The Sweeper File (Remote Traveler Series Book 2)

by Finian Blake

  Boris walked over to the computer table but instead of using one of the desktop models he opened up his laptop jacking in to the desk top with a USB cable. Randal gave Boris a strange look as Boris answered his question without being asked.

  “I have a little something extra in mind just in case somebody decides to ‘rat fuck’ me. I lay out all security programs with one axiom in mind.” Boris put on his best Russian accent putting a severe whine in his voice. “Do unto others first.” Boris’s fingers flew across the keyboard and within a mere five seconds he was in touch with the forensics lab at the FBI.

  “Lenard, have you had a chance to take a closer look at that bomb?” Lenard was stunned by the request coming over his shoulder since he had not answered the Skype. There was no need to look and see who the figure at the other end of the Skype was since Lenard knew that Boris was the only person making these surprises.

  “Boris, would you stop doing that!”

  “My apologies Lenard, but I need an immediate answer for a very important question.” Boris waded in to the matter at hand. “I asked you a question a few days ago about the design of a bomb and I am desperate to know if you have found anything out.”

  “The system has a potential for great instability. The design that you showed me calls for using four large oxygen cylinders at high pressure to oxygenate the fuel, if you bring the pressure within the tank to over 500 pounds per square inch inside of the primary vessel it will bring the temperature required to ignite it down to ninety degrees Fahrenheit. If they pressurize the tank at the wrong time it could explode without an ignition source by virtue of the pressure. The temperature required to ignite the fuel will drop five degrees for every 50 pounds of added pressure beyond the 500 pounds. According to my calculations you could bring the combustion point of the mixture down to almost fifty degrees. The resulting explosion could devastate everything within a radius of a half a mile.” It was not at all difficult to read the distress in Lenard’s voice. “Boris tell me that this is a bad joke.”

  “Lenard I am afraid that this bomb is actually being built and there is a plan to use it in the area.” Boris made it a point to keep his voice calm, so that he could finish his interview with Lenard. “My friend is there any way to reduce the potential of the bomb?”

  “The best way is to keep the fuel out of the pressure vessel and if the fuel has already been loaded into the vessel, the best way would be to relieve the pressure.” Lenard’s voice was still sounding manic. “Boris you must tell the FBI!”

  “Lenard you are the FBI. I suggest you call the director personally and alert him as to the potential of this bomb. Thank you just let me know when you want to come over. That would be 200 k plus.” Boris disconnected the Skype turning to the others.

  “Unfortunately you have heard my friend. He is a very smart man and I suggest you heed his advice. The terrorists are planning Camden Field as their target which means they have to get the truck to the toxic waste dump or the toxic waste to the truck and my best bet is that they will bring the truck to the waste dump. Tom, would you have any suggestions?”

  “I of course believe that we should have Layla and Edward continue their close surveillance remotely. And then I think that Nadia and Ted should prepare sniper nests to cover the area where the rocket fuel is stored. Hopefully we will be able to do that from outside the perimeter. From what I understand the truck becomes a bomb when anything of a hazardous nature is introduced to the tank. Under no circumstances should we allow the truck to leave the dump once it is inside the perimeter. Boris, you, Cherry and Rhonda should continue to feed the FBI and CIA any emails between Sabir and Nabil. I would like to keep this operation as legal as possible however safety is our primary concern and I do believe that we should put public safety as the primary concern.”

  “You can count on our best efforts Tom,” Edward and Layla echoed each other. “Do you have any specific instructions regarding Felix Owens?”

  “Oh yes our good friend Felix,” Tom closed his eyes as if in pain. “I believe that we should keep a close eye on the situation and not tip our hand to the terrorists, but if the opportunity presents itself along the way we will rescue Felix turning him over to the proper authorities.”

  “Are you sure…,” Randal asked not believing his ears.

  “The bastard was within ten feet of my daughter with a loaded pistol. I would love to tell you to shoot him and I probably would’ve done exactly that last evening. I will exercise restraint in the matter and just say that we will rescue Felix turning him over to the proper authorities.”

  “Well if they use him for a shield I will be inclined to shoot through him!” Nadia made no pretense of being civil. “And if the bastard gets even within sight of Cher or Sue, it will be no ‘deposit no return’.”

  “I sincerely hope that that option will not become necessary,” Tom said evenly. “Nadia Four Diamonds has a good selection of sniper weapons so you may choose whatever you need to work with.”

  “Considering the size of the truck I believe that I would like to use the Barrett fifty with three or four M40 A3 rifles as a backup.” Tom nodded quietly to acknowledge Nadia’s choice of equipment.

  Maalik questioned Felix, but was unable to make any sense out of what he said due to Felix’s incoherent state. The best that he was able to ascertain was that Felix was investigating Four Diamonds for terrorist activities which made absolutely no sense. There was an afternoon doubleheader scheduled this Saturday for the Baltimore Orioles, so Nabil decided to push ahead with the plan figuring the stadium would be full and there would be a large crowd tailgating before the game. He made plans to fill the truck with the rocket fuel Friday, since that produced the best chance of minimal activity around the chemical dump. As a security measure Nabil insisted that everybody camp out at the warehouse to reduce exposure. Jibril had just finished installing the hose and the oxygen tanks on the side of the truck. Everything would be in place and ready to go on Thursday evening giving Jibril time to inspect all of his work. Maalik and Khalid were given the assignment of watching Felix who seemed to be in quite a bit of pain due to his broken jaw and Maalik’s interrogation.

