Note from the Editors
The following is a transcript of personal field notes from FBI Special Agent G. Wiles following the detainment of Brandon Jones and Sean O'Connor in the wake of their attempt to warn Ray Abramov of an impending attack by members of the organization known as the Sons of Liberty. The Federal Bureau of Investigation initially refused our Freedom of Information Act request for this audio file, though after threat of legal action by our organization, the FBI reversed their decision and released the file. The file does appear to be edited in places and this is reflected in the transcript.
AUDIO FILE NUMBER A 1.0: TRANSCRIPT OF FIELD NOTES FROM FBI SPECIAL AGENT G. WILES
DATE: OCTOBER 31, 2019
LOCATION: RESIDENCE OF RAY ABRAMOV, TOWNSHIP OF ARCHANGEL, WASHINGTON STATE
AUDIO FILES BEGINS
SPECIAL AGENT G. WILES
This is Special Agent G. Wiles recording from the site of the residence of Mr. Ray Abramov in Archangel, Washington. Before I begin I'd like to add a caveat for anyone listening to the raw, unedited version of my recording, that the purpose of me making this is not so that it can be listened to in its entirety, but rather so that my assistant can transcribe my notes for the final report that our team will file with FBI headquarters in Washington D.C.. If you're listening to this recording, please keep in mind that I tend to think out loud, and that you should disregard any personal remarks I make in the course of my examination.
Mr. Abramov is not here at the moment and our emergency services staff is in the process of trying to track down Mr. Abramov to notify him of the fire that occurred in his home this evening. We have reached out to the staff on his security team, asking them to put us in contact with Mr. Abramov. Unfortunately, they deny having any idea as to Mr. Abramov's location. It bears mentioning here that Mr. Abramov has been provided a round-the-clock security detail, so it's unclear how people whose entire job is to guard one man can suddenly lose track of him in the midst of an emergency like this one. For now though it seems as though Mr. Abramov is missing.
For now, I'll focus on my description of the house and it's surrounding property. The residence sits on approximately two or three acres of flat, well manicured lawn. There are no adornments at all around the yard–no bushes or statues or flowers of any kind. There is only trimmed grass, of a length you would find on the fairway of a golf course. If you're reviewing this, and you aren't a golfer, suffice to say that the grass is short. There is a small path that circles the property. It stands approximately three to four feet from the fence that encircles the entirety of the property. The fence is solid, wrought iron or black steel from the look of it, and stands perhaps ten feet tall. The house itself is of an architectural style that appears to be what I believe would be called mid-century modern, except for that it has more of a utilitarian look about it. There doesn't seem to be much wood at all comprising the structure itself. The building looks like it's made mostly from unpainted concrete. There are windows around the entirety of the structure, though they're narrow. More like vertical slits, I guess? I'm reminded of the World War Two bunkers on the beaches of Normandy I saw when I was in France. Coupled with the empty space around the house, the large vacant grounds, and the clear line of sight from the home to the fence, I can't help but wonder if the form of the place did perform some kind of function for Mr. Abramov's security. Strange though, as my understanding is that Mr. Abramov was a retired college professor and a writer or some kind. I wonder why a man like that would need to live in a place like this?
The shape of the building is...it's very, I don't know, angular? It's all sharp edges. I never thought I'd say this, but for the first time in my life I wish I'd paid more attention in that architecture elective I took as an undergraduate. The home is only one floor, though it's wide and seems to spread out over the grass. It almost looks bigger from certain angles, if that makes sense. (AUDIBLE LAUGH) No, I suppose it doesn't make sense. How can a building look as though it is bigger than it is, depending on how you look at it. It reminds me of the FBI's recent investigation into (AUDIO FILE ALTERED) after she was found dead outside the headquarters of (AUDIO FILE ALTERED). That case led to more than one agent quitting the Bureau entirely, as I'm sure anyone listening to this remembers. I suppose this transcript might make for a very Lovecraftian tale. Anyways, the house is, I think, longer than it is wide, if that makes sense.
