Alpha Threat

by Ron Smoak

  He decided to check up on his latest issue, Grübner.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR

  Monday, July 18, 2011

  Fortress Alpha; 5:45 a.m.

  Dana awoke to a sudden noise outside the cell. It was a man screaming in the distance, clearly in pain. She panicked and immediately looked over to the other bunk. Randall was still there. She sighed in relief. At least it wasn’t him, thank God. They had been brought back down here yesterday; for what reason they did not know. The guards were like eunuchs. They did their jobs and said absolutely nothing. Step out of line and they would brutally put you back in place. You certainly were not getting any information from those sons-of-bitches.

  The screaming died down. Dana got up and stood by the door. She listened. She heard someone talking but could not make out the conversation. She heard scuffling and a few muffled yells. Then everything went silent. That’s when she heard the footsteps of a guard coming down the corridor. The footsteps stopped in front of their cell. She stepped back against the back wall to hide. Randall was startled awake and sat up.

  They heard the keys turn the heavy lock in the cell door. Slowly it opened. Both of the Finleys stared wide-eyed, not knowing what was going to enter. To the relief of the Finleys, a guard entered carrying a tray of food…breakfast. As always, the guard said nothing. He merely placed the food on Dana’s bed and backed out of the room. Within seconds he returned with two canteens of water and then walked out, slamming the cell door behind him. The Finleys heard the heavy bolt lock the door again. Hell would continue.

  “Good morning,” said Randall weakly. “Anything new?”

  “Nothing, Babe,” said Dana quietly as she came over and sat next to Randall. They had been captives for at least a full week, although they were not really sure what day it was. Other than the first day of the beatings and the killing of Manolo, they were treated relatively well. Their wounds from the beatings were almost healed except for the lost teeth.

  “They brought food and water?” asked Randall. “Let’s eat.”

  “Sure,” cooed Dana. “We can have a feast together here.” She got up and brought the tray over to Randall’s bed and then picked up the canteens. “I did hear something interesting earlier, just before you awoke. It sounded like a man screaming. I think we have company down here.”

  “Great,” smiled Randall. “We must have him over for dinner.” Dana looked at him as if he were crazy. Then she burst out laughing.

  “Leave it to you to make jokes while we rot away down here,” she said.

  “Hey, somebody’s got to keep our spirits up.” Randall perused the food. “Hmmm, not breakfast at the Ritz, but meat, cheese and bread beats starving.” He tore the bread in two. “It’s kinda fresh too. We must be on someone’s good side.”

  “And the cheese is not moldy,” added Dana. “You may be right for once.”

  “Once?” exclaimed Randall. “I’m always right.”

  “Mmffph,” grunted Dana as she bit into the bread. They quietly enjoyed their feast without saying any more. Things were certainly bad but they were better, especially over the past several days, at least until they were brought back down here. But they were left alone. That was a huge thing in Dana’s mind. She had a great fear of that Maas guy. He killed so easily. And she feared he could do much more.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FIVE

  Monday, July 18, 2011

  Outside Fortress Alpha; 6:20 a.m.

  Dane moved silently through the bushes staying very low to the ground. Hugo was about three yards ahead. It was dusky, reflecting little light from the sky. The jungle bugs and frogs were nonetheless singing their nightly mantras calling for mates or proudly proclaiming their superiority. Dane and Hugo were on the north side of the Fortress along the small open area that was actually a well-designed cover for the heliport.

  Hugo stopped and Dane came up on his six.

  “Ready, Boss?” whispered Hugo. Dane replied with a thumbs-up and checked his watch. It was 6:30 a.m. on the dot. He keyed his microphone.

  The “Bingo Alpha” meant the lead Alpha team was moving in. “Bravo go” denoted the Bravo team was complying and moving in as well.

  “Bingo, Alpha,” he said quietly. Within seconds there was a quiet reply in his earpiece.

  “Bravo, go.”