  “Have some mercy I need something for the pain,” Felix begged.

  “I will put you out of your misery.” Maalik said as he pressed his pistol to Felix’s swollen jaw, causing the injured man to scream out in pain. Nabil came in the room shaking his finger in inch in front of Maalik’s face.

  “We may need this hostage before we are through just clean him up and hold him quietly.” As Nabil turned to leave he came face-to-face with Jibril.

  “I have completed my work and will leave you to your efforts. Uzma and I have tickets on a plane leaving Dulles airport at five o’clock tomorrow evening.”

  “You can’t leave. We need your help.” Nabil pressed.

  “I have completed all that I promised to do and as you have said before only a few people are necessary to finish the job. I wish to have nothing to do with your plans for mayhem.”

  “I will not pay for your tickets.” Nabil said wanting to keep Jibril until the job is finished.

  “Good the idiot in the other room had $5,000 in cash on him when he was captured and we already hold our tickets. We will be leaving tomorrow evening.” Nabil could think of nothing to hold Uzma and Jibril so he consented to their departure.

  “I have left the truck on a charger all you have to do is disconnect the cables and it will be ready to go. It is tuned up, I have checked all of the fluid levels and the gas tank is full. Nabil that is as much cooperation as you will get from me.” Jibril took Uzma by the hand leading her out to the car. Maalik grabbed Nabil by the shoulder turning him around.

  “We need her and Jibril!”

  “You’re right Maalik, but we do not need the unwilling since Rajiya and Safiyyah will be more than enough help. I have arranged for three pumps that will take the rocket fuel out of the barrels and pump it into the truck. We will arrive at 6 o’cloc
k Friday morning and the entire process should take us eight hours to pump 2,500 gallons into the truck.” Nabil said confidently.

  “Eight hours are you crazy!” Maalik said in wide-eyed horror. “Somebody is sure to see us!”

  “Yes and we will do it in the light of day.” Nabil said confidently. “We will be wearing bright orange hazmat suits gas masks and we will even have our little orange hardhats. They move critical shipments in camouflaged trucks all the time. I have my EPA ID and we will drive into the front gate checking in with security when we do. We will handle each barrel in a fashion that will not contaminate us and when we have finished we will check out with security wishing them a pleasant day.” Nabil could still see the crazed look in Maalik’s eyes. “Look my friend this is not like filling your gas tank.”

  Nabil called the remaining conspirators to a Van that was parked next to the camouflaged tanker. Opening the Van door, he removed eight Day-Glo orange rubberized bags laying them on the floor.

  “If everybody will take a bag I will introduce you to your hazmat suits. We will need to wear these for an eight-hour period while we’re transferring the fuel into the primary tank. The mixture is both toxic and caustic so we will need to exercise great care and transferring the fuel. Due to the summer heat we will have to work in relays in order to accomplish this task. Now I would like everybody to remove the contents from the bags and familiarize themselves with the equipment as I demonstrate. One of our most important tools will be the respirators.” Nabil’s spent the next hour and a half familiarizing everybody with the equipment that they would be using after which he moved on to the pumps that would be required to transfer the fuel.

  “Nabil the suits are good protection but this is the end of August and I would like to ask how we work in the suits in the August heat?” Maalik was concerned about working eight hours in the protective suits.

  “Maalik my friend, I said that the drums were stored in a waste dump but that does not mean that they are outside in the elements. They are stored in old ammunition bunkers in 55 gallon drums. We will drive in the bunkers, close the doors and be able to work in a reasonable temperature. We will only have a few minutes where were exposed so there will be little chance of us being discovered.”

  “And how do you propose we get into such a tightly secured area?” Maalik pressed.

  “You forget that I work with the EPA. I will show them my credentials and hand them this paper which is in order to remove the toxic material from the bunker. I have executed enough of these orders to make this forgery.” Nabil slid a copy of the order across the table to Maalik.

  Edward came out of his meditative state calling for Tom. It was always a source of frustration that he could not move for several minutes after rejoining his body. Layla was sitting next to Edward with the recorder ready to get his impressions so that they were fresh.

  “Layla, they have everything they need to carry out the job. We did not consider that the drums were loaded in a closed area, so Nadia’s plan of sniping them when they first start loading the drums will probably not work. We have to have some fuel on board the truck to prove that it is a bomb so you will need to consult with Tom and Randal about the timing of the whole operation.” Tom had walked in the room while Edward was discussing his impressions with Layla.

  “If they are loading the fuel in an old ammunition bunker we will need to hold the truck inside and the blast will be contained. See if you can identify the bunker and we will proceed from there. These bunkers are usually designed to contain a strong blast and we will at least be able to hold them in a confined area in case they are able to detonate a bomb.” Tom did not sound as if he was confident of his plan, but Randal encouraged him.

