Fatal Serum

by Sam Black

  “Inside the US borders, you can find over 35 million Islamic people living in the land of opportunity. Many Islamic people in this country tell our local leaders their wants and needs in reference to education, religion, and State and local regulations.” David looked carefully at his audience and said, “I will get off my band wagon.” He moved away from the lectern.

  Before he sat down, he suggested, “How about taking 90 minutes to discuss these items I spoke of earlier and then we will break for lunch.”

  After a catered lunch paid for by David Holloway, he called the meeting to order in the same room Brewer and Kelly had talked before deciding to blow the lid off the corruption in the political nightmare in Washington. Everyone David Holloway had called came with concern, but ready to help in any way they could to get the USA back to normalcy.

  “The items I laid out for this meeting have been discussed among yourselves in various groups. I suggest, with the current state of world affairs, we immediately secure our borders. Can this be done this week, if we start bringing all our troops home?” All military generals agreed, without hesitation.

  General Mathews spoke up. “We can also call up all our National Guard personnel to help secure our borders.”

  “This may be asking too much, but I would like to see every person entering our country fingerprinted and all pertinent information recorded, enabling us to track each person. Individuals would be allowed to stay only one week and must report, while they are on our soil, his or her whereabouts everyday to our military intelligence,” Holloway said. All agreed.

  “I want to bring all troops home, immediately, to be used to protect, control and maintain peace through these turbulent times. We definitely will be putting out fires from radical groups throughout the country. Our National Guard would probably come into play here, as well,” Holloway continued. Again, everyone agreed.

  “I would like an immediate canvassing of this entire country by our military once all troops are back on our soil to eliminate all illegal immigrants, who are squatting on our soil. I think every square inch should be covered, starting from our northern borders to our southern borders. All illegal immigrants will be escorted across the border or shipped back to their country.” Everyone agreed.

  “I think we need to change our Constitution’s election procedures in order to get this country back where we, the people, have control of where the money goes. We need to elect government people to replace these Senators and Representative who have stolen, defrauded, embezzled and cheated the American public out of billions of dollars. I suggest we have a one party system, ‘FOR THE PEOPLE.’ An election would be held in each State and two people would represent each State, regardless of population. I suggest a four-year term, with a salary of $50,000 per member, per year. I would rather see former successful business executives serving our country, than some rich lawyers. No fringe benefits—period.” Everyone applauded David’s last statement.

  “Since we have a catastrophe in our health care system in this country, we need to correct it ASAP. All recipients of any government health care program should be drug screened, immediately. All food stamp recipients should be drug screened, immediately. All food stamps are to be used only by individuals assigned and should not be able to be sold. No illegal immigrant will be entitled to any government assistance, whether education, medical or food.” Everyone agreed.

  “Elimination of all foreign aid until this country is debt free.” All nodded.

  “Pay off our debt to all foreign countries ASAP, especially China.

  “I would like to see a simple, flat income tax for every individual of no more than 7%. No tax deductions.” All agreed.

  “Eliminate all lobbyists in Washington.” Everyone applauded.

  “Gentlemen, we have a tremendous undertaking in front of us. We will have the ACLU, and other activist groups, protesting. I suggest we politely ask them to stop or they will be arrested by our military.” Everyone nodded.

  “One final, serious problem you are all aware of.” David hesitated for a few seconds before speaking again. “Sam Abbott has been captured by the Taliban and is being held for ransom. China and Russia have offered a large sum of money for Sam. I don’t want the US to pay any ransom. I want our country to get Abbott and bring him back alive. I have asked Andrew Huggins to be here today. With the help of our military’s top soldiers and Andrew’s men, we need to bring Abbott home. We need Sam Abbott back to work making the serum needed to not only protect the American people, but also our allies.”

  Jim Brewer spoke next. “Our military intelligence has pinpointed the position where the Taliban group is holding Sam Abbott. This operation, PINPOINT, will go into effect approximately 24 hours from now. I want General Mathews to report on our plan.”

