Element 94

by Kleiner Jeffries

  Leah heard another round fired, and immediately crouched behind the nearest pillar. She was not sure where the terrorist had gone, seemingly melting into the surrounding crowd. Another shot sent the already frazzled crowd into a panic. She now realized a shootout had apparently been triggered between the burly terrorist and an armed guard. People poured into the shops that lined either side, hurriedly avoiding the center of the concourse that had been turned into a shooting gallery. Only a handful of stragglers remained behind, confused about where the shots had originated.

  “It’s useless!” Leah screamed above the din of the station around her. “We found the device. It’s over!”

  The only response came in the form of a solitary gunshot, quickly followed by a high-pitched cry in the distance. Approximately 100 feet away, the operative could make out the large Chechen, his arm now wrapped around a woman’s throat, the gun aimed forward at the ready. He let loose another volley, striking a police officer to her left, who fell to the ground groaning in pain. Yuri’s eyes immediately turned to Leah, a nasty smile adorning his face. She was now the lone force between the terrorist and the doors at the far extreme of the concourse.

  Yuri dragged his victim behind a large marble pillar, similar to the one Leah was now using for cover.

  “You’re surrounded. You’ll never get out of here.” Leah screamed. Again she received no reply from the terrorist, who seemed determined not to give up despite the futility of his plight.

  The column the agent was leaning against suddenly vibrated as a bullet ricocheted harmlessly off the thick marble. Leah ventured a glance, this time around the other side of the support, and could see Yuri making his way toward the exit, half-guiding, half-dragging the helpless woman beside him. The awkwardness of his movements, shuffling backwards while occasionally glancing behind to see where he was going, all the while encumbered by his hostage and cognizant of Leah in front of him, seemed more than what the terrorist could handle. But the man would prove Leah wrong, as a gunshot shattered the glass door of the exit, injuring yet another policeman. This man had skill with his weapon, and a brash confidence. She realized the terrorist really did believe he could get away – either that, or he was prepared to die trying.

  Were others awaiting his exit, ready to take the terrorist down if he tried to escape? Leah was not sure, and decided to take matters into her own hands. Standing now in a half-crouch, the CIA agent switched the sighting on her weapon to ultraviolet, and gazed through the custom eyepiece that had been fashioned to the powerful handgun. The .45 caliber automatic pistol she held before her in a standard, two-handed grip was particularly effective for hostage situations and the weapon of choice of the CTG. While the heavy .45 caliber slug could effectively drop its target, the velocity of the bullet was considerably slower than that from a classic .44cal Magnum, ensuring the slug would not bore through its victim and endanger any bystanders beyond the target. Moreover, the soft recoil enabled one to keep the weapon aimed at the target after firing a shot, in case another round was necessary. It was the perfect weapon for the situation, and was being wielded by one who had attained a mastery of its capabilities.

  The UV targeting mechanism, visible only through the special optics, revealed an aim-point dot right on the terrorist’s center mass. The hostage intermittently entered the targeted region as the pair made their way ever closer to the exit.

  “Too risky”, Leah said to herself, as she quickly shifted the UV guidance mechanism upward. There would be less room for error, but that was of little concern to the highly skilled operative. It was what Leah had been trained to do, and she did not hesitate to depress the trigger. The Chechen’s large rotund head snapped back against the violence of the impact from the perfectly placed bullet. A second shot was not necessary as his lifeless body slumped to the ground.

  A chorus of cheers erupted from the upper deck of the airplane, where the communications room was housed. The national security advisor immediately appeared at the entrance to the Presidential suite to inform his commander-in-chief of the good news.

  “Mr. President, we got it! Kelly’s found the bomb”. The prevailing look of despondency on the President’s face suddenly vanished, replaced by the first spark of hope in days. Groves breathed an audible sigh of relief, and then in a tone of shocked relief, asked “Where?”

  “Southwest Dupont – 21st and O. An old nineteenth century row-house apartment. I have no idea how he did it - Udeen never intended to maximize casualties. We’ve been looking in the wrong place all along.”

  “What about the other devices?” Groves asked, referring to the second and third suspected dirty bombs thought to have made their way onto their shores.

  “It’s contained. He’s got ‘em all. The threat is contained, sir.” Q emphasized this last sentence majestically, as if sounding what was to be the great conclusion to the element 94 debacle.

  “Sam, I can’t even tell you…”. Groves appeared on the verge of getting choked up, but quickly regained control of his emotions. “Get Kelly on the phone, I want to talk to him personally. We’re going to need some medals ready. Damn it, I knew he’d come through.”

  “He sure did.” Q said, a satisfied look on his face.

  A voice on the intercom broke through the otherwise sanguine discussion.

  “Mr. President, its General Fitzpatrick.”

  “Yes, Patch him through” Groves said into the intercom, then turning to Q he added confidently “Now we finish this thing.”

  Chapter 13

  “Brother, what is it?” Asked Faarooq. He had just arrived to find the stronghold in a frenzied panic.

  “The bombs! They never detonated!”

