Computer Capers

by Dan Kelly

  “I’m sorry to bother you two, but I’m going bonkers sitting around waiting for something to happen. There’s got to be a way to get these people to make a move on us. Although we’ve increased security around here, most of the tightening is not readily seen. We’ve stayed with our normal schedule and routine which when observed from the outside should appear to present some very tempting opportunities, but these people either don’t see them or don’t like the risk they’d be taking. I was hoping our trumped-up email would have shaken them up enough to be willing to throw some caution to the wind and try to take us out while we were all in the office. I thought the opportunity to remove us from the playing field in one fell swoop would be all the temptation they would need. It looks like I was wrong.”

  “Joel responded with, “Well, your timing couldn’t have been any better.”

  “Actually, Hank, your timing sucks, but I’m not willing to risk life and limb to tell you that.”

  “We were just about to come see you with an idea Barbara has come up with that we think will get the job done.”

  Taking turns, they filled Hank in on what they had been talking about, but the blank look on his face gave no clue as to whether or not he was buying any of what they were trying to sell. As Joel had anticipated, Hank wasn’t happy with the risk his team would have to take to make this work.

  For the next ten minutes he paced the floor and mumbled to himself and then he quietly said, “I think it’s got a good chance of working. If the rest of the team agrees to stick their necks out, I’ll call the President and ask him to secretly arrange for a Ranger unit to contact me immediately so we can get this trap of yours set up ASAP.” We’ve got to bring this whole mess to a head before this country starts to fall apart at the seams. I strongly believe that the cessation of attacks by The Last Resort is just a short term lull, a temporary respite. I think they’re gearing up for a major offensive that will be worse than anything we’ve experienced so far and its launch is imminent. We’ve got to get these bastards before they get us.”

  Chapter 59

  -Breuil Cervinia, Italy-

  Once again, Hank’s gut is right on. Basil Halkias has just been told by Bob Feldman that they now have access to the latest launch codes as well as the procedures for launch for the LGM-30G Minuteman-III nuclear missiles in silos situated at Minot AFB, North Dakota. The only thing left to overcome is the requirement for two people to affect a launch. He’s now deep in thought about what his first target should be when this final obstacle has been eliminated.

  “The first launch should be for demonstration purposes only, to show the powers that be that The Last Resort has the means and the ability to launch a missile attack on any city in the United States with pin point accuracy. A perfect target for this demonstration would be the isolated and uninhabited Atoll de Clipperton, a small and extremely isolated atoll in the Eastern Pacific. It only covers an area of about four tenths of a mile and its circular shape makes it an ideal target. We can show before and after pictures for maximum impact on the American people.

  “If this demonstration along with the threat of a missile attack on a major American city fails to bring about unconditional surrender, then I think it’s appropriate that Washington D. C. be the first to pay the price for that recalcitrance.

  “Before we launch any missiles though, we must convince the general public that we mean them no harm. We must make sure that they understand any casualties that have been incurred or will be incurred were necessary to restore the freedoms that have been so surreptitiously stolen from us. They must know that our sole motivation is to resurrect the American dream that our founders had in mind when they first set foot on the soil of the New World.

  “With the citizens’ support, we will have no trouble governing the new United States Autocracy. Under our supervision and with our input and guidance, the people will participate in the decision making process that affects their everyday lives. It will once again be a wonderful new world.

  “The only possible fly in the ointment is this Sentry outfit. We’ve got to swat them out of existence. They could spoil everything.”

  If anyone could read this guy’s mind, they’d think he was a bonafide, died-in-the-wool, raving lunatic, but he’s quite sane. He’s just a deadly serious fanatic about his quest for leadership of the once mightiest nation on earth and his goal of restoring his country to that lofty status. He’s not a lunatic, but heretic wouldn’t be too far off the mark.

  Chapter 60

  -Chicago-

  Dave’s Deli is only a couple of blocks down the street from Sentry’s offices and during their short walk neither Joel nor Barbara is able to detect any tail on them. The sun is shining, the temperature’s in the low 80s and the strong breeze blowing in from Lake Michigan is making it a perfect day for a walk. The pedestrian traffic is pretty heavy and not in any hurry to get to where it’s going and nobody is standing out from the crowd.

  It’s a little after one in the afternoon and when they arrive at the deli most of the lunch hour crowd has headed back to work, but a half dozen tables and some booths are still occupied and there are some people over at the deli counter looking at the food on display or waiting for their orders to be filled.

  Barbara takes a number and then she and Joel casually check out the scene for anyone whose behavior might tip them off that they’re not there for the goodies. If this were a movie, they’d spot the tail and turn the tables on him or her and put a tail on their tail. Unfortunately, this isn’t a movie and they spot zip.