  General Mathews stood 6 foot 2 inches, with broad shoulders and grey temples. “We will deploy a group of soldiers and Huggins’ men outside of Waziristan, Afghanistan. They are holding Sam Abbott up near the mountain region outside of Waziristan. It won’t be too much longer before they will use a potent truth serum on Abbott.” Mathews stared down at the podium as if he were asking for God’s help.

  Mathews cleared his throat and began again. “The Taliban doesn’t want the serum. They want the money the serum is worth, from whoever will pay them the most money. I don’t want any of the hostage takers left alive. We will use paratroopers from the 82nd Airborne Division and Huggins’ men. We are also going to drop in six humvees south of the border, approximately 50 miles from where Abbott is being held. The paratroopers will have to hoof it out to the humvees over rugged, mountain terrain. We expect heavy resistance from the Taliban after we grab Abbott. The mountain region has hundreds of Taliban hiding in the area. General Thomas, of the Air Force, has assured me his fighter planes will give us all the air support we need. The humvees will carry the men out and take them to a NATO airfield in Pakistan. From there, Sam Abbott will be transferred home on a military aircraft to Reagan International. The military plane will be escorted by six fighter jets at all times, until the plane lands here in DC. The Navy and Air Force will be involved in the escort.”

  Holloway spoke again. “I will address the public on TV and radio this evening at 10:00 EST. I am hopeful the majority of the people will be in favor. Military control may scare many people, but we have no choice in order to get this country back to where it needs to be. I want to thank everyone, again, for attending today. We will meet again tomorrow morning at 0800 right here. I would like each of you to be prepared to share your thoughts on what I have proposed today.”

  Chapter 53

  OPERATION PINPOINT

  Thirty-four courageous men, including retired Colonel Andrew Huggins, arrived at Ramstein Air Force base, Germany, at 0400 hours, the following morning. Eighteen of these men came from Huggins’ operation, all paratroopers and highly trained in covert operations, with more than 200 jumps per man. Twelve more paratroopers with a minimum of 100 jumps each reported from the 82nd Airborne Division. The remaining four men, Huggins, two pilots and loadmaster, are to remain on board. Huggins will monitor the operation and report, via high security cell phone, to Tony Spellini, a twenty-year, retired Senior Master Sergeant, the leader of the mission. All were briefed on the mission to recover Sam Abbott from the compound where he was being held captive.

  Members of the 82nd Airborne Division, Huggins’ men, two pilots and the loadmaster, left on a C-130J, which has the capacity to carry up to 42,000 pounds, maximum payload and a maximum cruising altitude of 34,000 feet at speeds in excess of 400 mph. The C-130J can fly 2000 miles without refueling. Two C-130 Hercules cargo carriers will take six hummers and drop them in Pakistan by parachutes. These hummers are 6 feet high, 7 feet wide and 15 feet long. They weigh 5200 lbs., with a payload of 2500 lbs. They come with diesel engines, power steering, and one, 25 gallon fuel tank, with a range of 300 miles per tank. The driver can lower the air pressure in the tires while sitting behind the wheel to give the vehicle a smoot
her ride, and also provide a better grip on rough terrain. These vehicles cost the government in the neighborhood of $65,000 each. Hummer, or humvee, is an acronym for: high mobility multi purpose wheeled vehicle.

  All of the paratroopers on this mission received their training at Fort Benning, Georgia. The vigorous training took three weeks. The first week, ground week, is dedicated to learning how to pack their chutes; the do’s and don’ts in order to stay alive, including high physical exercise; and included instructions on how to land, making sure knees and feet are together, to prevent injury. They also learned how to roll after hitting the ground. Many wannabes drop out the first week due to the stringent exercise program. The second week is tower week. They jump from a 34-foot tower followed by a jump from a 250-foot tower. The drop out rate triples the second week. No person is asked to be a paratrooper; it is strictly a volunteer program. The third week is jump week; they jump from a plane. The drop out rate drastically climbs the third week. All paratroopers in training are between the ages of 18 and 36.

