the 380 on ankle.  He pulled out his own Winchester pearl handle chrome 1911 frame 45, checked it thoroughly and shoved it home then said "you men ready?"

They picked up the rest of their gear, and headed for the door.  Walter said "If you're waiting on us Len, you're backing up!" and shoved the door open with his foot.

Len grabbed the rest of his gear and headed out the door right on on their heels.  It didn't look like there was going to be much room for argument.  But Len would have more to worry about than Lane Wardlow, Wade Melton and Walter Bension.  This would be the night more than one would leave with blood on their hands.

© 2000 - 2025