by Doug Houser
“I like that. OK, so have you got the start of a plan?”
“Yes, I do. I would not have called you in here if I didn’t. I’ve been thinking about a few things we can do and some of the logistics that will need to be attended to while we further develop our plan and conduct some training.”
“Good. You want to lay it out for us, then we’ll shoot holes in it and refine as necessary?”
“Sure. I’ve only been thinking about the operational aspects of this for a little while and I’ll be adding new ideas on the fly. So, here goes. We don’t need to know how many corners these guys control. In order to accomplish what I’m thinking, we only need to locate and monitor one. I think we can get some help with that from the local PD. We conduct surveillance of that corner until we identify one of the gang members. At least one of them will drop by the corner, at some time, to pay a supervisory visit, possibly bring a resupply and pick up the proceeds. We then follow him to their headquarters. Once we’ve determined where that is, we conduct surveillance to determine how many gang members stay there, what their schedule is and what security measures they have in place. By security measures, I mean guard dogs on the premises, lookouts at each end of the block and in the rear and possibly on adjacent rooftops or behind nearby windows. Once we’re convinced that we’ve identified all their security, we make a plan to neutralize it, raid the premises, silently, so as to avoid attention from anyone close by, subdue the gang members, locate and remove any money they have, leave as quietly as we came and place an anonymous tip with the locals. That’s just a brief overview of my thoughts. Comments?”
Top began, “Wow, that all sounds easy and straightforward but it’s definitely not that simple. For example, how do we subdue the gang members silently? How many of them are there? How many guys do we need? What if they keep their money in a safe? I could go on and on with questions.”
“OK, those questions are all good ones. Let’s go back, start at the beginning and make a plan for each element of this operation. Once we’ve settled on a series of sub-plans, we’ll determine the logistics necessary for each phase. Does that sound like a good approach?”
“Sure, let’s go.”
“Alright, for now, let’s assume that we’re already there and prepared to begin. So we pick a corner and begin surveillance. First question, what sounds like a reasonable time period to watch for a gang member to show up? We take 12-hour shifts? Top, what do you say?”
“I’d say we should check with the narcotics detail to determine, for sure, when the corners are in operation. They will at least know some kind of time frame that business goes down on the corner.”
KC made a note and said, “Good, that’s one for me to find out.”
Peeps said, “Hold on a minute. If we have strangers in town watching a corner for twelve hours a day, isn’t someone going to notice? And to rotate surveillance teams every two hours or so would require an awful lot of people. Wouldn’t it be better to pick a corner where we can rent a room or small office that has a good view of the action?”
“You’re right. I’ll find out about some corners they’re using. Then, Peeps, you find out about available rentals or rooms that overlook our surveillance areas. For each location, contact a different real estate agent so that there’s no apparent pattern to what you’re doing. When you have a few possibilities, we’ll send our first group. I’m thinking four guys over there to scout the surveillance sites out and if they find a suitable one, to obtain it. Our guys can drive to the Columbus airport and drop their car in long-term parking, shuttle to the terminal, then to the rental car area to get cars with Ohio plates. We’ll have two 2-man teams, each with a vehicle. They’ll then proceed to the motel where Peeps has made reservations for them and begin making appointments to see rental space at surveillance sites. All communication will be conducted using burner phones that they have taken with them. Questions so far?”
Cedric began, “If I’m going to be the field leader on this mission, I think that I should be on the ground from the beginning, don’t you agree?”
KC replied, “That’s a good thought and I considered it while I was talking. But here’s the thing. This part of the operation is pretty simple and you’ve got more important things that you need to coordinate here, like selection of the rest of the team, training with them for the task of team pursuit when we spot gang leaders at the site, developing a plan for monitoring their headquarters once we’ve located it, and developing a plan for the take down and training for that part of the operation. In other words, the most important aspects of preparation for this mission and the most difficult ones, are going to take place here and this is where you will be needed the most.”
“Yes, sir. When you put it that way, it’s kind of obvious that you’re right.”
“Well, it doesn’t happen all that often, but Top and Peeps will admit that every once in a while, I come up with the correct methodology before they’ve told me how things should be done.” Top and Peeps rolled their eyes, but both grudgingly nodded in the affirmative.
“Ok, that’s the beginning phase of the operation. The four that go over there first will be gone the longest, so Cedric, you and Top determine who is best suited and then determine who we can use that will be the easiest to cover for on our schedule here. Also, get clearance on them from Nellie regarding their training status. They will be part of the ultimate takedown team, too. So, Cedric, you’ll have to schedule that part of the training to be conducted before they leave. Further questions on what we’ll call phase-one?”
“Not now.”
“Nope.”
“No, Sir.”
“Oh, one more thing. It pretty much goes without saying, Top, but Cedric has to be taken off all other duties here, except for martial arts and conditioning.”