  At 0100 hours the next morning, a C-130J flew over the target zone. The troop door opened, with thirty armed men lined up ready to jump. Each man carried a 35 pound MT1X parachute, an M-4 Glock 19, knife, tourniquet, triangle bandage, dressings, spare parts, tool kit, batteries, flashlight, pistol belt and night vision glasses. Tony Spellini, the former Air Force Delta member, led the ground troops. Their mission was to take over, maintain and kill any enemy after Abbott’s safe removal from the compound. Spellini, the first man out, landed in a grove of trees. After freeing himself from his parachute, he fell ten feet to the hard rock service below. Spellini walked hurriedly toward an open field. After scoping out the landing area for the troops, he dialed his boss, Huggins. “Huggy Bear, Trooper One” He waited; seconds later a transmission came back.

  “Trooper One, Huggy Bear, here. We have position. The remaining troops will jump.”

  “Huggy Bear, Trooper One. The cloud covers up to 18,000 feet with wind speed steady at 11 mph. Proceed.”

  The night air was cold, -30 below F at 27,000 feet. It was heavily overcast, pitch black. The troops were going to do a HAHO jump, or high altitude high chute opening, so the Taliban would be unable to hear the plane. Huggins’ men descended first, followed by the 82nd Airborne troops. The C-130J circled the area three times over the DZ, or drop zone; first to drop Spellini, then Huggins’ men, then the 82nd Airborne Division. The wind remained steady at 11 mph. The coordinates for the drop, with the wind direction, would put the troops right on the DZ.

  Each paratrooper wore a Patagonia undergarment to keep his body temperature warm from chilling temperatures, along with thorlo socks to keep his feet warm. A pair of night vision goggles mounted on his helmet equipped with a built-in GPS uses a tunnel vision so he can see where he is going.

  Prior to jumping, each man took in 100% oxygen for 40 minutes in order to eliminate all nitrogen from the bloodstream. This prevents the bends in high altitude. In addition, each paratrooper will inhale 100% oxygen on his descent, which will prevent him from passing out. Hypoxia is a decompression sickness no paratrooper wants to have happen.

  They proceeded to jump and hoped to have the compound where Abbott was being held secured and surrounded within 26 minutes from the time the last man hit the ground.

  Chapter 54

  ON THE GROUND

  The troops all landed safely on the two-acre surface, just 1000 yards from Abbott. Each man had his itinerary melted in his brain. The thirty men scattered, as mapped out in Operation Pinpoint, and within ten minutes had the ten-acre compound surrounded and were closing in.

  I sat in my tomb, on my bed, not knowing the time of day, waiting for my next meal. Not really hungry, just wanted something to do. Rice and water everyday, three times a day, until I die, seemed beyond reach. I hadn’t uttered a sound to my enemy as to the elements of my serums. My stomach was drum tight from this daily diet. No bowel movement since Chicago. I had run out of prayers. I had thought of Cheryl many times, but had now blocked her out, due to my upcoming death and my loss of Jennifer and all my employees who tried so hard to help people live. I had asked God many times: Why me? Why my company? Why Jennifer? Why my people? NO ANSWER! WHY? My hopes were now shattered. The truth serum they told me about may be my last resort. The serum would give them the information. What good am I to them? My time is fatal. No more time.

  A few minutes passed when I heard gunfire. It sounded like it occurred outside my door. I waited several minutes then the locks on my door were shot off. Maybe the Russians have found me. I didn’t hear any voices. Seconds passed and the door flew open. It was as dark as black ink. I couldn’t see anything. “Abbott let’s go. We’re with the US Army and are here to take you back.”

  I sat dead still. My heart had stopped, I thought. I stayed frozen to the bed. Seconds later, two men lifted me off the bed. I couldn’t see. They ran out the door carrying me. We were in a dead run. My arms were paralyzed from the grip these men had on me. My feet dragged on the ground, tearing my socks off. My feet burned from the stones and rocks on the ground. I still couldn’t see where I was going. I heard a loud noise in the distance. “GUNFIRE! GET DOWN,” someone ahead of us yelled. We hit the dirt. The gunfire became rapid and nonstop for several minutes.

