by Bob Blanton
“Yes, I had to knock them out myself; otherwise he’d have figured it out. I hope I didn’t hurt them.
“You couldn’t have hurt them as much as a bullet would have, so I expect they’ll be happy to be alive,” Captain Walker said. “So this portal, it’s like a force field?”
“Yes.”
“How big can you make it?”
“Only about ten inches now.”
“Now?”
“I keep getting better and I find other things it can do.”
“So this presents some other options. You can use it to block the M60 when we go live. If you can block it at the barrel, it’ll explode on the second round.”
“But if it’s moving, I won’t be able to keep it in place.”
“Damn. What else could we do?”
“I can transfer heat through it. Does that help?”
“Hmm, how much heat?”
“I don’t think there’s a limit, but I haven’t tested it fully.”
“Okay, we’ll see if we can disable the firing pin.”
“How?”
“Heat should break the spring or at least disable it. I’ll get a torch in here, then we’ll see.”
“Okay,” Matthew said. “Another thing, the barrels in the basement aren’t booby trapped, neither are the ones in the lobby. The ones along the doors have mercury switches in them.”
“What else?”
“You saw the two guys in the basement; there are two more in the lobby right now; Charlie and two others in the control room.
“There’s another limitation, I can only get this end of it a few feet away from me.”
“And the other end?”
“Anywhere in the world as far as I can tell, but I have to have been there, or someone I know has to be there, or I have to kind of drive it there.”
“Well, if we get out of this, I’ve got a job for you anytime you want it,” Captain Walker said. “But let’s figure out what our next move is.”
“Okay,” Matthew said.
“Let me call Fauget first. I’m assuming there won’t be any problems with their jammer.”
“I wouldn’t think so.”
“Juliet.”
“This is Ranger One, give me Bravo.”
“Bravo here; the reporter is going to do the interview in five minutes. So the clock is ticking.”
“Well, our team in here is ready to rock.”
“You are? Well that’s a nice surprise. Our plans keep coming up with over 50% casualties, what have you come up with?”
“We need you to cut a small hole in the back corner of the stage, about eight feet in from the left side. The side panels here should shield any activity from the guys out front. It needs to be very quiet and dark. I want handguns with silencers, some flash bangs, knives, and a mini torch.”
“What are you going to do with a torch?”
“Just get it. I’ll probably come up with some other stuff we need later.”
“All right. We’ll take care of it.”
“Then we need you ready to cut a bigger hole so we can feed you hostages. It has to be done as fast and quietly as possible; also needs to stay dark. We’re going to try and lighten the head count in here before things get exciting, move anyone who’s slowed down a little so we’ll be quick and agile.”
“Okay, when it gets exciting we cut the lights. We’ll pull the entire back wall off, so the rest of you should be able to get out quickly. But how do you propose to keep the terrorists from noticing?”
“I’m hoping the interview draws the attention of the terrorist up top. We’ll just spread everyone out so it’s not too obvious. The back left corner of the stage isn’t visible from up front. Then we’ll take the four on the stage out with the silencers. Once we’ve lightened the load, the gloves come off.”
“Right, you take out as many as you can with the handguns, we cut the power and come in guns blazing.”
“Something like that; we’ll drop the curtain just as you cut the power. Then everyone ducks and runs out the back.”
“We can drill a hole in the basement wall and take out the targets down there.”
“Good, that simplifies things.”
“Now, the bombs on the doors all have vibration triggers. I’d sure like to avoid having those go off, the shrapnel would really cause some injuries. You can come in the front, they’re not booby trapped; neither are the ones in the basement, so the risk is whether the jammer keeps them from triggering them.”
“How can you possibly know that much about the bombs?” Fauget asked.
“I’ve got an asset in here, let’s call him Ranger Zero, he can walk through walls,” Captain Walker said, smiling at Matthew as he did.
“What kind of asset?”
“Not important. What about their spy out there?”
“We tapped that line right after you guys pointed it out. We’ve had someone practicing his voice, good Arabic. So before we move, Garcia will take him out and our guy will continue to give the all clear.”
“Good, I think we’re about ready.”
“What about the M60?”
“Ranger Zero tells me it has a busted firing pin spring.”
“That’s some asset. We’ll have to talk about him when this is over.”
“Yeah, yeah. How long before you cut the hole?”
“We’ll be ready in one minute.”
“Then we’re set, Ranger One out.” Captain Walker hung up the phone and turned to Matthew. “Now why don’t you give me a quick look at the vibration triggers on those bombs out there? I want to assess how touchy they are.”
“Sure.” Matthew brought up his portal and they positioned themselves so the light was behind them.
“Pretty crude device, but effective,” Captain Walker said. “It will take a lot to trigger them, so as long as nobody opens one of the doors or bumps them, they’re good.”
“I could push the detonator out of the C4 if that would be safe,” Matthew said.
“You can?”
“It’s slow, but yes, I can make the portal flexible so I can push my finger through, or Emily could, hers are smaller.
“Would that work?” Emily asked.
“Yes,” Captain Walker said. “All the energy goes into the air. You have to constrain the blasting cap with the C4 or there’s not enough of a shock wave to set it off.”
