Now it was just a waiting game, seconds seemed like minutes, minutes seemed like hours. The wait was agonizing, in more ways than one for Chris. The head to toe black clothing, the metal enclosure, the sun beating down and of course the afternoon heat all joined forces to attack Chris. He felt like a basted turkey being slow cooked in the oven. Chris was sure a whisper would not be overheard, and said, “Based on how fast I’m roasting, your dinner should be ready in an hour or two.”
“Not near enough meat on your bones,” Clay responded.
Followed by Justin’s, “You’re both sicko’s.”
As if intended to change the subject it was at that moment the Bombardier Global 5000 slowly taxied towards its destination. The men watched as the plane was guided to a stop within fifty feet of their waiting roller system. Once blocks were placed around the plane’s wheels, Clay and Justin unlocked the brake and began pushing the unit towards the aircraft. Walking up next to them were two soldiers from the helicopter. The soldiers were almost theatrical in the way they used their rifles to demonstrate they were in charge. The expression on the soldiers faces telegraphed the message they were more than willing to use their weapons. Trying to avoid eye contact with the soldiers Clay and Justin did their best to appear as nothing more than an underpaid ground crew.
By the time they reached the plane the cargo door was open, and a crewman was waiting for the roller system’s arrival. To be flush with the base of the cargo bay opening, Clay had to use a hand crank to raise the ramp. The unit was now sitting at a ten-degree angle, and Chris had to press his feet against the sides of the enclosure to keep from sliding. Zach watched from a short distance away and realized Rafael was not treating this delivery as anything special. While Zach had expected a much more protectionist attitude towards the crates, it seems the helicopter crew did not view it that way. To a casual observer, the containers in the plane could have just as easily held sacks of rice and potatoes, and the soldiers were there just to ensure they were not stolen. It quickly became apparent these soldiers had no intention of lifting a finger to help move the crates.
That left it up to Zach and Shawn to take the crates from the plane and haul them to the helicopter. The two men jumped into a baggage tractor and headed for the receiving end of the roller system. Receiving only a casual glance from the soldiers upon their arrival at the ramp, Zach was feeling confident their plan was going to work. Isolated inside the enclosure, Chris did not share Zach’s confidence. For all the practice he had done a glaring omission had Chris in a panic. The heat was causing him to sweat profusely, and with the roller system’s angle, his eyes had become a natural pooling place for the stream of moisture coming from his forehead. His eyes stung from the saltiness of his sweat and the lack of free motion made it impossible to wipe away the sweat. The only faculties at his disposal were blinking and shaking his head from side to side. His eyelids moved at the rate of a hummingbirds wings in his attempt to reduce the stinging. Shaking his head to cast out the pool of sweat was interfering with his ability to focus on the rollers.
None of that mattered, he had a job to do and could hear the first crate being moved into position. Despite his impaired vision, he could make out the crates position when the light between the rollers vanished beneath the box. As it passed overhead, Chris pushed the sheet up through the rollers. The weight of the crate quickly grabbed hold of the explosive strip and started pulling it underneath the box. Chris struggled to ensure the sheet was square to the container and thought, oh shit, he knew it wasn’t. Resigned to his fate as a sitting duck, Chris waited for his life to end in a hail of gunfire.
Standing next to the rollers Zach could see a flap of the sheet extending past the edge of the crate. Moving alongside the roller system Zach used his body to try and conceal the exposed material. All he could do was hope the soldiers had not seen the oddity. When the crate came to a halt at the stop bumper, Zach used his leg to press the flap against the container without looking conspicuous. He gave Clay a nod, and Clay reacted by pushing the button on the transmitter in his pocket. The adhesive activated instantly causing the sheet and crate to become one. Shawn and Zach picked up the box and moved it onto the flatbed cart hooked to the tractor.
