Miguel called out again as they entered, but there was no response. They all donned surgical gloves and proceeded to search the suite. There was a safe in the master suite closet and Jimmy went about trying to open it. It was one of those common types in hotels where you input a four-digit code and locked it, then used the same code to open it. The only way to open it without the code was from a card used by maintenance for occasions when either the battery failed or a guest forgot the code. Jimmy reached for his wallet and pulled out a card with a metallic stripe on it. He swiped the card through the slot in the safe’s control board and heard a distinctive click as the safe opened.
“I’m not seeing this,” said Melinda as she turned her back.
“Figured that would come in handy,” he said as he smiled up at Miguel.
After taking a picture of the contents with a cell phone, they withdrew the contents of the safe and laid it out on the bed. There were passports, money, credit cards, a gun and an iPad. Miguel looked at one of the passports, it was issued by Afghanistan, and saw the name Basim al-Quereshi with a photo that matched that of Tom Delaney.
“Bingo!” said Miguel. “We have our senior terrorist leader and al-Qaeda connection.”
“So, do we wait until he gets back and nab him?” said Jimmy.
“I don’t think so. He can lead us to the location of the drones, and that’s the critical issue now.”
“OK, let’s take pictures and put this stuff back in the safe and scoot.” Jimmy said. He was careful in replacing the contents to match the picture he took before they removed the contents. Then they left the suite .
When they returned to the hotel, they downloaded the information to Alberto, complete with snapshots of all the documents. Melinda called Josh and gave him the information on Basim.
“Oh, yes,” Josh said. “We know all about him, but don’t have a photo of him yet. He’s been sliding under our radar with this false identity. He is part of al-Zawahiri’s council. He’s a big fish and we are very interested in apprehending him.”
“That won’t be wise now. We want him to lead us to the drones and their operators. Since we found the explosives they had installed to blow the roof, we must assume that they will have another means to get the drones into the stadium.”
“I would put my money on using a drone loaded with Semtex to blast a hole in the roof,” said Josh.
“You’re probably right on that one. I know this is a long shot, but do you not think that under the circumstances, we should call off the game.”
“Not a chance,” Josh scoffed. “This is the Super Bowl and billions of dollars are invested in it. There’s no way we will ever get it shut down. We’ve got to find those drones and deactivate them.”
“Understood,” said Alberto.
Twenty Six
Super Bowl Sunday started as it always does with lots of celebrations, and masses of people rallying in the streets with either a New England Patriots banner or one for the Atlanta Falcons. This will be the Patriots’ fifth trip to the Super Bowl and Atlanta’s second. A win for New England would put them in a three-way tie, along with the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers, for second place in the all-time Super Bowl win list. Only the Pittsburgh Steelers boasted more wins with six, and they currently sat in first place.
The Super Bowl is one of the most prestigious sports events in the world; this year the 51st edition summoning an audience of over 77,000 at the stadium and over 111 million viewers in the US alone. A 30-second commercial cost advertisers just over $5m, and Lady Gaga headlined the half-time show.
The team became nervous as the day unfolded. Although they had made great strides in finding information on the planned attack, they still had no idea where the drones were. They set up a four-person surveillance team to track Basim, confident he was here to be part of the attack, and that he would lead them to the other team members—and the drones.
Miguel stood in a secluded spot across the road from the hotel’s front entrance, and Alberto covered the rear entrance onto the street behind. Jimmy and Melinda sat in a car just down the road, in case Basim took a taxi. Maria was sitting in the hotel lobby reading on an iPad, and they would use a leap-frog method of following him, changing positions regularly. Miguel parked his SUV in the hotel parking lot and they would use that if he took a cab. They pretty well had all the bases covered and could not afford to lose him. They saw him enter the hotel last night, so they knew he was there. As a back-up, Maria planned to bump into him as they walked through the hotel’s revolving doors and drop a tracking device into his pocket .
Maria reported at 2:15 p.m., saying she saw Basim enter the hotel’s restaurant. He came out at 3:40 and walked toward the front exit. Maria got up and timed her exit so she would be with him as he entered the revolving door. As she feigned a trip and bumped into him she slid the tracking device in his jacket pocket.
“Sorry,” she said.
“No problem,” he said with a smile and exited the revolving door with Maria behind him.
Basim did not take a cab and joined the crowds of people walking toward the NRG Center. Miguel followed on the opposite side of the road while Maria fell in a few steps behind Basim. Miguel apprised the other team members that they were on foot, and Alberto made his way to the front of the hotel and stayed several steps behind Maria. After several blocks, Maria slipped into a store, and Alberto moved up. Miguel still observed casually from the opposite side of the road. Basim then turned right, and Alberto carried straight on. Miguel crossed the street to pick up the tail. Very few people were on this street, so Miguel kept his distance. Before long, Basim entered a condo building, and Miguel tried to enter behind him, but the door was locked. Clearly, he had contacts in the building to admit him. Miguel reported to the team, and they conjured up a way to gain entry to the building. Jimmy drove Melinda to the grocery store, and they filled two bags with groceries. They then waited outside the condo until a man walked up the steps to the entrance. Melinda exited the car with her bags of groceries and hurried to the entrance behind the man. She reached the entrance just as the man used his card-key to unlock the door.