“Good, we’ll go do it,” Matthew said.
“Wait, let’s look at it again. I want to make sure the mercury switches are isolated from the wires,” Captain Walker said.
They examined the bomb trigger mechanism again, “Looks good, why don’t you two take care of them now. The sooner the better.”
“You won’t be able to use the phone while we’re doing that.”
“Okay, let’s make a call, then we’ll tell them we’ll be off for a bit. If I need to talk I’ll come get you,” Captain Walker said.
“Phone’s good to go.”
“Ranger One to Bravo, over.”
“Bravo here.”
“We’ll be busy in here, so off communication for awhile. We’ll check back in ten. And Fauget, if you’ve got two guys who can look like these terrorists, you’ve seen what they’re wearing, we should bring them in as soon as you open up the wall.”
“Roger that, I’ve got some boys who would love to join the party.”
Emily had been standing by patiently as Matthew and Captain Walker were working. She’d been keeping an eye out for Colonel Marshall and Colonel Reese.
“Here come Colonel Marshall and Colonel Reese,” she said.
“Good, we’re about ready to start.”
“What’s the plan?” Colonel Reese asked as they reached the trio.
“We’re bringing a gift bag in through the back corner there,” Captain Walker said nodding toward the corner. “Why don’t you take someone and collect our toys?”
“Emily, let’s go,” Colonel Marshall said.
“Use someone else, I’ve got
another job for her and Matthew.
“Got it,” Colonel Marshall said. He turned and headed out.
Colonel Reese walked up, “Okay, Captain,” he said. “We’ve got about fifteen personnel we can rely on; they’re getting the crowd lined up right now.”
“Clock’s ticking,” Captain Walker said. “I’ll Let you guys know when we’ll be making a move, should be in a few minutes.”
Matthew and Emily moved to the side a bit, “Assume the position,” Matthew quipped.
Matthew and Emily hugged so Matthew could work the portal without being too obvious.
“How are you going to do this?” Emily asked.
“Just like the phone. I’ll put the end on the blasting cap then I can reopen it the length of the cap down. Here we go. I hope there’s a big enough air pocket for the portal to open.”
“Oh no, you mean it might not work?”
“They must have trapped some air when they pushed them in. Or made an air pocket when they fiddled with them. Let’s just try, something will work.”
“Okay, tell me when you ready.”
“First one’s ready.”
Emily saw the portal open up in front of her eyes, “Can you lower it?”
“Sure.”
The portal moved down, and when it was about to her waist she told Matthew to stop. Taking her finger she pushed in the center of the portal.
“I’m pushing, it’s hard to move.”
“You can push with your hand. I’ll lock them together, the other end is small, smaller than the diameter of the blasting cap.”
“Okay, then why did you say you wanted me to do it because I’ve got smaller fingers?”
“I forgot, or I just needed a hug,” Matthew quipped.
“Ha, ha. Got it, I think,” Emily said.
“Let me check, I guess I can do the others.”
Matthew checked to make sure the detonator was out of the C4, and then he quickly moved to take care of the rest of the bombs on the doors.
“Done,” Matthew said. He and Emily disengaged and walked back to Captain Walker.
Matthew gave Captain Walker a thumbs-up, “Didn’t take as long as I thought.”
“Good, then we’re good to go,” Captain Walker said.
Amanda and Colonel Reese came back right then carrying a small bag. “Here you go,” Amanda said, handing Captain Walker the bag.
“Thanks, any problems?”
“Not really.”
“Our boys back here aren’t particularly attentive,” Colonel Reese said.
“Good. Reese here’s your gun and Amanda’s unless you have found someone else you trust more.” Captain Walker handed two small handguns with silencers to Colonel Reese and Amanda.
Amanda gave Captain Walker a withering stare.
“No, Amanda’s like ice, I’d rather trust her than someone else,” Colonel Reese said.
“Marshall, you take the guy in the back there,” Captain Walker said, indicating the back of the stage.
“As soon as we take these guys out, the back wall opens up, we get two new terrorists with FBI credentials. Fauget will handle the guys in the basement.”
“This is feeling pretty good right now,” Colonel Reese said.
Sarah and a couple of the crowd-control people Colonel Marshall had recruited came up. “What can we do to help?” Sarah asked
“A few of you can start policing the older hostages toward the back.
“Once we’ve got our guys down, they’re going to open the wall, we need you to start getting them out of here. When the lights go out, everyone in here has to be able to move fast. The rest of you need to create a buffer between us and the terrorists, especially along the side. We don’t need the crowd to get excited and give the game away.”
“Got it,” Sarah said.
“Everyone cover their targets in case something spooks them. I’ll give the go signal in about two minutes; after that you take your target out as soon as you can. Remember stealth is the key here.”
“Why two minutes?”
“Two minutes,” Captain Walker said. His face was expressionless, but his voice said, ‘don’t ask questions.’
“Marshall, tell our comm guy over there that it’s time to start prepping that interview Charlie’s been asking for.”
“Got it,” Colonel Marshall headed to the back.
