Major Pond entered the lead Osprey for the one hour ride to the drop location. Each bird carried twenty-four fighters, so a total of seven aircraft took off and headed for the coast. The battle group didn’t care that the large invasion force would be detected by Ecuadorian radar. They would make nice-nice later after they had saved the world.
***
General Whitehead and his staff were monitoring every aspect of the mission. He had arranged for satellite coverage along with the drones. The machines covered both the battle fleet and the mission site. A tension-filled thirty minutes passed as they waited for the ground force to get in place.
Suddenly a technician yelled out. “Sir, one of the starships has come out from behind the moon and uncloaked.”
General Whitehead stared at the screen as something shot out from the huge ship. The ship immediately darted back behind the moon. “It’s launched a Kamikaze,” he screamed. “Notify the battle fleet that they are under attack.”
“No, sir it’s not the fleet,” the tech explained. “The trajectory is to the jungle.”
“My God,” Whitehead roared. “They’re going to kill their own people. Why?”
“Shall I abort the invasion,” the fleet admiral yelled into his headset.
“No wait,” General Whitehead ordered loudly. “Tell them to go into a holding pattern. Let’s see if we can shoot down the weapon first.”
“Virginia submarine, do you have a lock on the shuttle missile?” the fleet admiral quickly asked.
“It will be in our range in three minutes,” the captain of the submarine responded.
“Fire two missiles,” the admiral ordered, “just in case.” The senior Navy man said.
“Aye, aye,” the captain responded.
***
While the command group at the Pentagon waited for three minutes to pass, they discussed why the Sumi would want to kill their own people.
“Maybe they have a weapon that we don’t know about,” the Secretary of Defense offered as he slid into the room.
“From what we know,” General Whitehead explained. “They already believe that we have some of their weapons and that we can make them work. It seems illogical to destroy any more weapons and their people if they have that knowledge.”
“Or maybe there’s another trick up their sleeve,” The Secretary of Defense said.
“My biggest concern is this. How are they obtaining enough information to act on?” General Whitehead said.
***
The men in the secret situation room stared at the countdown clock on the screen and were relieved when the captain announced that both missiles were away. The satellite feed immediately picked up the missiles as they left the water and tracked them into the sky.
With morbid fascination they watched the two trajectory lines come together. They could not see or hear an explosion, but suddenly all the lines on the screen disappeared.
“Mission accomplished,” the submarine captain’s voice filled the speakers in the room.
A collective cheer went up from the men and they high-fived each other. General Whitehead brought them all back to reality when he ordered the jungle invasion back on.
It would take the Ospreys thirty more minutes to reach the drop location and a little longer to find out why the Sumi attempted to kill their own people.
Chapter Twenty
Half a world away, the Vatican team was checking into the Hotel Alimandi Vaticano. It was just across the street from an entrance to Vatican City and very near their ultimate destination, the secret archives of the Catholic Church.
They needed the room to change into their disguises that Mandy had found on the Internet. She had them delivered to the hotel and they were waiting for the team when they arrived.
Timmy was outraged. “It’s only one room,” the geek immediately complained. “Where am I going to change?”
Timmy had no problem watching women take off their clothes, especially the luscious Heather, but was overly self-conscious about taking his own clothes off in front of the other men.
“Get over it Timmy,” Heather warned the geek. “I’m using the bathroom. You change out here with the big boys. Only Mandy will be watching you.”
“I will not,” Mandy shot back and placed her small hands on her hips. “I’m coming into the bathroom with you.”
“I don’t care where you change,” Steve the team leader said. “But we are leaving in five minutes.”
Chapter Twenty-One
When the plane carrying Colton Banyon with the combined Forever Ours/SIM team and their equipment landed at the private plane terminal at the Istanbul Ataturk Airport, Pramilla used her diplomatic pull to clear them and their luggage quickly. Colton Banyon provided two hundred American dollars to the custom agent to ensure a quick pass-through. They didn’t want anyone to take a close look at their baggage.
A long black limousine whisked the travelers away to another terminal at the large airport. There a private helicopter waited to take them on the two hour ride to Avsa.
As they boarded the aircraft Banyon’s phone rang.
“Who could be calling me?” Banyon uttered as he dug out his phone and answered it.
“Mr. Banyon, this is Mobi,” the voice urgently said into the phone.
“I’m kind of busy right now,” Banyon told him. “Did you get your people safely out?”
“Not exactly,” said the leader of the tribe that had lived in the Ecuadorian jungle for many centuries.
“What happened?” Banyon asked with concern.
Mobi ignored the question. “I was wondering if you could supply me with an introduction to meet the leader of the special operations force your government has dropped into my jungle. It’s rather important that I talk to him.”
“Hold the line,” Banyon said without hesitation. He turned to Colonel Cole. “I need the name of the leader of the attack team in Ecuador, Jerry. Can you get his name right now?”