  “If we could get two Barrett fifty’s shooting into the doorway we should be able to disable the truck before it has a chance to leave, but with that kind of a blast potential the shooters would be at risk.”

  “I think that I would like to see if Adam wants to join us,” Nadia said. “I would like at least three Barrett fifties shooting in that door. I want to disable the truck completely so we will use the anti-material rounds on the Barrett fifty’s and armor piercing rounds on the M forties. Let’s get over to the dump I want to range it in the daylight.”

  Ted, Nadia and Randal made arrangements to enter the dump. First they did a fly by in the helicopter to keep their exposure on the ground to a minimum. They did a detailed aerial study from the chopper taking several photographs from the air. The front of the bunker was about twenty yards off the service road and from the service road to ground sloped down to a small river. On the other side of the river the ground rose quickly forming a cut on the other side that would be slightly above the level of the door to the bunker across the river giving a shooter a very slight downward angle. Each person used a digital camera to take as many pictures as possible while the helicopter did a one hundred and eighty degree turn flying over the bunker again at roughly the same angle the shooters would be using. The center of the door split the bunker in half and Nadia estimated that each door would roll back about ten feet which would give them a clear shot into the bunker. The security fence was twelve feet high and on the same side of the river as the bunkers. Nadia and Ted calculated that the rise on the far side of the river was at least twenty-five feet which means that they would not have to shoot through the fence. The intended sniper position was not on the same land as the dump which made gaining access to the position easy. It was decided that Randal uses FBI ID to access the dump and he would take several quick pictures of the inside of the bunker while Nadia and Ted examined the intended sniper position.

  Randall pulled his grey Ford Taurus with government license plates up to the front gate of the dump presenting his ID to the two uniformed officers that were guarding the gate. The road that went past the bunkers was an old two-lane asphalt road that was in disrepair. Randal drove slowly down the road until he came to the front of the bunker that he had intended inspecting. The only thing visible from the road was a concrete front of the earthen bunker. The front door of the bunker opened in the center sliding to either side. Each side would open ten feet from the center point leaving a twenty foot opening. Near the center of the left-hand door there was a small door that would allow access for individuals. Once inside Randal found the door controls and picked up his satellite phone calling Nadia and Ted.

  “Are you in position?”

  “Yes we’re ready, cycle the door one time and get the hell out of here.”

  Ted saw the two large doors start to move. “It’s perfect we should be able to do all of our ranging by the time that door opens and closes.” Randal started snapping pictures as soon as the door started to open and continued to shoot until the door cycled to its fullest open position continuing until it was fully closed. Randal got in his car taking several more pictures before driving off and exiting the dump.

  Nadia and Ted examined the bank on the far side of the river. They roamed through the woods until he found two old trees that stood about twenty feet taller than the trees surrounding them. Nadia climbed one of the old trees finding several solid branches high up that gave her a clear view of the bunker doors. The bunker was southeast of her position giving her a perfect view of the interior the bunker. Ted joined her just as Randal started doing another full cycle on the doors. The afternoon sun extended a good fifteen feet inside the doors giving her a clear view inside the bunker and with the sun at her back anybody inside the bunker would be hard-pressed to pick up a flash from the weapons. Both she and Ted ranged the shot at around 220 yards which would be an easy shot with the Barrett fifty’s. At that distance they could easily range their own shots making a spotter unnecessary.

  “Nadia the tops of the trees are just obscuring the roadway what do you think about putting people across the road from the bunker.”

  “An excellent idea Ted, we may want to grab a quick access.” Nadia pointed to the tall tree forty yards to the left. “That other tree looks
like a good spot for another hide and should give us about thirty degrees of angle shooting into the bunker. With that kind of an angle we should be able to cover a rush made by any targets wanting to exit the building.” Nadia tied off a rope to a branch ten feet above their intended hide and they repelled down the tree moving over to the other intended sniper stand attaching the rope high above the hide. When they were through with their scouting expedition everybody returned to Tom’s house to work out the final plan.

  8.

  SUDDEN EXPOSURE

  Cherry and Rhonda were hard at work in the documents office. Over the past few weeks they had missed a lot of time and they had to deal with the requests for access to sensitive documents. They desperately wanted to be in on the planning session for the bunker but there were several requests for hard copy files that they had to attend to personally. Rhonda had just completed an escort to the hard file vault when a call came through on her personal line.

  “Rhonda this is the director I have had a personal request that I would like you to take care of since it is a Senator on the intelligence committee. I called you personally since the Senator does not wish his request to be logged in. I would appreciate it if you could extend him every courtesy.”

  “Thank you for the call director and of course I will rearrange my schedule to accommodate the Senator. Could you tell me what the Senator’s name is please?”

  “He asked that I not use his name.”

  “I see. It is that kind of a visit.”

  Senator Belight walked in the outer office with a look of nervous anticipation on his face. He walked up to Cherry’s desk doing his best to sound official.