by Bob Blanton
Matthew used his portal to access the machine shop. He set up a drill press with a one-inch drill bit. It was difficult to manipulate things when he couldn’t actually grasp them, much less really see what he was doing. “It would be so much easier if I could open two portals,” he muttered to himself.
“What?”
“Nothing, just complaining how difficult this is.”
“Well, hurry up,” Emily whispered loudly.
Finally he got everything set up and turned it on. Then he used his portal to expose different parts of the enclosure to the spinning bit. After a minute he had managed to drill several holes forming a loose circle into the top of the humidifier unit. Now he had to drill out the areas between the holes so he could lift the piece of metal out. As he tried to drill the first small bridge of metal out, the metal started to vibrate and emitted a low rattle.
“Did you hear that?” one of the guards said.
“Matt!” Emily hissed.
“On it,” Matthew jumped up beside Emily.
“They’re going to see us.”
“Shh, I’ve opened my portal like in the hallway, so just be quiet,” Matthew whispered.
The two stood quietly while the security guard from the south roof wandered over toward the recessed area that housed the air-conditioning units and the humidifier for the Sackler wing.
“See anything?” his partner asked.
“No, must have been the AC squealing,” he said into his mic. “It’s running like mad. Man, it’s sticky out here.”
“It sure is. How did we get stuck with outside duty? That squealing AC is making the inside security guys nice and comfortable downstairs.”
“Yeah, well another hour and we get our break, and then we’ll be downstairs and two of them will be taking our place in this sweltering heat.”
“All right, if there’s nothing going on over there, get back over here.”
After a few minutes, Matthew went back to work. He used his hand to minimize the vibration and after another three minutes he had a six-inch hole he could reach through.
“Finally!”
“You’re through?”
“I’m through the top, but I’m far from done.”
“You have to hurry, you heard them. They’re due for a break in thirty minutes, we have to get back before then.”
“I know. I have to examine this thing now that I can shine a light on it.” Matthew turned the flashlight on and used his portal to see around the unit. He carefully shifted the canister a bit to make sure he saw every side of it and could see exactly how it was connected to the humidifier unit. It took him several minutes to examine everything.
“The canister is plumbed into the water line like I thought,” Matthew said. “It’s a double canister, an inner and outer chamber. From what I can tell, the alcohol is in the outer chamber and the really bad stuff is in the inner chamber. And it makes sense they would do it that way.”
“Are you sure?”
“We’ll see in a minute. There is a tube that goes to the bottom through the center chamber to push the two components up into the mixer.”
“That doesn’t make sense, wouldn’t the water mix with them and dilute the sarin?”
“It would, but it’s built like a syringe. There’s a plate at the bottom of each chamber with a seal, very precision engineering. The water goes below the plates where the two chambers are connected. Then when the water goes in, the pressure forces the plates up like an plunger and the chemicals are pushed into the mixer.”
“So can’t you just disconnect it from the water supply?”
“If I do, there will be water all over the roof and it’ll leak down. And we still are stuck with a live chemical weapon. Who knows what else might happen. I’m going to break the alcohol canister open and let the alcohol out to evaporate. Without the alcohol, the mix won’t be too dangerous.”
Matthew maneuvered things around so he could get a good hold on the canister. “Since I don’t understand how this thing is triggered,” Matthew said, “I need to really hold the unit still while I cut a hole in it.”
“What if you trigger it when you do that?”
“That’s a good point, hmm.” Matthew opened his portal and concentrated on the insides of the canister. “I could break the center tube so the water goes in the top… Let me see if I can do that… I should be able to break the pipe by bending it repeatedly. And it makes sense to break the pipe first… here we go… a few more times… got it. I’ve broken the inside pipe, so that means the water will come in the top and only mix with the one component. It’s nasty but not lethal, and it breaks down when it mixes with water. And with the water coming into the top, mostly water should come out. I think that should make us safe.”
“Okay, then I’ve got you covered,” Emily said, as she held the tablecloth up behind her. She held it high and wide with her arms to give the maximum camouflage.
“Thanks, but step up on that ledge there so the alcohol doesn’t get your shoes.”
“Good thinking,” Emily stepped up and then spread the tablecloth out again to shield Matthew.
Matthew adjusted his portal so the drill bit was against the side of the canister close to the ground; that way when the hole formed, the alcohol would just leak out. Then he slowly adjusted the portal so the drill bit would bite into the canister. Suddenly the smell of alcohol flooded the area. Matthew stepped up on the ledge with Emily and moved the portal so it would funnel the alcohol over to a large flat area of the roof.
“Okay, that’s all the alcohol,” Matthew said. “Any movement from our guys up here?”
“No, they seem interested in something going on below; they’re at the edge of the roof looking down.”
“Good, now let me help the evaporation process.” He opened his portal under the large pool of alcohol and put the other end in Hawaii where it was nice and sunny. He waited five minutes until all the alcohol seemed to have evaporated.
“Now we just bend the outlet tube before it goes into the humidifier,” Matthew said. “That way anything released will just pour onto the roof here. They can come clean it up, when and if they need to.”