Colonel Cole quickly dialed his phone and it connected to General Whitehead at the Pentagon.
The general didn’t ask a question, he simple said, “Major Bob Pond.”
“Can you tell Major Pond that he will contacted shortly by a local Indian leader? He has important information about the Sumi invasion,” Colonel Cole said.
“Will do,” the general promised sincerely. “Any help we can get on this mission is needed.”
Banyon passed on the name to Mobi who then hung up abruptly without saying good bye.
“I wonder what that was about?” Loni asked curiously.
***
Once they were aboard and airborne the team began to go over the final plans for the attack on the Sumi in the depository. Gunny Gersch was changing into his Sumi outfit. Both Loni and Previne were enjoying applying the blue face-paint to his toned body.
“So does everyone understand their part?” Banyon asked.
“But I think we have forgotten something,” Loni said.
“What’s that?” Previne asked.
“We didn’t arrange for any transportation on the island,” she replied with concern.
“That’s because the island is only two miles wide and less than that long,” Banyon explained. “We’re going to walk from the landing site.”
“In this outfit?” the gunny complained.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Back in Ecuador, the Osprey’s couldn’t find enough open ground to land so they hovered over the jungle while all the men slid down long ropes. As soon as they hit the jungle floor the men formed up into teams. There were five teams in total. The thirty men in each platoon were connected to their platoon leader through an earpiece system and could communicate freely with their leader. The five platoon leaders were connected directly to Major Bob Pond.
Each of the five groups was equipped with an awesome arsenal of weapons. Each platoon contained three self-propelled rockets, a Browning .50 caliber machine gun with armor piercing bullets, and a two man sniper group. The indiv
idual fighters had the latest and best Heckler & Koch automatic machine gun, at least one pistol, various knives for close combat work, a machete, standard issue grenades, stun grenades and Taser guns. They were a formidable attack force.
An army sergeant stood next to the major. He carried additional communication devices including a controlling device for cameras situated on each of the platoon leader’s headgear. He monitored and controlled everything from an IPad that he carried. He was also directly patched into the situation room and the Navy fleet offshore so everyone could hear and see what was going on in the dense jungle.
Major Pond gave the order to move out. The five platoons separated and slithered into the jungle. Each one had an experienced tracker as their point man. The trackers stayed ten yards ahead of their platoon.
Major Pond commanded his forces from the rear. He followed one of the platoons and strutted along like Douglas MacArthur did when he returned in triumph to the Philippines during WWII, only he didn’t have a corncob pipe.
***
The men of the attack force knew how to move quietly through the jungle. They also knew they were about one klick from where the body signatures were detected. It would require about an hour of extremely stressful excursion to cover the distance.
After about ten minutes of strenuous travel, the men were hot, sweaty and increasingly nervous. They listened for signs of disturbance in the jungle ahead. All they heard were birds, monkeys, constant buzzing from insects, and the roar of various animals. There were no unusual noises. There didn’t seem to be anyone in front of them, the jungle was devoid of anything large giving off a heat signature. The jungle seemed to be functioning normally.
The sergeant next to Major Pond suddenly stumbled. “I’ve got one body signature about twenty yards ahead.”
Major Pond immediately passed the information on to the platoon leader ahead of him. “Let’s see if we can capture him,” he added.
Five minutes later, the major entered a small clearing in the jungle. About twenty men stood in a circle aiming their machine guns at the individual in the middle of the clearing. The rest of the men were deployed in a defensive position. The small man was dressed in only a loin cloth. His dark-skinned body was covered with war paint. He wore a headdress made of feathers and carried a spear that was taller than he was in height.
“You must be Major Bob Pond,” the Indian warrior said in cultured English. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.”
“How do you know my name?” the suspicious military man asked.
“Why, Colton Banyon told me, of course.”
“Why would he tell you who I am?” the suddenly very concerned major asked.
“My name is Mobi. I am the Chief of the Shuar tribe of the Amazon. We have lived here in these jungles since the beginning of time. The Sumi have been a big threat to us and now to you as well. I can help you stop them.”
***
“General Whitehead says the guy is legit and is here to help us,” the sergeant told the major after checking in with the Pentagon.
“Well, Mr. Mobi, how can you help us,” Major Pond asked sarcastically. The little man won’t stand a chance against any of his warriors, let alone the blue men.
“I can take you to the Sumi — that’s what they call themselves. But you must hurry,” Mobi explained as he tried to leave, but was stopped by the major who grabbed his arm.
“How do you know where they are?” the major inquired.
“Because we have captured all but twenty of them,” Mobi responded. “But you must hurry and set up a defense before their warriors return.”
“Where are their warriors?” Major Pond asked.
“I tricked them, but they will be back shortly.” The Indian suddenly turned and sprinted into the jungle. “Follow me,” he bellowed over his shoulder.