As I approach the home, there is a definite smell in the air of some kind of burned ordinance or an accelerant of some kind. The smell is distinctly chemical–sort of tang that clings to the back of one's throat. I'm reminded immediately of the explosives training I underwent during my time in the Academy, though there doesn't appear to be any outward signs of an explosion in the home so I'm unsure if it is merely coincidental. I have, admittedly, not kept up on my explosives training since leaving Quantico, so there is a very good chance that my interpretation of the smell means nothing at all. My understanding from our lab technicians on site is that the source of the fire originated in the lower floor–or rather floors–of Mr. Abramov's home. I will update my field notes as we get more information on what caused the fire, though my gut tells me that the fire was set with some kind of chemical propellant. Again, I could be wrong, but my years in the field have taught me to trust my instincts. Maybe we should review the footage from our drone in the area? If I recall correctly, some of our drones have infrared capability. It's possible that our drone techs switched to infrared at some point during their surveillance of Mr. Abramov's home. We may be able to glean some information as to where the fire originated. Perhaps we could even get a sense for how the fire started.
Speaking of which, this is actually a good segway into what is currently the final part of my report, specifically the presence of Mr. Brandon Jones and Mr. Sean O'Connor on Mr. Abramov's property around the time the fire was discovered in Mr. Abramov's home. Some of my fellow agents working this case are of the mind that Mr. Jones and Mr. O'Connor may have played some role in the fire. I am not so certain. Drone footage from around the time the fire is thought to have begun shows the two men first at the front gate to Mr. Abramov's home. Footage from our drone on the property shows the two of them rounding the property and then scaling the fence after having presumably been denied entry through the main gate by Mr. Abramov's security. Side note: it bears mentioning that every member of Mr. Abramov's security detail has denied speaking with either of the men, though the footage clearly shows them speaking into the intercom at the gate. It's unclear what motivation Mr. Abramov's security staff would have to lie about this, though their behavior in this investigation thus far leads me to believe that they may simply be taking a position of total non cooperation with law enforcement. They may be aware that Mr. Abramov is a person of interest for questioning in the Thomas Novak case, and are simply trying to obstruct our investigation wherever they can.
After having scaled the fence, Mr. Jones and Mr. O'Connor came very close to our drone that was positioned on the ground near the fence. At this point our drone technician took the drone up from the ground into a holding pattern over Mr. Abramov's home, and it was at this time that the two men were lost from view as they approached the house. Special Agent Dockett, one of my colleagues working this case, believes that Mr. Jones and Mr. O'Connor were able to start the fire in Mr. Abramov's home during the time they were lost from the drone's line of sight. I find this a bit difficult to wrap my head around given that neither of the men were seen carrying anything as they approached the house, and we have yet to discover any way that either man could have entered the house. Further, I was personally on the team of agents who intercepted both men as they came onto the front porch of Mr. Abramov's home, and I can attest that neither man had anything resembling a fire propellant on their persons. What's more, it's my belief that neither Mr. O'Connor and Mr. Jones have any identifiable motive for trying to harm either Mr. Abramov or his property. However, Special Agent Dockett asserts that Mr Jones and Mr. O'Connor are Sons of Liberty co-conspirators as they were present at the Sons of Liberty meeting this evening in which SoL Leader Tim Dozer called for the assassination Mr. Abramov. Despite this, I remain doubtful that Mr. O'Connor and Mr. Jones are members of the Sons of Liberty. Call it a hunch, but they just don't seem like the type to fall in with that crowd. Both men are currently in custody at the Archangel Sheriff Department, and as I plan on personally interviewing both of them before the night is over, we'll know more very soon.
Well, I suppose that's it for now. I will continue to update this recording with notes as they become available. Hopefully the forensics team will be able to identify where and how the fire started in the next few hours. They may have to send samples to the lab in Seattle for definitive answers, but I am optimistic that we'll at least get a preliminary field report with more information about what happened here soon.
AUDIO FILES ENDS
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