Shocked by the fact he was even alive, Chris replaced the feeder roller with another one from the pouch laying on his stomach. Trying to correct his initial error, Chris fed sheet after sheet onto a total of eight crates that passed overhead. Mentally exhausted, Chris rested his head on the floor of the enclosure soaked in sweat. All he could do was wait quietly for his release from this torture chamber he called his coffin.
With all the crates loaded, the two soldiers hopped onto the back of the cart and Zach drove the tractor over to the helicopter. Not wanting a ground crew too close to the chopper, the two soldiers became active participants and lifted the crates into the copter. As the last container was being loaded the pilot started up the rotors and engulfed the tractor in a whirlwind of air and debris. Hunched over to protect their faces Zach and Shawn headed back to the hanger. They arrived just in time to watch as Clay pulled on Chris’s legs and extracted him from the confines of the enclosure. Hearing a clanging noise, Zach looked over to see Barry and Ray climb down the ladder that led to the roof. This part of the operation went so well it even surprised Zach. In fact, he felt the end result was almost anticlimactic, but the alternative was not something he wanted to experience.
Chapter 21
Venezuela
When they returned to the house, the team gathered in the home theater and watched the taped footage of the helicopters return from the airport. For some unknown reason, the crates were randomly divided between the two storage buildings. Expecting them all to go into a single building, Zach was curious as to why they split them up. Not that it mattered, it just meant two buildings would be blown to pieces instead of one. Satisfied they had successfully set up the mechanism to destroy Rafael’s weapons stockpile, Zach knew what he needed to do now. It was time to let the team in on his last conversation with Jake.
“Great job team. Now, all we have to do is pick a time, and, boom, no more weapons. There is, however, something we do need to discuss. While we could pack up, set off the explosives and head out, Jake brought up the laser weapon again. One thing I want to say up front, I told you all we were done once we destroyed the armaments and that can still be true. However, if any of you want to stick around, I’m going to stay and look into retrieving the laser. Jake said functional or in pieces didn’t matter, just having our hands on it would be useful.
“My thinking is the only way to attempt a retrieval is after blowing up the munitions. Even then I have no idea how feasible a retrieval will be. Look, to be honest with you, I have no idea where the weapon is, I don’t have a complete plan on how to retrieve it, and blowing up the munitions will be like stirring a hornets’ nest that may result in a massive gun battle. My original reason to not retrieve the laser was fear of heavy casualties, that fear still exists. I won’t think any less of you if you decide your part in the mission is complete. The plane will be ready in El Dorado for those that choose to leave. We will meet again at a future date for our next mission.”
A murmur filled the room as the team reacted to what Zach had just said. It didn’t take long for the team to decide on who was doing what and Phil was nominated to speak for the group.
“You can tell the pilot there’s no rush. We all came into this together, and we are going to leave together. It looks like you are stuck with the full team a little longer. Let’s hear what you have come up with so far.”
“Thank you all. As I said, my plans are vague right now, primarily because of all the unknowns, but here’s what I think. We fly a drone over the compound to see if it activates the laser. If it does, we have a location, if it doesn’t then it gets more complicated. For argument’s sake, let’s assume it does activate the laser. That should do two things; first, it will identify the location of the laser, and second, it should draw everyone out o
f the barracks. Then we set off the explosives, which may or may not take out some of the soldiers. I’m hoping they open the door to check the area outside. Again, if they don’t, it becomes more complicated. Finally, we go in and grab the laser and make a quick exit. That’s all I have. I told you it wasn’t the greatest plan, but it’s a start.”
Not waiting to confer with the others, Phil again spoke up, “Well as long as it doesn’t become ‘more complicated’ the first two ideas sound reasonable. To walk in and pick up the laser seems like a description of someone going grocery shopping. Unless the explosion takes out the entire contingency, I don’t think it will be that simple.”
“I know, but that’s all I got.”
It was Shawn’s turn to speak up, “You can drop the hope that someone opens the door. Since we’re already setting off the explosives, just blow up the fuckin’ door. I don’t think we will need to worry about noise by then.”