Chapter Twenty-Three
The helicopter landed on a small treeless hill in the middle of the island of Avsa. It had just turned dark and lights could be seen off in the distance along the coast where the small settlements were located. Only about two thousand people actually lived on the island in the off season. The hill was usually completely deserted at night, so the pilot was pretty sure they were alone. The few tourists at this time of the year preferred the nightlife along the coasts.
Avsa did not have an airport. Almost all the tourists arrived by cruise ship or ferry boat from many places around the Marmara Sea. There was only a small police force and they concentrated on problems on the coasts. The pilot was sure that they had landed undetected.
Colonel Cole went into the cockpit once they had hit the ground. The pilot was actually a CIA operative and understood that he was to remain on the ground and wait for his passengers to return. He had flown many missions like this one before.
“Are you armed?” Colonel Cole asked.
“I’ve got and AK-47 machine gun and a pistol,” the man replied professionally.
“We may be coming in hot,” the colonel explained. “I’ll give you as much time as I can to warm up the bird.”
“It’ll take five minutes,” the pilot replied.
“We’ll see you in about three hours,” Colonel Cole explained and shook his hand.
“Good luck,” the pilot uttered.
The man got out of the helicopter armed with his machine gun to stand guard and watched the ten passengers slip out the rear doorway. They were all dressed in black. He realized that they were headed to a confrontation with someone. They wore pistols and carried rifles.
When a seven foot giant blue man dressed in a tunic exited the aircraft, the pilot decided that he would not take a drink while standing guard.
Chapter Twenty-Four
Major Pond’s men had a hard time keeping up with the short Indian. He seemed to know where every bush and tree was located in the dense jungle. The major had ordered his other four platoons to flank the Indian and to remain hidden until he called them. Major Pond then proceeded double-time behind his first platoon. The communications expert ran by his side.
“You’ve got to see this, major,” the platoon leader reported after a few minutes. “You won’t believe it.”
A little while later Major Bob Pond broke through the jungle and entered a large meadow. The first thing he noticed was a large bamboo hut. It was about fifty feet in length and equal that in width. It was also twelve feet high with a thatched roof of palm leaves. The thick bamboo poles were set a foot apart and dug into the ground. More bamboo poles were strapped around the perimeter horizontally at one foot intervals. It was a giant holding cell.
Inside the holding cell were over a hundred blue Sumi. They milled around the inside sulking and looking angry. One of them uttered something in a deep hard baritone voice that could make paint peel off of a car.
Mobi pressed a button on a medal sphere on his chest and screamed back in the same language. This agitated the Sumi, but they became quiet.
“What did you say to them?” the major asked.
“I told them to shut up or die,” Mobi responded.
Major Pond decided to get closer to the holding cell to get a better look at the enemy. He stepped forward.
“Stop,” Mobi roared. “Do not take another step.”
The major froze in his tracks and soon realized why Mobi had stopped him. Five feet to his right sat a large black panther. The animal looked at the soldier with hunger in his yellow eyes. He tilted his head and started to wiggle his rear end. Major Pond knew that the big cat was about to pounce. He slowly took a step back, but it was too late. The panther sprang into the air with the nails of its claws extended and its mouth open and ready to bite.
The fierce animal was in mid-flight when it suddenly was jerked to a stop and flopped on the ground while screaming in protest. Major Pond stood in horror, but quickly realized that the animal was on a chain. The chain was connected to a post dug into the ground. The length of the chain allowed the big cat to almost reach the holding cell and cover a circle that almost re
ached Major Pond as well. He then noticed that there were three more large panthers on the other three corners of the cell.
“The Sumi are deathly afraid of predatory animals,” Mobi explained. “They will not attempt to break free.”
“How did you do this?” the major asked in awe.
“We had built the holding cell some time ago,” the Indian leader responded. “The panthers are our friends. They will go after anyone in a uniform. That includes your people, so be careful.”
“How could you have known that the Sumi would come here?” the major asked.
“The Sumi have been coming to this jungle for many thousands of years. They have often made contact with my people and have begun treating us as slaves recently. We have had a plan to capture them for some time.”
“How long?” Major Bob Pond asked.
“Maybe a thousand years,” Mobi replied with a straight face.
“How is it that you speak their language?”
“See this device on my neck,” Mobi pointed to the talisman around his neck. “It was given to my people centuries ago so we could communicate with our masters. It translates everything I say into their language and allows me to understand theirs.”
“But how did you know that the blue men would come today?”
“Colton Banyon told me,” Mobi answered without hesitation.
“Colton Banyon?” Major Pond repeated as a question.
“Now please. We must prepare for the Sumi warriors. I have fooled them once and sent them to the Tayos caves. They will not be fooled again.”
“How did you fool them?”
“I told them that the metal library that contained their original plans for building a Sumi city here in my jungle had survived.”
The Society of Orion Book #7: The Turkish Findings (Colton Banyon Mystery 21) Page 7