  A few minutes go by and then Dave calls their number. “Hey, I haven’t seen you two lately. Has that slave driver Aldridge banned lunch breaks?”

  Laughing Joel said, “No, but please don’t put the idea in head. We’ve been very busy, Dave, and eating has been pretty much on a catch and run basis wherever we happen to be. However, we’re here to change all that.”

  Joel had raised the curtain and that was her cue to take center stage and she put on an award winning performance. She brought the curtain down with, “We’ll pick up the food on Saturday morning at around 9:30 if that works for you.”

  “It will be here waiting for you. Hey, how about I make up a couple of pastrami on rye sandwiches with some new special seasoning I’ve concocted. You’ll love it and it’s on the house. I’ll even throw in some of those Jewish dill pickles you two like so much.”

  Their lip licking told him they liked the idea. With a big smile he said, “It’ll only take a minute for me to whip them up. Handing them a couple of cups of Italian lime ice he said, “Pleasure your pallets while you’re waiting.”

  As they turned to take a seat in one of the nearby booths, they both caught sight of a guy leaving the store and as he closed the door he quickly glanced their way and then melted into the crowd outside. There was something about the look in the guy’s eyes that prompted Barbara to take a second look, but the man was swallowed up by the crowd before she could respond to the prompt. She said, “My woman’s intuition is telling me that we got the word out.”

  “The guy that just left, you think he was a tail assigned to keep track of where we go and when?”

  “It’s more than a thought, Joel. It’s a very strong feeling I got when I caught him looking at us. Don’t laugh at me, but the look in that guy’s eyes gave me the creeps. It was an ominous look, one that threw off sparks of danger.”

  “I’m not laughing, Barb. I’ve learned to respect your hunches. Let’s hope your right and they’ll gulp down the bait.”

  Dave came over to their booth and said “Here you go you two. Enjoy. I’ll see you Saturday.”

  Some more customers walked in and went up to the counter, so he moved away to take care of them. Joel and Barbara headed back to the office to fill Hank in on what they believe has just happened and Joel’s thinking, “Maybe, just maybe the tide is finally turning.”

  Chapter 61

  -Breuil Cervinia, Italy-

  Feldman has selected
twelve men who have been with him almost from the time he opened his doors, men who have served him well and whose loyalty is unquestionable. He pays them extremely well and he doubts that their consciences will get in the way when he approaches them with their next assignment as long as he gives them the appropriate pecuniary incentive. All of them have done dirty work for him before, but this will be the first time he’s asked them to do any wet work.

  He will present his request via encrypted email and wait for their reply. The same email will go to all of them because he knows they will want to know who they would be working with before they make their decision. Feldman has picked Julius ‘Little Caesar’ Prevot to be the leader of the group because he’s the smartest, toughest and the coolest under pressure of the lot.

  He’s waiting for the two men he’s assigned to keep watch on the Sentry offices and shadow Hank Aldridge or Joel Jergensen if they should leave the premises to report in, one of whom is Little Caesar. He’s not going to make the mistake of underestimating his intended victims and committing himself to a course of action that he might later regret because he didn’t keep abreast of the latest developments.

  A couple of hours later his day is made. Little Caesar reported in and told him what he had overheard in the delicatessen. “Okay, I’m pulling the surveillance. I want you two to go back to Elizabeth and I want you, Julius, to check your email when you get there. Tell no one that I’ve told you to do this. You’ll understand why when you’ve read the email.”

  Feldman broke the connection and started to chuckle. “My derriere is already twitching with anticipation over finally having this thorn plucked and tucked away for good. With Sentry out of the way, we should have clear sailing from here on out.”

  Chapter 62

  -Chicago-

  The entire Sentry team has bought into Barbara’s idea and Hank has contacted the President for Ranger support which was granted. Joel is now sitting in Hank’s office waiting for Hank to be contacted by the leader of the Ranger platoon that has been assigned to cover Sentry’s ass. Hank told him that this would happen at eleven this morning. It is now eleven o’clock and Hank’s computer has just signaled that he has received an email message.

  The message is a short instruction. “Go to the fourth floor and knock three times on the door marked Kramer Investments.”

  They followed the instruction and the door was opened by a young woman who led them to an office down the hall from the reception area and told them to pick up the phone on the desk which could be put on a speaker. Hank did so and said hello. “General Aldridge, this is Lieutenant John Distachio. I apologize for all the secrecy, but I don’t know how secure your office phones and computer systems are and the little I’ve been told about what I’m getting involved in has made me extremely cautious. This is a secure line so we can talk openly.”

  “Lieutenant, you acted wisely, but my office security is the best there is and you don’t have to worry about any future communications with me or anyone in my office at my office. I have my number two guy, Joel Jergensen, with me and he’s listening to everything we say. This is what we’re planning to do.”