“I did that, Sir, mentally, as soon as Cedric accepted the mission.”
“See what I mean, Cedric? These guys are usually one step ahead of me.”
Chapter 38
“OK, let’s take it forward a bit,” KC continued, “to a point where we already have eyes on a corner. We’re looking for management. By the way, last week I saw a couple of real young punks driving a brand new shiny Escalade in what you would consider a gang-occupied area not far from here. I got curious and decided to follow them. Sure enough, after a few blocks, they stopped near an alley where a couple of really young looking teenagers were hanging out. Now, two things come to mind. First, the Escalade they were driving was white. I had thought that those guys all drove black SUVs. So, our surveillance teams need to watch for all colors of SUVs. Second, I just realized that we could use that local corner as a training tool for the next phase of our operation.”
“Ah, great idea”, said Peeps. “We have our surveillance teams watch that area, then we use those local “managers” to train our follow teams.”
“Correct. Cedric, I’ve got a local FBI contact who’s a surveillance expert. I’ll get with him and have him brief me about proper tailing techniques and how to conduct our training on that aspect of the project. I have a pretty good grasp of the basics, but I’ll have him fill me in on the finer points of tailing without being spotted. As soon as I’ve done that, we’ll know how many guys and cars we will need to surreptitiously follow them to their headquarters. Then, Cedric will select the team and we’ll train, using that local bunch as our “aggressors.” Just like back in our Marine days, all training operations have us prepared for our opposing force. Questions, so far?”
“Not so far.”
“Nope.”
“No, Sir.”
“OK. The way I see it is that once we’ve found their headquarters, the guys who made up the surveillance teams and the others who were involved in the covert tailing will conduct the next phase of the operation and that is determining the security that the gang has in place and how many gang members typically stay there overnight.”
“I think we’re good for now.”
“OK, I’ll see you guys later. Let’s reconvene first thing in the morning.”
Nellie had suggested that KC might enjoy seeing the ladies only class in action. She had been working with the group for a few weeks and was eager to show him the progress they were making. KC walked down the stairs and opened the door to the gym, not quite knowing what to expect. What he saw impressed him. There were about twenty, mostly younger women, paired up on the combat mat. Nellie was barking out commands and they were reacting with offensive and corresponding defensive moves. What was most striking to KC was that all of the two-women groups appeared to be moving in unison, like a choreographed dance scene. He watched them execute six different attack-and-defend moves and then Nellie said, “Now, on the next group of moves, we’ll attack, defend then counter. Ready. One, two. Good. Ready. Eight, six. Good.”
KC could hardly believe what he was seeing. Recalling back to his active duty days, he didn’t think that he had ever been able to get a class of this size to perform this well in such a short period of time. He observed the training for another five minutes and then Nellie called for a water break. She saw KC and walked over and asked, “So, what do you think of them so far?”
“I’m truly amazed at how far they’ve come in such a short amount of time.”
“In all honesty, I think they could have progressed faster, but I was extra cautious in the beginning because I didn’t want to lose anyone. Now that I’ve seen their level of interest and commitment, I think that we can begin to step up the pace of their advancement.”
“I see that Keisha and Maggie are here. How are they doing?”
“Oh my God, they are absolutely fantastic! I know that with all of their school activities, these sessions provide the only times that they can be here, at least for now but it’s obvious that they are both far more competitive than anyone else in this group. Hopefully, when school is out, they’ll have more time to work out here. By then, they’ll be able to participate with the men’s training groups. I really mean that. They are extraordinary young ladies. It’s incredible that we had the opportunity to team them up. I am blown away how everything is coming together so unbelievably well. And thanks for the idea of having a ladies only group. It is really beneficial.”
“Well, as you know, that idea came to me on the fly when Maggie paid us a surprise visit. I probably wouldn’t have thought of it if you hadn’t been in my office at the time, so part of the credit goes to you, too. How are the moms doing?”
“Jasmine has been extremely valuable to me. She’s totally freed me up from record-keeping duties and has become an integral part of the gym culture I’ve been trying to create. She spends every available free moment working out in one way or another. I often think that she pushes herself too hard but so far, she’s not injured herself, at least not that I’ve been able to observe. She told me about having to quit college sports and it looks like she’s determined to make up for that lost time. Anyway, it’s definitely a pleasure having her here. With regard to Linda Warner, she’s a totally different case. She and Jasmine have become friendly, but I think that the girls’ friendship has more to do with that than anything. Linda just isn’t the competitive type and she isn’t a real good match for Jasmine intellectually either. Add to that the lingering guilt she feels for bringing Wyatt Murphy into the household and I think that she’s not a real happy or satisfied person. Even the move to a better neighborhood hasn’t benefitted her, attitude wise, as much as I had thought that it would. Apparently, her neighbors tend to have more education and better jobs than she does and consequently, I think she’s finding it difficult to fit in. Not that she’s mentioned any of this out loud, but I’m sure that Jasmine sees all of this as clearly as I do. That’s the potential bright spot. Jasmine has a heart of gold and I believe that she will work on it until she finds a way to help Linda become more confident. Other than that, I know that both ladies are extremely grateful for the opportunity that you’ve given their daughters, and their families. It’s just not that common for things like that to happen. In fact, it is not common at all. Pretty remarkable, KC.” Nellie beamed at KC.