  Dane turned to Hugo and motioned him to move ahead. They had previously set up several quick code messages to enable the teams to communicate quickly but only for a second or less. Dane hoped it would be fast enough to keep someone from hearing and tipping off their locations. Dane was glad they were lucky enough to witness the helicopter lift off when they first visited the Fortress. That was the key to them finding a second entrance to the complex. They were very fortunate since Dane believed the original hatch was now heavily guarded. He did not want to have to fight his way in. To their knowledge, no one knew Dane and Hugo saw the heliport. If they could get in undetected, they had surprise on their side.

  Hugo skirted past multiple huge ferns and was always about three meters ahead of Dane. He was nearing the edge of the faux clearing. He cautiously looked out from under the fern fronds. To his right about eight meters away was a small, low structure that looked very much like the catapult officer’s dome on an aircraft carrier deck. It rose about one half meter above the ground and several darkened glass-encased view ports were clearly visible. Hugo guessed correctly this was an aircraft control bunker for the heliport. He looked over to his left. He did not see any other structures at first, but upon a further look he spotted a similar bunker about twenty-five meters away. He continued his recon of the clearing and picked up a third bunker almost directly across from him. There was no movement nor was he able to see into the view ports. But he suspected there were folks behind those ports. Hugo slid back a bit and met Dane, who moved forward.

  Using hand signals, Hugo reported the three bunkers and their location. Dane nodded in acknowledgement. He motioned for Hugo to go over to their right toward the closest structure. As Hugo got closer, he froze as he heard a sharp click. He saw movement, barely noticeable, behind the structure and heard voices. He quietly leaned to his left to take advantage of cover.

  As he watched, a man dressed in black emerged from the ground. Hugo observed silently as the man rose out of the ground, climbing steps from an underground entrance. He heard a slight rustle and turned to see Dane moving up. He held up a fist to signal Dane to freeze. Hugo looked around again and saw the man dressed in black now standing on the ground beside the small windowed structure looking into the trees above. It seemed to Hugo the man was expecting someone; maybe expecting a flight to come in.

  Hugo turned and signaled to Dane. This was their chance to get into the Fortress. All of the noise and commotion of a helicopter landing should give Hugo and Dane the opportunity to get into the Fortress undetected. Hugo motioned for Dane to join him and they moved behind a group of trees and cover ten feet from the structure and behind the Nazi. They could now see a faint red light glowing from a stairway leading down into the Fortress. Dane looked to the sky. He could hear the faint sounds of a helicopter. As he was listening, there was a deep humming sound as the clearing began to open exposing a huge hangar large enough for several helicopters.

  The Nazi moved over to the edge of the clearing and waved down at someone below. While the man was over at the edge of the large opening, Hugo and Dane quickly moved over to the stairway. Dane looked down the stairs into the Fortress. There was no one in sight. While Hugo covered him, Dane scampered down the stairs into a red light bathed hallway. Hugo kept his eyes on the man in black as he moved over to the stairs and disappeared below. They were in!

  Dane waited at the bottom of the stairs on high alert. Hugo came down the stairs and pressed himself against the wall beside Dane. Hugo froze for a second and then methodically moved down the hall with his weapon aimed in front of him. He was ready for anything. Dane followed behind, keeping an eye on the stairs in case the man above came down. They b
oth felt a growing breeze and heard the noise of a helicopter coming in for a landing in the hangar. Hugo came to a door on his right, Ausrüstung H-5. He tried the door latch. It was open. Hugo stepped in weapon first. It was an equipment room. It was dark and appeared as if no one was there. He stuck his head out into the hall and called Dane in.

  “Come in,” Hugo called quietly. Dane moved into the doorway still aiming his weapon toward the open hatch and stairway. He could now hear that the helicopter was very close. He stepped into the room and closed the door and locked it.