“Whew,” Emily said. “I’m exhausted and I didn’t do anything.”
“Let’s get back inside and I’ll call Caruthers.”
Matthew and Emily crept slowly along the walkway using Matthew’s portal to shield them from the two security teams. Just as they were approaching the door, it opened.
“This is teams six and seven, the door alarm is us exiting the building. We’re about to relieve teams five and eight on the roof.”
“Oh no,” Emily whispered. “Quick here’s a fire standpipe. We can squeeze in beside it.”
Matthew and Emily slipped behind the red painted, twelve-inch standpipe. Matthew used his portal to shield them from view as the four men walked past them.
“Mr. Potter, quite a nice invisibility cloak you have,” joked Emily.
“I’m glad you’re so relaxed you can joke,” Matthew said. “I’m still trying to restart my heart.”
“Mine is pounding so hard I can hear it.”
“Let’s get back inside before the others come back.”
They reversed the procedure they had used to come out the door to get back into the building.
“Okay, we can just use my portal to float back down to the first floor. Then I think I’ll have enough time to call Caruthers,” Matthew said.
“Are you sure we have time, and you don’t have a phone?”
“They have to use the stairs. That is if they’re even coming this way. And I’ll use that spare phone.”
“How are you going to keep her from recognizing your voice?” Emily asked. “You can’t use your voice synthesizer, and I don’t think you can text this.”
“I’ve been working on that this week,” Matthew said. “If I set the flexibility of the portal just right, it distorts my voice. I think it’s enough to avoid any voice recognition.”
/> He opened the portal, turned on one of Sayid’s phones, put it in speaker mode, and dialed Caruthers.
“Ranger Zero, what’s going on?” asked Caruthers.
“The target is the Met,” Matthew said. “I’ve disarmed a sarin canister that is tied into the humidifier on the roof of the Sackler wing.”
“Oh God, are you sure?”
“Worst case, the gas spills onto the roof, but I’ve drained off the alcohol so it won’t be lethal. Can you stop the prince from showing up?”
“I’ve been trying since I got your text earlier, but he’s been adamant that his security is adequate, and I don’t want to tell him about the sarin. I don’t want any info about sarin to get out and create a public panic. His security has suggested that they could change the timing.”
“How?”
“He is only ten minutes out, so his security team says we can pull the event up in time. They believe that will catch the terrorists off guard and either disrupt their plan or force them to tip their hand.”
“Okay, security here is tight. I’m impressed,” Matthew said.
“Secret Service does a good job.”
“Are all these security guards Secret Service?” Matthew asked.
“Yes, but under cover to lower the profile.”
“Impressive. By the way, that kid, Matthew, and his girlfriend, Emily, are here.”
“What’s he doing there?” Caruthers shouted.
“Must like a good party,” Matthew replied. “Okay, I’m back to the party. Out.”
“Why did you tell her about us and what’s this girlfriend thing?” Emily asked, her voice a bit tense.
“They’ll know we’re here as soon as they look at the guest list so we might as well tell them. I don’t want them to connect me and Ranger Zero too much. And I think that’s how Fauget would refer to us if he were asked.
“Okay,” Emily rolled her eyes. “Let’s get back to the party.”
“Yes, we need to really keep an eye out for anything strange.”
“Can’t we just let the Secret Service handle it?”
“We can hope, but it’s best to add insurance.”
◆ ◆ ◆
“Matt, let’s at least go through the Islamic Art Galleries while we can.”
“Sure,” Matthew said, “but we don’t have much time.”
“We can at least do a quick walkthrough. Then we’ll know what to come back and see.”
Matthew and Emily made their way past the restrooms and into the wing housing the Islamic Art. The first gallery they entered was full of display cases with jewelry, woodwork and glass objects, but what caught both their eyes was the huge wall of blue tile. They walked right though the first gallery until they were standing in front of it. The tile was arrayed like a door, framing a small niche. Looking at the label, they read that it was a prayer niche. The mosaic tiles were stunning, blue and turquoise tiles arrayed around the niche. The outside was dominated by the darker blue colors, while the niche was dominated by the turquoise colors.
“Wow, I could stand here all day and look at it,” Emily said. “It’s so calming.”
“I guess that’s the point since it’s a prayer niche. We definitely have to come back here and spend some time.”
“I agree; we’d better hurry if we want to finish our walkthrough.”
Following the signs, they did a jog to the right through another gallery until they were looking at the Damascus Room.
“Now that is almost as amazing as the prayer niche,” Matthew said.
“I agree, the wood work is stunning,” Emily said. “And this tile floor. They must have to clean this every day just to keep it that white.”
“A labor of love,” Matthew said. “Just being inside it must be worth the effort.”
“Can I answer any questions for you?” one of the docents asked.
“Oh, we got here late,” Emily said. “We wanted to do a quick pass through the Islamic Art galleries before the presentation.”
“Oh, then you’ll want to be sure to check out the Moroccan Court, just over there. You’ll pass it on your way back to the temple.”
“Thanks,” Emily said. “Do you work here often?”
“Three days a week since I retired,” she said. “It gets me out of the house and I get to meet so many nice people.”