KC replied, “Well, I feel that we are the lucky ones in that we had the ability to help those girls like we did. Those two are the first benefactors of our new division or department or operation or whatever it is called that we are doing that doesn’t officially exist. Our new program to help people who are victims of crime but who are unable to fight back or receive the help that they need and deserve from their local law enforcement agencies has really become important to me. I never envisioned that we would be rewarded with tremendous results like this so quickly. And by the way, I want to thank you very much for putting in the long hours. What you contribute is vitally necessary to bring our growing staff up to snuff so that we can conduct more of these types of operations. I really appreciate what you’re doing.”
“Thank you. That’s nice to hear. I’d better get back to work. They’re going to cool down if I don’t get them going. But thanks for coming down here to see what the ladies are doing. Gotta go.”
KC watched as Nellie barked a command and everyone fell into a perfect formation four rows deep. He turned back to the stairs and as he did, a new thought began to percolate in his mind.
Chapter 39
KC decided his workday was over so he went upstairs to his apartment to cook dinner and relax a bit. But as he perused the pantry and then the refrigerator, his brain didn’t turn off from work mode. He recalled sending Cedric over to Cam Lo to fix the trash dump problem. Upon reflection, KC realized that he hadn’t directly participated in every stage of the planning and execution of that mission. He had told Cedric what needed to be done, made sure he was properly armed with a machine gun and claymore mines, then had merely gotten feedback as the mission preparation progressed and was executed.
Sure, KC thought, Staff NCOs and officers are supposed to supervise but the people in his companies have been well trained and have had lots of practical experience. How many times had all of them practiced breaching buildings safely in order to rehearse the rescue of hostages? They’d all had extensive training in surveillance of objectives, determining what threats existed and preparing plans for eliminating the threats they observed. They had practiced carrying out their plans until they got it exactly right.
Realization fell over KC. Hell they don’t need me to be kibitzing on every little detail. I’m going to let them plan, select their team members, rehearse, and then when they think they’re ready, have them run it all down for me. Meanwhile, I’ll prepare a checklist that I can use to evaluate the whole operation and possibly make suggestions or corrections, if necessary.
KC mentally congratulated himself, concluding that’s good thinking and leadership. Then he cooked himself an amazing steak dinner and congratulated himself on his culinary skills too.
At 7:00 A.M. the next morning, KC texted a phone number to Cedric’s phone and then called him. On the first ring, Cedric answered, “Yes, Sir.”
“I just texted you a phone number. It’s for Special Agent in Charge Colby Peters in the local FBI office. He’s agreed to meet with you to go over the techniques that your tailing team will need to learn before they head out to Columbus. He’s expecting your call
so it will be easy to get through to him to schedule a meeting. Colby is an expert on this. Don’t be reluctant to ask lots of questions. He won’t mind. I was thinking about this last night and there is one subject that you’re most certainly going to want to address with Colby. That is, when you’ve followed the “managers” to their final stop, how do you determine if that’s the headquarters and the main stash house? Listen to what he tells you about this carefully, because knowing that you’re at the right place will save you lots of time and will prevent you from raiding the wrong place and tipping your hand unnecessarily.”
“Got it, Sir. Is there a best time for me to call?”
“No, but do it today. You need to learn everything you can from Colby before you’ll know how many people you’ll need for your team and who to pick. Also, Top, Peeps and Nellie are going to need some advance notice to clear people’s schedules so that you can train them and set up practice runs. Ask Colby about conducting practice runs. I think that he’ll have an interesting suggestion for a final test for your team.”
“Uh, oh. Can you tell me a little more about that?”
“Imagine your team trying to follow highly trained FBI agents without being spotted.”
“No, he wouldn’t let us do that, would he?”
“I think he might if he’s impressed enough with you and how quickly you can master what he has to teach you.”
“Thank you, Sir. No pressure whatsoever.”
KC laughed and told Cedric, “You wouldn’t be in charge of this mission if you couldn’t handle the pressure. Get to it and enjoy the whole process. Have fun with it.”
The next call KC made was Frank Stone’s direct number at police headquarters. “Frank, KC here. Something has been gnawing at me from the back of my mind and I wanted to run it by you.”