“Thanks,” said Melinda as she followed him into the building. She sat on a seat in the lobby and placed the groceries on the floor. When the man entered the elevator, she signalled the others and opened the door for them.
“Now all we have to do is find out where they are,” said Miguel.
“Do you suppose that they will launch the drones from the roof?”
“Safe bet, I would say,” said Alberto.
Miguel called Alex. “Can you check the registry for this condo building and see if there have been any recent rentals?” he gave him the name of the building.
“Will do,” he said. “Be right back to you. ”
They waited for several minutes, and realized they looked a little suspicious sitting in the lobby, especially as they had bullet-proof vests on that made them appear a little bulky, so everyone but Melinda returned to the car. Several people entered the building and looked at Melinda as she sat there with her groceries at her feet and reading on her iPhone. Strangers in the building were likely common as many people rented out their units.
Miguel’s phone rang, and he saw that it was Alex.
“Yes Alex.”
“There was a recent rental made in the name of Tom Delaney, so we have our guy. It is unit number 1205, so it’s on the 12th floor. There are 19 floors in the building. Incidentally, the antenna for the Drone Security System is mounted on the roof of that building.”
“Not coincidentally,” Miguel said. “Thanks for that. You said the drones need to be in the air before you can access their controllers?”
“Yeah, bit of a bummer, because I have to scramble to get the right algorithms, and there are 10 drones.”
“Concentrate on the drone with the camera. If we can eliminate their eyes, they won’t be able to manoeuvre through any hole they make in the roof.”
“Goo
d point,” Alex said.
“Also, they will launch one or two drones before the actual toxic gas ones to blow a hole in the roof.”
“So, you want me to take control of those.”
“No. That would alert them to the fact we have control of their drones, and there’s no telling what they will do. I want them to launch the drones with the gas containers so we can control them.”
Alberto, Miguel, Maria, and Jimmy got out of the car, and Melinda let them into the building.
“1205,” Miguel said to Melinda. Melinda text Josh the information.
It was now 4:10, with time running out. The kick-off for the game was at 5:30 p.m. CST, just over an hour away.
They entered the elevator and pressed ‘11’, ‘12’ and ‘14’, (there was no 13th floor, common in many buildings, so the top floor was labelled ‘20’).
Alberto and Melinda got off at 11, Miguel and Jimmy at 12 and Maria at 14. Miguel and Jimmy proceeded stealthily to the door of 1205, and Miguel placed his ear to the door. He heard nothing. Jimmy knocked on the door and shouted out ‘maintenance’ in his best Spanish accent. They waited for an answer, but none came. Miguel said to Jimmy, “Can you Jimmie the lock?” and smiled at his own joke.
“Ha ha,” he said. “For that, I would need a crow bar. I think I’ll be a little more subtle.” He pulled out his small pack of lock-picking tools, went to work and had it open in a few seconds.
They drew their sidearms and entered the apartment. No sounds came from the condo. Each checked doors that led off the main corridor and signalled that they were ‘clear’. It was a two-bedroom unit with a den, a large living room and kitchen. There were two bathrooms, one an en-suite.
“No one here,” Jimmy announced somewhat redundantly. “Let’s take a look around.” The scattering of empty pizza and takeout boxes, discarded soft drink cans and water bottles signified that several people had used the unit. Dishes were piled in the sink, and the overfilled dishwasher was left open. A laundry area had a pile of soiled clothes and towels strewn on the floor.
“Untidy bastards,” Miguel commented.
Miguel heard his name called and Alberto, Melinda, and Maria entered the apartment.
“No one here,” said Miguel. “Probably up on the roof.”
They returned to the elevator and selected the ‘up’ button. When the car arrived, they got in and pressed ‘20’, and the doors closed, whisking them to the top floor. Miguel poked his head out of the car when the doors opened, but the corridor was clear. They walked to the stairwell to their right, and noticed it stopped at that floor, so they proceeded to the other stairwell where the stairs continued up to the roof. Miguel signalled the others to stay while he climbed the stairs and tried the door. The handle gave when he depressed it and he pushed on the door. It moved less than an inch and stopped.
Miguel descended the stair and said, “It’s barricaded from the roof. I can’t open it.”
Miguel called Alex.
“Where does the locater say Basim is?”
“He’s located somewhere in the building, but I don’t have an elevation.”
“We believe they are on the roof,” Miguel said. “Can you get access to an aerial view of the roof? ”
“Not in real time. I can use Google Maps to show the roof, but it will be a photo at the time it was taken. The only real-time view is through military satellites, and I don’t have access to those.”
“OK, I’ll get Melinda to call Josh and see what he can do.”
Melinda called Josh again. “They are on the roof with the drones,” she said when Josh answered. “Our only option is for Alex to access the controllers. Even if we were able to storm the roof, there’s a danger of them setting off the toxin. Some of these guys are prepared to die for their cause, especially when they can take thousands of Americans with them. Imagine how psyched out the terrorists on the twin towers planes were, knowing they would die. For them, it was an honour to die for Allah and his cause. We need a roof view in real time.”