“That’s nice. I heard they had some big remodel here a few weeks ago. Do you know what they did?”
“Of course I do. It wasn’t that big a job. They added the bathrooms between this wing and the temple. Good thing too, they really weren’t sufficient facilities for a party like this. We’d get lines four and five deep with women having to wait far too long to use the facilities. It was actually quite embarrassing, if I might say so myself.”
“Well, I’m certainly glad they did,” Emily said. “Thanks for helping us.” She and Matthew hurried back toward the temple.
“They remodeled the bathrooms six weeks ago,” Matthew said.
“So if they did the change on the roof then, what might they have done in the bathrooms?”
“Don’t know, but keep an eye out. See if anyone rushes to one of the bathrooms when they announce the change in timing.”
“We need to hurry,” Emily said, “It’s almost time.”
“They’re getting ready to announce,” Matthew said, as they made their way past the bathrooms and into the back of the temple.
“May I have your attention please? … May I have your attention please?”
It took a minute for the room to quiet down. “Due to changes in the prince’s schedule, we will be holding the exchange ceremony a bit earlier. It will be held in thirty minutes. Please continue to enjoy yourselves in the meantime.”
Matthew and Emily set up position where they could see the doors to the bathrooms. “Okay, we want to wait to see if anyone rushes to one of the bathrooms, or stays inside one of them for an inordinate amount of time.”
“Gotcha.”
During the first ten minutes after the announcement, a long line of people went to the restrooms. It seemed everyone wanted to take care of business before the ceremony. As the rush settled down, one man went into the restroom on the left. Matthew set his portal to check on each person who entered a restroom to make sure they were there to use the facilities. This guy obviously wasn’t. Matthew watched as he locked the door and then started rapping on the wall above the toilet. He kept rapping on it until he found the tile he wanted. Then he hit it hard with his hand along its centerline. The tile snapped in two, exposing a cavity behind it. The man pulled out a bag and set it on the sink. He pulled an automatic revolver out and then a silencer. He attached the silencer to the revolver, then slid the gun into his jacket where a holster had been sewn into the inner lining. Then he pulled out two syringes and laid them on the counter. Last he pulled out a pen and clipped it into his pocket.
“This is it,” Matthew whispered to Emily. “Teal cummerbund and tie.”
Matthew felt someone tap him on the shoulder. “Are you Matthew Brandt?” the security guard asked.
“Yes, is there a problem?”
“I have a phone call for you.”
“What!”
“Please follow me to the security station,” the security guard said, as he took Matthew by the arm and led him toward the station.
Matthew looked at Emily, and she motioned that she would keep her eye on the guy.
“Hello,” Matthew said, as he took the phone the security guard handed him.
“Mr. Brandt, what are you doing there?” Agent Caruthers asked.
“What?” Matthew asked.
“Why are you at this event?”
“It looked like a historic event, we wanted to be here,” Matthew replied. “Why do you care?”
“We have a security op going on there.”
“Why tell me?” asked Matthew.
“Because Ranger Zero is part of the team, and we don’t want you blowing his cover.”
“
I couldn’t blow his cover if I wanted to,” Matthew said. “I’ve never seen the guy.”
“I was sure Walker said you had talked to him.”
“Nope. Never met him. Now can I go watch the ceremony?” Matthew said, impatiently. He had been checking on the assassin in the bathroom during the conversation. The man had just finished injecting himself with one of the syringes and put the other one in his pocket.
“Yes, just play it cool. As you said, this is a historic event.”
“Thanks,” Matthew said and handed the phone back to the security guard. The ceremony was just beginning as Matthew hurriedly made his way back toward Emily. He opened his portal so he could talk with her.
“Emily.”
“Yes, the guy came out just now and pointed that pen at the glass. I think it was a signal.”
“Where are you?”
“Right next to him; we’re just to the side of the altar by the handicap lift.”
“I see you. Damn, no time to bring the Secret Service in quietly. Did he make contact with anyone else in the room?” He walked toward Emily to take a position on her right with his eye on the man.
Emily shook her head to answer Matthew as he stepped in beside her.
Matthew used his portal the check on the prince. He was just coming out of the back of the altar for the presentation.
“What did you say!” Matthew shouted. He then punched the assassin in the throat, causing his larynx to go into spasm. The assassin fell to the ground, gasping for breath. Matthew kneeled down next to him and opened his coat so that the gun was visible.
The security guard grabbed Matthew by the shoulder to haul him up. “Look,” Matthew hissed, pointing to the gun.
The prince was ushered back into the security of the altar. “What’s going on here?” demanded a second security guard.
“He made a pass at my girlfriend,” Matthew said, loudly.
“Give us some room, folks. Now breathe, breathe. Apparently someone has had too much to drink. We’ll just escort him out. Then everyone can get back to the ceremony.” He lifted the assassin up with the help of the other security guard and they carried him out of the room.
“Please just stand here,” a third security guard said to Matthew, as he took up position behind him. “We’ll just wait until the ceremony is over, playing it nice and cool, then you can go talk to Caruthers again.”