John and Tracy joined them and heard the bad news. Tracy said, “Oliver, let’s ask Linda and Candy to go over to where these guys have been living and grab some of their personal things which you can use to track them. Remember how you and Millie helped search for those terrorists in Philadelphia? Using mattresses and blankets and stuff which Team Twenty-Two sent back from Afghanistan?”
Amanda said, “Good idea. I’ll be able to identify which items contain the scent from Dhanial and the other three guys who were here and left in the van. Then, Oliver can follow whatever energy signature he can get from those items.”
“Can Oliver do that from a helicopter?” asked Jesse. He was pretty sure he’d heard that finder witches could do that but wanted to make sure.
“Oh, yes,” replied Oliver, nodding his head. “Can you get one for us? It will probably take more than an hour for Linda and Candy to break into those two apartments, round up enough items and then bring the stuff out here. If the Army can get a helo out here by then, we can maybe find that van before they get wherever they’re going and blow up whatever their next target might be.”
Jesse said, “I’m sure when Linda calls back to Colonel Schermerhorn and explains our plan, he’ll manage getting some air support for us. Getting a helicopter here will definitely make a difference! Let’s hope that can happen quickly enough.”
Phone calls were made and those resulted in many more calls being made. But, twenty minutes later, Jesse got a call asking for information on where to land the Black Hawk helicopter which the Army was sending him and would arrive within the hour.
-----
Talib meanwhile had decided he was in trouble. When he didn’t hear from Ravi, he began making calls. After none of his calls to Ravi, Saeed or anyone else were answered, he realized the warehouse had to have been compromised. The two women must have been spies and until he could reach someone who could tell him differently, it was best to assume the worst. Instead of going out to the warehouse, he needed to go to his safe house instead.
He was worried about possible surveillance at his store, so he told Tabish and Musa they were locking up and leaving by way of the hidden exit which he had provided in anticipation that it might be needed someday. Once they had managed to leave and make their way to the safe house, making sure they weren’t followed, he placed a call to Mullah Ahmed Kahtar.
After hearing what Talib had to report, Kahtar said, “You were right not to go out to that warehouse yourself. Is there anyone you can contact who might be able to check on things for you?” He knew Talib had developed various sources during the years he’d been in Germany.
“I plan on calling a few people who might help me with that,” explained Talib. “But, if the authorities have gotten into my warehouse, they will have found the bombing devices. I’ll need to leave Germany using my other identity, as will Tabish and Musa who are with me.”
“Yes,” agreed Kahtar. “If you can get to our safe house in France, I can then arrange for your safe return back here. What about the other members of your group? Can they get out?”
Talib said, “We will have to see whether Dhanial manages to succeed with our target in Frankfurt. That’s probably the last opportunity anyone from my group will have here in Germany. If he contacts me after that, I’ll tell him to go to France. He knows the plan for that. We will have to see what develops.”
-----
Dhanial looked again at the most recent text message he’d received from Talib. Unlike the earlier ones, demanding he return to the warehouse, this one was warning him not to do that. He wasn’t sure whether to believe Talib that the authorities might have shown up there, arresting everyone and finding the rest of their explosives, but he wasn’t calling him to learn more. No, Talib was furious about his taking the initiative and not waiting longer before attacking their target in Frankfurt. It would be time enough to call Talib after their attack. After their successful attack. That would make what he’d done acceptable.
And, if indeed the authorities had found the warehouse, as Talib was now suggesting? He would escape with his men to France. Let others worry about Oliver Bessom and whatever other demons might be chasing Talib or, perhaps, have already found him.
But, just to be certain he was not being followed, he had the driver turn down a side street and pull over. Again. He’d done this earlier. He knew how to evade possible surveillance and they had plenty of time to reach their target.
Chapter Thirteen
Mar 19, 2020
When William Gostoff got the call from his supervisor in Berlin, he was skeptical. But, nonetheless, he quickly assembled his Leipzig anti-terrorist team and brought them out to the warehouse at the address he’d been given. Allegedly, some American tourists and their U.S. Army security guards had located where the WIJO group responsible for the recent bombing in Munich was storing their explosives. Really?
Well, okay, the tourists and their bodyguards were the entourage with Candace Axtell, who had recently been on the news after visiting in Munich and then at the embassy. Yeah, he knew who she was. Who didn’t? After all the publicity months earlier over her almost being beheaded by WIJO, the media the world over had made certain everyone knew who she was. Beautiful girl, important general’s niece, dramatic last-minute rescue, big embarrassment for WIJO, etc., etc. Sure.
His supervisor claimed there were some American task force members in this entourage and so this Intel needed to be acted upon immediately. The Americans were holding eight suspected terrorists at the warehouse but others from the group were at large and another bombing attack might be happening in the next few hours. Hence, time was of the essence and it was his responsibility to get all this sorted out. Right away. Wonderful. These Americans stir up a hornet’s nest and now he’s the one who would probably be getting stung.