Captain Walker reached into the bag and palmed the small torch. “Here, Matt, take this. You know what to do.”
Matthew and Emily headed to the back corner. Matthew took his jacket off, “Emily, can you hold this and try to cover me so nobody can see the flame?”
“Sure, as long as you’re against the wall, it should be easy.”
Matthew bent down and clicked the torch on. He brought his portal up and zoomed over to the M60. When he and Emily had been working on the bombs, Matthew had located the firing pin based on where Captain Walker said to look; so it just took a second to get things located correctly. He turned the torch up to full power and held it to the portal, the other end against the firing pin spring. Using the torch as a light to check his work, he could tell that the spring had melted and deformed.
“Okay, I hope that’s good enough,” he said. Turning the torch off, he left it on the floor as he stood up. He and Emily walked back over to Captain Walker.
“I think I’ve got it. But just in case, I’ll block the M60 until we know for sure, then I can try and help out with the other guns.
“You’ve got it, Matt,” Captain Walker nodded to Matthew as he brought the cell phone out of his pocket. He gave Matt a few seconds and then pressed the speed dial.
“Bravo.”
“Ranger One, so Juliet finally gave you the cell phone?”
“Yes, she knows the story; we’re down to the tactical assault, so I’m lead.”
“Give us thirty seconds then take the wall out. You’ve got something to block any light, right?”
“Yes, you let me take care of my end. We’ll be bringing men with body armor and shields in as soon as we can.”
“All right, thirty seconds, and my asset took care of the bombs on the doors. So come in fast on all sides.”
“Are you sure?”
“Betting my life on it.”
“Good to know.”
The recruits fanned out and started chatting with the people close to the walls, letting them know to stay calm and drawing their attention away from the impending action along the wall.
Captain Walker nodded to Matthew, “I’m going to give everyone a 5-second count-down.”
“Okay.”
Captain Walker checked to see that everyone had eye contact with him, and then he held up his hand. Curling his finger in one at a time, ‘five, four, three, two, go’.
Captain Walker crossed his arms with the gun cradled in the crook of his arm. He walked over to his target. He made a quick move with his head toward the back of the stage; his target’s head turned to follow the motion. Captain Walker turned so the gun was pointed at the target and with a cough, shot him in the head. He took a quick step forward, catching the machine gun as the man slumped against the wall. It had only taken a couple of seconds and hadn’t drawn any attention. Colonel Marshall had dispatched his man just as efficiently.
A few seconds later, two men strode up quickly and picked up the machine guns, they dropped a blanket over each body. One of them handed Captain Walker a bag. “Compliments of Bravo.”
With a nod at the FBI men, Captain Walker and Matthew went to the back of the stage. “Okay, Matt, you’re on the M60, we’re t-5 minutes.”
“Right, five minutes.”
Captain Walker then signaled an agent with a headset, giving the go signal. Matthew prepared to set up his portal to protect against the M60 in case he hadn’t disabled it. He took a quick look around. The hostages were spaced out to keep the stage looking full. Amanda and Emily were tapping people on the shoulder and pointing them toward the back where someone was waiting to usher them out
side.
Time seemed to crawl as he watched the crowd thin one by one. In ten minutes it looked like they had about half the 450 theater patrons out. Suddenly one of the hostages seemed to realize that in just a minute it was going to be obvious that the stage was not full, and panicked. He turned and started forcing his way toward the back. “Let me out of…”
Before he could finish, one of Sarah’s men knocked him out with a vicious blow to the head. But it was too late.
Arabic shouting rang out.
Captain Walker yelled, “Drop the curtain!” as he pulled his gun out and started shooting. Matthew put his portal up just as the M60 fired. It only fired one round then it stopped. Matthew quickly shifted his focus to one of the terrorists with a machine gun. That terrorist fired off a burst toward the stage, but Matthew’s portal blocked it. Then the terrorist was down. Matthew looked for another one, but the lights went out. The glass in the control booth was shot out as Charlie screamed in Arabic and started to fire toward the stage. Matthew used the flash of his machine gun to block the bullets, and then Charlie was down, too.
There was a loud explosion in the front of the theater, then flash bangs started going off in the seating area.
The FBI Agents at the back of the stage rushed forward with their machine guns and fanned the theater seating area with fire.
It was deafening. Then suddenly all went quiet.
“Lobby clear!”
“Stage clear!”
“Right aisle clear!”
“Left aisle clear!”
As the shouts rang out through the smoke, the lights came back on.
As Matthew looked around, he saw Captain Walker propped against the side wall at the front of the stage. He was sitting in a pool of blood with his hand clamped on his leg. Matthew rushed to help him, reaching him about the same time as Colonel Reese.
“Femoral artery,” Captain Walker gasped.
Colonel Marshall immediately knelt down and replaced Captain Walker’s hand with his, using his thumb to apply pressure to stem the flow of blood. Captain Walker immediately slumped back against the wall.
“Medic! Matt, give me your cummerbund.”
“I’m sorry, I should have…”
Captain Walker cut Matthew off. “Matt, we did good. One thing you have to learn is no plan goes off without a hitch. You just take what God gives you.”