  Hank filled the Lieutenant in on the details of their entire scheme. “These are civilians who will be coming after us. If you have to kill any of them to save our hides, you are authorized to do so, but we need to capture as many of them as we can because we need to know where their bosses are hiding. Their bosses are the masterminds behind all of the recent attacks on the infrastructure of our country. I want to crush them like the bugs they are and the more people you have to interrogate the better our chances are of you scaring that information out of them.

  “I understand, General. Before dawn on Friday morning, we’ll have scouted the area for anything or anyone that shouldn’t be there. I’ll have Rangers in place to observe you and anyone following you when you drive through the entrance and park your cars and to ambush these people from when the time is right. Later today you will receive some lapel mike gear so we can talk with each other as the need arises. We’ll round up these traitors for you, General, and they’ll be ready to tell you their whole life stories when we finish with them.”

  “Thank you Lieutenant.”

  When Hank hung up Joel said, “This has got to work, Hank. If it doesn’t, the only option we have left is to sweat the information we need out of Sam Ferguson. If we try to do that, we destroy the only direct conduit we have to his buddies. If these guys are as smart as we think they are, they’ll have a daily contact requirement in place for Ferguson to comply with and if that is not met it will be a red alert that his undercover role has been compromised. I think it’s most likely that it would take more than a day to get him in a talkative mood. These guys are determined fanatics, the kind that don’t give up easily. Ferguson’s failure to make daily contact might very well motivate the rest of his clan to do something even more despicable than they’ve done already. I wish I could think of other options, but I’m fresh out of ideas.”

  “Wishing for anything is a waste of energy, Joel. If we’re to have any chance of beating these bastards, we’ve got to keep punching, keep looking for a way to put them down for the count. We’re going to win this battle, Joel, trust me on that. These guys are palookas and we’re Muhammed Alis.”

  Walking back to their office Joel’s thinking, “It’s no wonder this guy was a general. He could convince you to follow him into a burning inferno and have you believing that you were coming back out with nothing but a tan and chances are he’d do it too.”

  Chapter 63

  -35 Miles Southwest of Chicago, Perrington Park-

  A little after ten on Saturday morning the Sentry motorcade left downtown Chicago and headed for Perrington Park. Hank was driving the lead car, Collette was driving the next car with Allison in the passenger seat, Kirk was driving the next car with Perry as a passenger, Sal with Ashok riding shotgun were in the car behind them and Joel and Barbara were bringing up the rear.

  Hank didn’t think they would be waylaid on the way to the park because there would be too many witnesses and the traffic conditions could hinder their assailants’ escape, but Hank wasn’t taking any chances hence five cars instead of using Sal’s Chevy Express van which can seat up to 15 people. Hank summed up his decision succinctly with “It’s a lot harder to hit five moving targets than it is to hit one.”

  About ten miles outside the city, Barbara became aware of a couple of vans that seemed to be playing leap frog with one another. One was black and one was white. One would pass their motorcade and the other would stay five or six cars behind them. A couple of miles down the highway they would switch places. She got the plate numbers and called them in to her office for ID and found that they belonged to residents of Chicago. The vans weren’t on any list of stolen vehicles, but that didn’t necessarily mean anything though. The owners might not know they’ve been stolen yet. They could have been stolen at a long term parking lot in an airport or some other place like that.

  The windows were heavily tinted so she couldn’t see inside to check out faces. She called Hank on his cell to let him know what she had noticed and Hank passed her observations on to Lieutenant Distachio.

  When they reached the park, the parking lot was almost full. They couldn’t find five spaces close to each other, so they were each on their own. It took a few minutes for all of them to find a space and when they did they were all over the lot. When they all met up on the sidewalk outside the entrance to the park Barbara said to Hank, “I see no sign of those vans.” Except for Joel, the rest of the group was in the dark about the vans so she clued them in and then they all scanned the parking area for sight of them, but to no avail.

  Hank said, “They must have parked outside somewhere. With all this foot traffic coming into the park, it will be impossible to pick our pursuers out of the crowd. Damn, it sure would be nice to have something go the way we anticipate once in a while. Now the Rangers will have to wait to ID them when they start cre
eping around in the woods and hope no one gets by them without being seen.”

  They hauled their food and other picnic paraphernalia to the clearing Barbara knew about and it was quite a trek. There was a lot of huffing and puffing going on and when Allison plopped the last basket of food on one of the picnic tables she defiantly proclaimed in her inimitable way, “Let it be known to one and all. This alfresco stuff is strictly for the birds,” pausing for affect and then continuing with, “those in the trees and the little four legged critters running around in the woods like Mother Nature intended. My idea of a picnic is an everything-on-it pizza or a Big Mac and fries on my front porch.”