On arrival at the warehouse, he asked for Linda Rayburn as soon as he entered the office. That was the name his supervisor gave him for the person on the American task force who had called this in. Her call had been to someone in the U.S. of course. That had led to his supervisor being pressured from whatever authorities in the German government those Americans had influenced. Since these were Americans, his question was in English, a language he fortunately was fluent in.
A young man stepped forward and said, “Ms. Rayburn will be here shortly.”
“What about Candace Axtell?”
“She’s with Ms. Rayburn.”
“And you are?”
“I’m her fiancée, Oliver Bessom.”
“You’re Ms. Rayburn’s fiancée?”
“No, Candace Axtell’s.”
“So, you were here when the suspects were detained?” asked Gostoff. He was not happy with any of this. He demanded, “I’d like to hear an explanation for what’s going on here.”
“Actually, no. I’ve just arrived. Gene Tremblay and I were following some of the terrorists to this warehouse. We arrived right after Lieutenant Saunders and his men apprehended them.” Oliver had pointed first to Gene and then to the lieutenant while explaining this.
Gostoff was getting more and more frustrated with what he perceived as a run-around. Noting the American soldier apparently in charge was only a first lieutenant, his skepticism concerning everything grew. He again demanded, “Okay, I want to know exactly what happened here. Why was anyone apprehended? What was the evidence suggesting WIJO terrorists were involved?” He looked around at each of those gathered in front of him. His team members, meanwhile, had crowded into the office behind him but were waiting for him to provide instructions.
Tracy stepped forward and said, “Initially, we were acting on information obtained by our task force identifying Talib Mansoor as a terrorist. This was based on phone calls made to a WIJO leader in Afghanistan. Talib owns a liquor store in Leipzig which we … Oliver, Gene, Amanda and I … we visited there this morning.”
“And, who are you?” asked Gostoff, startled that such a young girl was explaining things. He did not hide his e
xasperation.
“I’m Tracy McGonagle and the others brought me with them since I understand Pashto. When we were in Talib’s liquor store, I overheard a conversation confirming the information we’d been given. Since our task force was able to locate this warehouse, operated by Talib, Amanda and I came out here to investigate.” Pointing to Amanda, she continued, “She speaks German. She and I pretended we had car trouble and came into this office and asked the two men in here for assistance.”
Gostoff looked at Amanda, then Gene, then Oliver. “You are all members of an American task force?” His tone showed he was finding this incredulous.
“They are, but I’m not. They brought me along since I know Pashto.”
Rolling his eyes, Gostoff asked, “Where did you learn Pashto? You don’t look like someone from the Mid-East.”
Tracy smiled and said, “At West Point. I’m a cadet there in my second year.” Pointing to Captain Bonomo, she introduced him as one of the TAC Officers at the academy. Then she introduced John as her boyfriend. “We came to Germany this week with Candace Axtell hoping WIJO might react to her visit. That worked, since it was phone calls about her which our task force intercepted, enabling them to identify Talib.”
“Why didn’t your task force provide us with this information? Why would you Americans visit this warehouse without contacting us?” Gostoff was clearly annoyed.
“We had no concrete evidence. Only information which we realized the German authorities would not be able to act upon since it was merely verbal, without any documentation. That’s why Amanda and I stopped in here. We hoped to find evidence which you could accept. And, we did. There’s a room full of explosives back there which we believe you can match to what was used at that nightclub in Munich.”
Not wanting to listen to this story any further without seeing this so-called evidence, he demanded, “All right. Let me see what you’ve found.”
Two minutes later, he was looking at a room full of weapons, explosives and bombing devices which indeed represented significant evidence of unlawful activity. He’d have to have their lab which had examined the debris in Munich confirm there was a match to the explosives used there, but things were now looking much better. He might not be on some wild goose chase after all.
“Let me see your prisoners,” asked Gostoff after he’d seen enough. He brought several members of his team with him to the room where Ravi and the others were being detained.
Ravi immediately began talking when Gostoff entered the room. “We are innocent. These Americans had no right to threaten us with weapons and lock us up in here. We have done nothing wrong. We don’t know anything about what you’ve found in that other room. We’re the victims here!”
-----
Linda and Candace finally arrived, along with the Army guys escorting them. They had stopped at both apartments where the terrorists had been staying for the past several weeks. They scooped up blankets, sheets, pillows plus any other items which might contain residual energy. Candace was very familiar with what items Oliver might sense energy from with his supernatural ability. Then they’d continued to the warehouse where, thanks to the call from Captain Bonomo, they were aware of how Gostoff and his team had been handling things so far.
Gostoff came out to the office to meet them, leaving the eight terrorist prisoners for his team to take care of. He’d quickly tired of listening to Ravi’s complaints and gave orders for the prisoners to be brought back to his office building in Leipzig where they’d be formally charged with various crimes, once all the evidence had been fully examined. He’d quickly realized none of them were ready to betray the others in their group and he wanted to learn what Linda Rayburn and her team might know. He’d been told there might be another bombing and wanted to get all the resources of his agency involved in stopping that, if at all possible.