Zach liked the idea and said, “Excellent point, I knew you all would have some good ideas to improve on my half-baked plan. What else you got?”
Ray said, “Put Barry and me in the trees overlooking the compound. We can handle a lot of threats from that vantage point. Between the chaos and suppressors on the rifles, they won’t even know where the shots came from.”
Justin said, “I have an idea to make sure the laser fires at the drone. Make it look bigger than it is. If we build some lightweight wings and attach them to the drone, it would create a larger profile that is easier for whatever sensors they’re using to pick up. We have what we need to make a couple of paper mache wings. We can wrap them in foil to provide a metal signature.”
To Zach, the holes in his plan were starting to fill in, he said, “I knew there was a reason I liked having you all around.”
With mild indignation, Phil said, “Yeah right, methinks you’re not as smart as you think you are. As a team, we will get this done. Pfft, and you were going to try this alone.”
“Okay, okay,” Zach said, as he internally finalized his plan. Then, he said, “Linda, you are going to be our command and control center. You will stay here and have all the feeds up on the big display. Whatever you see that may be important can be passed on to the rest of us. Justin, how long do you need to make the wings?”
“I can have them ready in eight hours if I get some help.”
“Good, anyone that can help Justin, do so. I don’t know about the rest of you, but I’m ready to get out of Venezuela. How does a dawn raid sound?”
Everyone nodded and headed off to prepare for a raid less than twelve hours away. It was almost zero four hundred hours when Justin and his helpers began mounting the wings to the drone. While it wouldn’t win any design awards, they all thought it should work as planned. Justin tried it out. He made the drone lift straight up and discovered a problem. The surface area of the wings caused the drone to fight against the drag and pushed the drone downward.
Zach watched the attempted flight and suggested a couple of modifications. He said, “Add a support strut from the wing tip to the drone and turn the wings into Swiss cheese,” clarifying his last comment, “you know, put a bunch of holes in it so the air can flow through. It’s not like it’s supposed to be a functioning wing.”
The men started making the modifications. Within a few minutes, they were ready for their next test flight. This time the drone rose without difficulty, and Justin flew it around the house a couple of times to ensure it was responsive. It was then Justin thought; With the new wings and the dense vegetation near the compound, the drone has to takeoff from the clearing here. The best option is to recruit Linda to take on the task of flying the drone. The realization sent Justin on a search for Linda.
Linda followed Justin back outside. Bouncing along behind him jubilant with excitement. It’s not that Linda wasn’t taking the mission seriously, or dismissing the danger the men would be in, it was that now she was playing a real role. Watching TV, and giving it some fancy name, made her feel like she was the little kid that gets the trivial task, the one to make them feel useful, while the older kids and adults did something meaningful.
Justin picked up the remote for the drone and started to tell Linda how to use it. Linda grabbed the remote and had the drone flying circles around the house before Justin completed his first sentence. Justin hadn’t asked Linda if she knew how to operate a drone, because he assumed she didn’t. And Linda forgot to mention to Justin, she was a master video game player and had used all sorts of remote control units to fly things around a screen. After she landed the drone and with a wicked smile on her face, Linda said, “Is that how you fly this thing?”
Justin’s mouth hung open, he replied, “Yep. It looks like you know what you’re doing.”
It was time to put their plan into action. With all the gear the team was bringing, both SUVs were needed. In the predawn hours, they used their night vision goggles to peer through the darkness. The SUVs moved like a shadow, the dashboard was dark, not even a twinkle of light could be seen. As the men made their way to the compound, Linda went to the home theater to prepare. Images from all eight cameras, pointed at the complex, were displayed on the screen. She synchronized the drone’s camera and now had a total of nine small screens shown simultaneously. There was nothing left for Linda to do but wait on a signal from Zach.
