“C3, right?” Evan asked.
“That’s right,” she said, impressed that he knew this detail about their team affiliation. “Before we get going for the day, is there anything else we need to know that I haven’t asked about?”
He took a shaky breath and blew it out. “The bomb-making supplies Philips found trouble me, but the white phosphorus is more concerning. Are you familiar with it?”
“It’s used in incendiary devices often to create smoke, right?” she asked.
Evan nodded and shoved his hands into his pockets. “It combusts the moment air touches the substance and eats through anything and everything. It’s so unstable that it has to be kept underwater to prevent it from bursting into flames.”
“Sounds incredibly dangerous,” Sean said as he joined them.
Evan gave a clipped nod. “In addition to causing severe burns, inhaling the smoke can be deadly.”
Even worse than Kiley thought. “Is it available in the U.S.?”
“Not legally, but you can make it out of red phosphorus. In fact, it’s a by-product of using red phosphorus to make meth.”
“So it’s around then,” Mack said.
“Yes,” Evan said. “Combine it with explosives and you have a fiery rain that will inflict great harm.”
Kiley couldn’t even begin to imagine the devastation. “You said there were things that troubled you. What else?”
“The bomb-making supplies included a Wi-Fi switch.”
“Wi-Fi?” Mack asked. “As in useitto detonate the device instead of a cellphone?”
“As backup to the cellphone,” Evan said.
“Terrorists are slowly learning that law enforcement blocks cell signals at big events,” Kiley said. “So they’ve had to get more creative. They’re using Wi-Fi trigger mechanisms as backup.”
Cam looked up. “But Wi-Fi doesn’t travel far. Anyone who’s had to deal with network dead spots in their own house knows that.”
“That’s changing.” Kiley looked at Cam. “I’ve read that in previous attacks using Jemaah Ansharut Daulah militant network, and with careful construction of routers and amplifiers, militants extended the range as far as a kilometer.”
“More than half a mile?” Cam shook his head. “Wow.”
“And JAD is tied to ISIS, so...” Kiley didn’t finish her statement. She didn’t need to. Everyone understood. They weren’t looking for run-of-the-mill uneducated terrorists here. They were looking for a cut-above bomber with strong electronics skills.
“The Makarovs and ammo left in the container seemed odd too,” Mack said.
“You’re questioning why they left them behind?” Sean asked.
Mack nodded. “I was thinking they might be planning to come back and leave this country the same way they entered. In case they lost the weapons I assume they’re carrying, they wanted to be sure they had protection waiting for them.”
Kiley shifted her focus to Evan. “Do you think they’re going back home in the same container?”
“Possibly,” Evan replied. “Golden Lion Shipping is handling this container, and they’re scheduled to move it to their place tomorrow. I immediately requested a warrant. After it came in, I planned to stop by the company to see what I could learn about the plan. I’ve already called the owner and persuaded him to meet me today.”
She was glad for his proactive move, but there was no way she would let him visit Golden Shipping without her. However, the entire team didn’t need to go along. She faced Sean. “No point in all of us waiting around for the warrant. You go ahead and get our office accommodations finalized.”
Sean nodded.
“Cam.” She looked at him. “Go with Sean. Finish your algorithm and get started on the social-media information from Evan and start searching the dark web for any intel.”
Cam closed his laptop and stood. “You got it, boss.”
She wrinkled her nose at his boss comment, and he grinned. Clearly he wanted to mess with her, but she let it go.