  Dane reached into his vest pocket and removed a small LED flashlight. He clicked it on and placed the butt of the flashlight in his mouth so he could see but have his hands free. Hugo did the same. Dane looked around noticing that the room contained various pieces of equipment from shovels and picks to ropes and come-alongs. Over to one side was a large floor-to-ceiling cabinet. Dane opened the door and saw it contained small tools and solvents. Hugo stood beside a small desk with a telephone. He opened the top drawer. He found several mechanical diagrams of large hangar equipment such as crane plans and electrical diagrams. He closed the drawer and opened the top right-hand door and pulled out an eight-by-ten folded document. Hugo unfolded the document. It was a map of the Fortress.

  “Dane, over here,” Hugo called quietly.

  “What did you find?” asked Dane.

  “It’s a diagram of the entire complex, Fortress Alpha. We hit pay dirt with the first shovel full,” Hugo said grinning with the small flashlight still in his mouth. “Now we can plot a way deeper into this place and find Dana and Randall.” Hugo spread the diagram out fully on the desk. It was so large that several inches hung over the sides and bottom of the desk.

  “This is great,” said Dane. “With this we can get in and get out quickly.” Both he and Hugo pored over the diagram. The first thing they both noticed was the sheer size of the complex. This sucker was huge. They looked at the plans and then at each other. Both were amazed.

  “Can you believe this?” asked Hugo rhetorically.

  “I have never seen anything like it,” replied Dane.

  There were more than three hundred rooms on some levels and there seemed to be at least eleven levels of various sizes. Dane noted the multitude of elevators but saw only a few went down to the lower levels. He remembered their captives told them that the Finleys would probably be held in the lowest levels where the security and jail sections were located. Running his finger along one side of the diagram Dane saw an elevator away from major traffic areas. It was probably a freight elevator of some kind. Better yet, it seemed to go to all levels. It looked like the perfect way in and out.

  Hugo, on the other hand, found the security lockup area deep within the complex, literally on the other side. Oh, well, he thought. We got lucky getting in and finding this diagram so I guess we can’t be as lucky as we have been. Hugo also noted the large power station at the center of the complex on its deepest levels. That would be a good target to throw the complex into total turmoil if need be.

  “Okay, look. We are here,” noted Dane, pointing to a small equipment room on the diagram on one side of the Fortress. “If we can move down two levels and get over here,” he said pointing to the corner of the complex with the solitary freight elevator, “we can get down to the lockup as quickly as possible.”

  “Looks good to me,” added Hugo. “What about getting out? We need a secondary escape route.”

  “Yes,” agreed Dane. “I was looking at this,” he said pointing to a large airshaft that rose up through several levels from the power station. “If we can’t get out the way we came in, we should be able to get out this way.” Hugo nodded in agreement.

  “What’s this?” asked Hugo. He was pointing to a motor pool garage. “It looks like another way out.” Dane looked closer.

  “Yeah, I agree. Let’s mark it down as well. If we leave that way, we may at least have wheels to get us out of the area quickly. But there will be a lot of folks there. We may have to fight our way out.” Dane thought about their situation for a minute. “In fact, I think it should be our primary escape route, the airshaft our secondary and our entrance route as our tertiary route.”

  “Done,” said Hugo. “I wonder how Ben and the guys are doing.”

  “Don’t know. But we can’t be thinking about them. They are on their own. They know what to do.”

  Hugo turned toward the door. “Okay, Boss. Let’s do this.”

  Dane looked at the diagram. “Okay, we’ll move down two levels, traverse the complex via this hallway and get to the freight elevator and get down below.” Hugo nodded while Dane folded the diagram and jammed the document into his shirt. They both moved over to the door and listened. They heard nothing. Dane carefully unlocked the door, cracked it open and peered out. He could still hear the helicopter. He stuck his head out the door. The hallway was clear. They both moved out leading with their weapons. Down the hall they went.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX

  Monday, July 18, 2011

  Outside Fortress Alpha; 6:30 a.m.

  “Bingo Alpha,” the message chirped through the earpiece. Ben instinctively raised his hand to his ear. He pressed his transmit key.

  “Bravo go,” he replied. He turned to Tim, walking just behind him. “We have a go.”