They reached a chosen spot outside the compound, armed themselves and gathered up other gear they would need. The first task was to locate the trees for Ray and Barry to set up shop. They were in position before dawn. The rest of the team headed for the door into the compound. Moving slowly and quietly the men had to rely on the limited view from their night vision goggles to make forward progress. They were all keenly aware this area was home to a lot of jaguars and jaguars prefer to hunt at night. Zach was more concerned with coming face to face with a big snake. He had a thing about snakes. The tension of navigating through an area of jungle foes may have been a blessing in disguise. Without realizing it, the value of its impact on their mental psyche was invaluable. It had distracted them from thinking about being on the wrong end of a bullet.
They made it to the door without incident, time for Shawn to do his thing. He applied an explosive putty around the door and inserted a detonator on the same frequency as the sheets attached to the crates. After inspecting his handy work, Shawn recommended everyone find a big tree to hide behind, at least two hundred feet away. A cluster of trees provided a practical barrier, the men settled in and waited for daylight to arrive.
The sun greeted the night sky, and the darkness turned to light. When the compound was visible, it was time to put their plan in motion. Based on the signal from Zach, Linda had the drone in the air heading straight for the compound. Zach heard the distant hum and radioed the rest of the team to take a check on their readiness. Everyone confirmed they were ready. The drone was in sight and would be crossing the compound wall within ten seconds. Linda switched the cameras over to shortwave infrared mode to make the laser beams visible on the screen.
As soon as the drone crossed over the wall, the men saw a flash of light followed by a thunderclap. The drone vanished, and air raid sirens screamed at the intrusion. Men in all stages of dress poured out of the barracks with their rifles ready. Two small teams of soldiers made a mad dash for each of the Kord machine guns. Ray destroyed one of the machine guns with a single shot, and a companion shot from Barry took care of the other. Zach pushed a button and the roofs launched into the air like a rocket at takeoff. The scene looked like an entire barge of fireworks caught fire at once. Projectiles and shrapnel flew in random directions from the epicenter of the explosion. The explosive force caused the walls of the buildings to collapse. More than a dozen soldiers lay dead or dying from the shrapnel cutting them to pieces. The rest of the soldiers twirled around trying to make sense of who and where the attack was coming from.
The explosion was so enormous that not only could Jose hear it, he could feel it, as the ground in Las Claritas shook bene
ath his feet. He dashed outside the gold shop and looked in the direction of the compound. Rising above the jungle canopy was a giant cloud of thick black smoke. He immediately ran inside, shouted at his companion to grab their weapons, and headed for the elevator. In a futile effort to coax more speed out of the cart, Jose kept scooting his butt back and forth in the seat. At the compound, Jose punched the button that would lift them to the surface. He looked around and stood frozen in time, trying to comprehend what was in front of him.
A smoldering hole had replaced what had once been the door. Zach and his men rushed toward the hole and plastered themselves against the wall, three on each side, of the opening. Hearts were pounding, they waited and wondered if this would be the end. The wait was the most excruciating wait any of them had ever experienced. The men found themselves continually wiping their hands against their pants; sweaty palms were interfering with a firm grip on their weapons.
Linda switched the cameras back to normal mode. She had a clear image of what was happening on the ground. Radioing Zach, she said, “We were right, those boxes along the wall are the laser weapons, and Rafael is heading for his helicopter. There’s a team of ten soldiers heading for the opening. There’s another twenty just standing in a circle pointing their guns in all directions.”
“Ray and Barry, paint a line in front of the ten heading our way, then pepper the barrack’s and wall around the other twenty,” Zach shouted.
The soldiers stopped dead in their tracks when the ground in front of them erupted in a cloud of dust. “Now,” Ray shouted, into the radio.
With guns drawn Zach rushed through the opening, followed by his team. All were shouting, “Drop em.”
A soldier pointed his rifle at Zach, ready to pull the trigger when his head disappeared as brain matter splattered over the other soldiers. A second soldier fell to the ground as the single bullet passed clean through the first soldier and ended in his chest. The reaction to what had just happened to their comrades, caused the eight soldiers to drop their weapons and raise their arms in the air.
Beyond Top Secret: A Zach Taylor Adventure Page 18