After introductions were made, Linda said, “We’re quite happy to let the German authorities take full credit for this arrest, Herr Gostoff. Our task force wishes to keep all aspects of our involvement secret, due to security reasons. Some of the tools and methods which were involved are highly classified, as I’m sure you will understand.”
“Well, Tracy here did mention there were phone conversations between Talib Mansoor and some WIJO leader in Afghanistan,” replied Gostoff. “And, my supervisor says there might be another bombing attempt? What can you tell me about that?”
Linda nodded and said, “When Tracy and Amanda first arrived here, there were four other men besides Saeed and Tariq, the two you now have in custody. Ravi and the five men he brought arrived later. By that time, the van with those other four men had departed. Based on what Tracy heard before they realized she could understand Pashto, that van was headed out with bombing devices the men had loaded into it, with plans to attack their next target. Tonight.”
“Why didn’t Lieutenant Saunders and his men stop that van and arrest those terrorists as they were leaving here then?”
“At the time, it had not been established there were any explosives and bombing devices. Those were discovered after the lieutenant and his men rushed in to rescue the girls. Once they accomplished that … without any gunfire, by the way … well, then they discovered that room with the explosives during their subsequent search of the place.”
Gostoff hadn’t yet heard this part of the story and asked, “Why did Tracy and Amanda need to be rescued? And, how did the lieutenant know?”
“Saeed pulled a gun out and began threatening them,” explained Linda. “Tracy sent a text to her boyfriend that help was needed. He was outside with the lieutenant and his men and they immediately reacted.”
“Okay, I think I’m seeing this now. Of course, the fact that weapons and explosives were found is what makes all of this acceptable. Had there been nothing found, I’m not sure there was adequate justification for charging in here and subduing Saeed and Tariq. Why were they threatening the girls, anyway?”
Linda smiled and said, “Saeed was on the phone explaining to his boss, Talib Mansoor, about the four men leaving to attack their next target. Talib got suspicious about the girls being there and had Saeed describe them. Talib then recognized them from their visit to his store and insisted they be detained until Ravi got here. Ravi had been at his store during that visit and could confirm they’d been there. Talib was rightfully feeling worried about Candace Axtell’s visit to Germany.”
Gostoff looked at Tracy and nodded. He asked her, “You overheard enough to know you two were in trouble and somehow managed to text your boyfriend?” Then he chuckled. “I suppose things could have gone sideways and you women might have been hurt.” When he saw Tracy’s grin, acknowledging that, he said, “I think I’m missing some key elements in this story but that’s okay.” Looking back at Linda, he said, “What about the van that got away? Do you have a license plate number and description we can go with?”
“Yes, we do,” said Linda, and she gave him that info. Then she added, “The lieutenant did have men in one of his vehicles following the van but, unfortunately, the van managed to lose them. His men were trying to avoid being noticed and got snarled up in traffic. The van was headed west but, who knows? It really could be anywhere by now.”
“That’s too bad. I’ll have all our resources start searching for that van, based on this.” Gostoff shook his head. “Without more to go on and not knowing their target? We might be too late.”
Linda nodded and said, “We have a helicopter from the U.S. Army coming here. My team will try to circle around overhead and see if we can maybe spot them from the air. If we find them, I’ll call you right away.”
“Okay, any help like that will be appreciated,” said Gostoff. He was finally satisfied these Americans were helping. “Meanwhile, my team will arrest Talib and any of his other guys back in Leipzig. Maybe we’ll learn where the target might be from doing that. I doubt it but we need to try everything we can.”
“Very well. Everyone on my team will be leaving when that helicopter g
ets here. I know you’re taking these terrorists back with you. I assume you’ll be taking all the weapons and explosives with you as well, right? For evidence?”
“Correct. We’ll do a complete search but then we’ll be leaving and taking everything with us. I don’t see any need for anyone to stay and watch this place after that but we will be marking it as a crime scene.”
Linda said goodbye and then she and her team went outside. The lieutenant’s men had already opened up the bay doors and brought out the vehicles which they’d hidden earlier. They were ready to go and, except for the lieutenant, they would be leaving once the helo lifted off with Linda’s team, taking all the vehicles they’d brought.
Lieutenant Saunders would go with Linda’s team on the helicopter and provide direction to the men who’d gone ahead earlier and lost sight of the van. Hopefully, they’d be close enough to help once Oliver managed to locate where that van was located.
Chapter Fourteen
Mar 19, 2020
Gene and Amanda sorted through all the items which had been brought out from the terrorists’ apartments. By the time the Army’s Black Hawk helicopter arrived and touched down out in the parking lot, Amanda had identified those items which belonged to Dhanial and the three men who’d gone with him in the van. They separated these from all the other items and brought them to where Oliver was waiting with the rest of the team.
After examining them closely for a few moments, Oliver grinned and gave them all a thumbs up. He was able to clearly sense the residual energy from these men on the items and, with that signature to go with, he was able to sense the direction to where the men themselves were now. He knew he could follow that, just as Tracy had suggested and just as he had assured Jesse.
Tracy the Fire Witch Page 8