  The men from Huggins’ group and the 82nd fired rapidly at the opposition. Wearing night vision goggles, they could see who they were shooting at. The enemy couldn’t see their targets. Who was the enemy?

  “Russian troops,” Spellini shouted. “Kill them! They want Abbott. What the hell?” Spellini had taken a bullet in the shoulder. Rapid fire began, flashing light in the cool, midnight air.

  I thought of Cheryl and wondered if they knew about her; or if they did, were they going to try and rescue her. “What about Cheryl?” I asked the soldier beside me. He never answered me. I shook his arm, wanting an answer, still not sure who had me lying in the brush without any socks on my bloody feet. I couldn’t see anything. The man on my right had moved forward and fired his weapon from a prone position. The voices sounded like Americans, but so did the ones who had captured Cheryl and me in Illinois. I started to pray, when a bullet struck a rock in front of me, sending chips of rock into my face. I didn’t have a helmet.

  The gunfire ceased and the still, night air became dead quiet—dead as in a cemetery. The soldier, who helped carry me to this spot, spoke to me. “Where the hell are your shoes?”

  “They took my shoes. I had socks on, but lost them on the way out here.”

  “Medic! Medic!”

  Ten minutes later, or what seemed like ten minutes, a medic arrived on the scene. The medic reached into his bag of supplies and cleaned, medicated and wrapped my feet in bandages in a matter of a few minutes. Not a word had been spoken, until I asked about Cheryl.

  “Sergeant Mosher has her. I gave her a tranquilizer to keep her calm. She doesn’t know what is going on. We’ll get both of you out of here safely within 24 hours. We have to go up that mountain ahead of us, then down the other side, where six Hummers are waiting for us. From there, we will go to a NATO airfield in Pakistan fifty miles and take a C-130 Hercules to Ramstein Air Force Base in Germany. I’ll give you a tranquilizer, too, so the trip will be much easier for you, as well as for the two guys responsible for getting you on that C-130.”

  I said to the medic, “I can’t see. I don’t even know where the mountain is. Where in Pakistan are we? Who are you and what kind of drug are you going to stick in my arm?”

  “My name is Sergeant Joe Arnold and I’m with the 82nd Air Borne Division. You’re in good hands, Mr. Abbott,” the medic said, as he spoke in my ear.

  “Who captured me?”

  “The Taliban and the Russians wanted you. Those were the Russians we just removed from the scene. You’re the most wanted man in the world, but nobody’s going to touch you now—nobody.”

  Sergeant Arnold stuck the needle in my right arm before I knew what was happening. Within a few seconds, my
anxiety slithered out of my body.

  Spellini was grazed and patched up quickly by Arnold, and now Spellini spat out the orders. “Keep your eyes focused. We still may have enemy in these hills ahead. We’ll have air support from the Air Force on the other side of the mountain. When you hear the planes, don’t stop, keep moving. Forward, march! Double time!” I felt dazed from the tranquilizer shot. I hadn’t seen Cheryl. I realized two men were carrying me.

  Spellini dialed Huggins after the command and gave him the coordinates of the troops.

  The air strikes lasted for one hour. Paratroopers ran up the mountain, while their two guests were carried. On the way down the mountainside, Taliban soldiers lay scattered everywhere. The paratroopers raced down the other side, never stopping

  Six Hummers were waiting at the base of the mountain. Six keys were in six different soldiers’ pockets, the designated drivers for the operation.

  Everyone climbed aboard the Hummers within minutes. Cheryl and I were handed up to the soldiers who were already on board. All six diesels started and they were off across the desert, with no lights on, moving over fifty miles per hour, using GPS all the way to the NATO airstrip.

  I looked up at a large, black man and couldn’t speak. I felt faint. Blurry came, then black appeared, and I fell sleep. I woke up later and found the large, black man sitting beside me, grinning. “You ready for some breakfast?”

  After eating and finding out all the details of Senator Shear, his son, Travis, and all the other political leaders, my stomach was in knots. I didn’t know if it was from eating too fast, eating American food or the whole, sudden discovery of what had transpired at SAWWS, Inc. They called David Holloway and informed him we were airborne on the C-130 Hercules.