“Already have one,” said Josh. “Twelve people are on the roof and we count eleven drones. I agree that the best option is to wait until we can get control of the drones. I have local cops, SWAT teams, FBI, CIA, and HSI champing at the bit to shut these guys down. Can you pass me to Miguel?”
She passed the phone to Miguel and Josh said, “We’re just waiting for the word from your guy that he has control of the drones. We’ve got a dozen operators standing by with drone controllers.”
“As soon as they launch, Alex should have that for you.”
“Under the circumstances, I hate the word ‘should’,” said Josh.
“Me too,” said Miguel.
“I’m planning to head over there to the building with a SWAT team ready to storm the roof,” he said as he ended the call.
“So we just wait here?” Maria said.
“Unless you’ve got a better idea.”
This was an incredibly frustrating situation. They had tracked the terrorist to this location, and the drones were on the roof ready to be launched and potentially kill thousands of people.
And they could do nothing about it.
They heard a noise from the roof door of someone removing the barricade. Everyone ducked into the corridor and ran to the other stairwell. Miguel peered through the crack of the partially open door and saw someone enter the corridor and press for the elevator.
“Alberto, Jimmy. Don’t let him back up here,” said Miguel .
“Right,” they said as they ran down the stairs to the 12th floor. Sure enough, the guy exited the elevator and walked towards 1205. Jimmy opened the door and stepped into the corridor, his Sig Sauer pointed at the terrorist. The guy put up his hands and Alberto frisked him and removed a small pistol from his waistband.
“Inside,” Jimmy said as he gestured with his gun. The man opened the door and entered the apartment with Jimmy and Alberto behind him.
“You are too late,” he said with a smug grin on his face. “You cannot stop it now. Even if you try to, we will release the gas and hundreds, maybe thousands will die.”
“Your plan will not work,” said Jimmy. “We will take over control of your drones as soon as you launch them. You are all going to jail.”
A look of despair came over his face briefly, then he said, “I do not believe you. You cannot gain control of the drones. If you shut them down, it will release the gas.”
“I didn’t say we are going to shut them down, I said we will take control of them. This is America. We have the world’s best technology. Do you think accessing a few cell phone signals is a big deal for us?”
Suddenly, he didn’t appear so cocky. He shifted is his seat as Alberto placed plastic cuffs on his hands and feet.
“So, why did you come down here?” Jimmy asked.
“It is hot up there. I came to get water.”
“What will happen if you don’t return?”
“I don’t know, they may send someone after me.”
Jimmy didn’t think so. If they sensed their operation had been compromised, the last thing they would do would be to send another one of their key operators down to check. Alberto placed another plastic tie around the one on his wrists and the chair back, just for safe measures, then they left the apartment and joined the others on the 20th floor.
“Just went back for water,” Jimmy told Miguel. “I doubt they will send anyone else.”
“I agree,” said Miguel. “So if they suspect that their operation may be compromised, what do you imagine they will do?”
“They are barricaded on the roof and have a back-up plan to release the gas. If it was me, I would go ahead with the plan. ”
Miguel checked his watch—4:55. The stadium would be virtually full by now—thousands of people making their way inside, completely unaware of the potential danger lurking.
Twenty Seven
Miguel’s phone buzzed, and he checked the call display.
“Alex,” he said.
“Must be the advance ones with the explosives,” Miguel said, looking at his watch. It was 5:09. “I think they may realize that we know about the operation, because I thought they would wait until the game started for maximum effect.”
“What do you want me to do?” Alex queried.
“Leave them alone. We want them to think they have not been compromised. We want those drones with the toxin, in the air, so we can intercept them. Daniel of the CIA is standing by to clear the field below the roof.”
“OK,” said Alex.
“Just watch for the launch of other drones.”
“Will do.”
Melinda called Josh and updated him on the situation.
“Thought something might be coming down soon,” said Josh. “I’ve been informed that the Drone Protection System has been disabled. We’re clearing the field right away. We have a team with hazmat gear and a containment vehicle standing by on the football field next to the Houston Methodist Training Center nearby. It is the only place we were able to set up because all the parking lots in the area are full. My guys are standing by with the controllers.”
“As soon as the other drones are launched,” said Melinda, “Alex will send the algorithms to our guys. He says it is better for him to assume control of the camera drone and send the video feed to our team.”
“Sounds good,” said Josh.
“I don’t think we all need to be here,” said Miguel. “I’m going down to 1205 to watch the action from there. As soon as Alex has control of the drones, we will storm the roof. ”
Just as Miguel turned to go, the elevator doors opened and a team of riot-clad police stormed into the corridor shouting “DOWN! DOWN ON THE FLOOR!”
Miguel’s team immediately raised their hands and knelt on the floor, then laid prone. Melinda shouted out, “FBI. I’m FBI,” and held up her badge.
“Melinda?” someone called.
“Josh?” she said, raising an arm.
“At ease,” he said to the SWAT team. “OK, you can all get up.”
Death Drones Page 24