  Ben motioned to Tecal to stop. Tecal stopped and gathered his men. The group paused on a knee as Ben relayed the message.

  “We have a go signal. Dane and Hugo are going in. We all know what we need to do. Stay on plan and don’t take any unreasonable risks. We should be all right. Let’s get closer to the hatch and set up.”

  Tecal nodded in acknowledgement and turned to tell his men in their language that they were ready to go. Two of them disappeared immediately into the jungle. Tecal turned to Tim and Ben and smiled.

  “They understand and know what to do,” Tecal said quietly. Then he began to move on. Ben and Tim followed Tecal.

  The small group didn’t go one klick before one of Tecal’s men slithered back through the brush and stopped directly in front of Tecal. The two spoke quietly in their native tongue. Tecal’s man whirled around and slid into the jungle again. Tecal stepped over to talk with Ben and Tim.

  “They found two men on patrol resting under a tree,” Tecal said whispering. “They were about thirty yards in that direction.” He pointed north.

  Ben was puzzled. “You say were?” he asked.

  Tecal grinned. “They are dead now.” He said it so matter-of-factly that Tim swallowed hard and looked at Ben. Tecal turned and seemed to glide away, disappearing almost immediately.

  “I told you Tecal’s men are good,” explained Ben. “They are experts at hunting and killing their enemy before they are aware of their presence.”

  “I’m glad they are on our side,” said Tim stoically. “They are some of the best weapons I have ever seen. And that includes many of the guys I served with.”

  “Don’t let their size fool you. They are extremely good,” said Ben. “Let’s move.”

  About twenty minutes later Tecal appeared again in front of Ben.

  Ben listened to Tecal. “Hatch is just ahead,” whispered Tecal. “There are many men in black around. There are four in a bunker within sight of the hatch and several more patrolling around in twos. We will get the ones walking.” Tecal‘s pronouncements were chilling. “You wait here.”

  Ben flashed a thumbs-up and motioned for Tim to join him under a large pair of bushes.

  “We’ll rest here while Tecal’s men do more work,” said Ben quietly. “They found the hatch. It’s just beyond those trees. But Tecal says there are four guards in a bunker watching the hatch. There are also several patrols roaming around. Tecal and his men will take care of them. All we have to do is hit the bunker.”

  “All we have to do?” questioned Tim, shaking his head with a smirk. The two checked their gear and weapons. The MP-5s with silencers they carried were deadly, especially at close range. Ben drew out a r
ough diagram of the bunker and hatch for Tim as described by Tecal.

  “Once we get the okay from Tecal, we will split into two groups and move into position on two sides of the bunker. Once in position, we should be able to take all of them in one swift blow. Then we will hide the bodies and move in on the hatch. By then I hope to hear something from Dane or Hugo,” explained Ben. “It’s our job to cause havoc on this side to take the heat off of Dane. So we have to make a big splash. That’s when we will take off these silencers and make some noise!”

  “I’m following your lead,” said Tim. “Point me in the right direction when the time comes.”

  Ben reached into his pocket and took a quick look at his watch. It was nearly eight o’clock in the morning. He was slightly worried. He had not heard from Dane or Hugo. He hoped they were okay and on schedule. By this time they should be inside the Fortress and moving toward rescuing Dana and Randall.

  Tim saw Ben look at his watch. “How are we doing on time?” he asked. “It’s getting much brighter. It must be close to nine by now.”

  “Just coming up on eight,” responded Ben. “I’m getting a bit worried that we haven’t heard anything from Dane. I’m hoping no news is good news, although if they were captured we would never know it.”

  “They are all right,” said Tim with authority. “Those guys are amazing. It’s us I worry about.”

  Ben snickered. “I know what you mean. I know why we are here but at the same time I wonder why we are here.”

  Fifteen minutes had passed since Tecal and his men disappeared into the jungle to hunt down the patrols in the area. As Ben and Tim sat patiently under the bushes, they imagined they heard someone several times. Each time they sat quietly, their weapons at ready, waiting for action if need be. Still no one came.