  “You think one of the men panicked?” One of the nearby lieutenants began to ask.

  “No!” Ra’ed responded forcefully, punctuating the air with a closed fist. “We had three units. None of them detonated!”

  “The Americans have discovered how to detect the material.” Faarooq concluded correctly.

  “Yes, and that could mean only one thing. They are on their way here. We must evacuate.” Ra’ed said somberly

  “Perhaps.”

  “Perhaps? You were the one that said this so-called RDS can see underground and through mountains.”

  “If our material releases highly penetrative emissions, then our location will be disclosed. In any case, we have word the Americans have select units in the area, along with a carrier capable of launching an air strike that can reach our position in under 20 minutes time. Once we are positively identified, there will be little time.”

  “Then we must go now - there is no other way” Ra’ed was conspicuously agitated as he spoke.

  “We do still have the operative. He is just now awaking from the tranquilizer.” Faarooq said in a measured, controlled voice. It was becoming clear which of the brothers seemed the most at ease in the face of adversity. It was Faarooq’s decisiveness in killing one of his own, one that was poised to gun down the American agent, that had enabled them to retrieve the valuable commodity alive.

  “Good. We will bring him with us. Just make sure he is on a tight leash.”

  The Hermes control center now bustled with activity. No one had heard back from Ali, and his position was again lost on the GPS tracking system. He must be deep within the Udeen fortress, underground where the signal could not be picked up. As for C.J., the young operative was still missing, and likely either dead or held captive somewhere in those hills.

  “Mack, what did you find out?” Kelly was on the radio, communicating with his men in the field.

  “We got a few of the scumbags. They’re starting to talk. Seems like your coordinates are dead-on. How’d you know?”

  “Mack, its Ali.”

  “What about him?”

  “He’s got a Hermes tracking device. He must have penetrated Udeen.”

  “Hermes?”

  “Mack, he doesn’t know” responded Kelly

  The radio went silent momen
tarily, after which Mack punctuated his measured response.

  “Bill, who else?”

  “Not now, Mack.” Kelly hoped to defer a discussion of the circumstances surrounding placement of a Hermes tracking device into one of their own. “Get to that location right away. See what you can find out about C.J.”

  Mack did not persist. He was a professional soldier, and knew the more pressing issues at hand must be resolved first; there would be time to discuss Hermes, and the implications of Kelly’s act, later. “He’s alive, Bill. At least he was up until very recently. One of these Udeen guys seems to have been his primary captor…”

  “Azeez” Kelly blurted into the radio

  “Yes, that’s the one. Not hard to get information from them - very soft…Anyway, this Azeez fellow took us right where he had left our man. Definite signs of a struggle, along with a shot-up jeep and one dead body.”

  “He got away?” Kelly asked hopefully.

  “Yup”

  “Son-of-a-bitch. Why hasn’t he made contact?”

  “Don’t know Bill. Udeen apparently had people after him. In any case, the trail just ends. Our man here doesn’t seem to know where he is…and believe me, if he did I’d have known.”

  “Alright Mack, if we don’t hear from C.J. in the next 24 hours, we have to assume the worst. You know what you have to do.”

  “Any news from Ali?” the operations chief asked. Ali should have infiltrated Udeen by now, and learned some valuable information about the organization. Most importantly, they needed to know if C.J. was out of harm’s way if and when they attacked the stronghold.

  “None. He’s made no contact, and…I don’t think he will.”

  “Huh?…” The response took the operations chief by surprise. “You don’t think?…” Mack had finally registered what it was that Kelly was intimating regarding their senior undercover agent. The question hung unanswered across the airwaves for several seconds until Kelly offered a reply.

  “Yes. I do.”

  “My god, I just can’t believe…How…Why?”

  “I don’t know, Mack. I just don’t know. The night A.J. was killed, Ali was on the STAT floor being cleared…and implanted with Hermes. The investigation turned up nothing, so I went back and tracked his movements – the latest chip is accurate to within 3 feet. We now know he killed A.J.”

  “I’m gonna kill him” Mack interrupted.

  “We’ll get him, pal, don’t worry. But that’s not the priority right now – you just find out what you can about C.J. If you can get Ali in the process, fine, but you just find our man. Once Fitzpatrick knows where Udeen is, I won’t be able to keep him at bay very long.”

  “What are you talking about, Bill”

  “Now that the domestic threat has been contained, the General’s itching to finish this thing. I’m afraid he’ll move to obliterate the region. He’s got the President’s backing on this one, and the life of one man, who may or may not be alive, isn’t going to stop any of them from giving the order.”

  “I heard Udeen is now nuclear. If they respond…”

  “Mack, as soon as 94 emerges from beneath that rock, we’ll pick it up on RDS. The military has high-altitude gunships at the ready, missile defense deployed, and warplanes overhead. We’re the few assets on the ground, and that’s exactly why Fitz adamantly opposes any delay.” The chairman of the joint chiefs of staff for the nation’s military was understandably concerned about allowing senior Udeen members to flee the area – the mistakes of Afghanistan those many years ago still loomed prominent in the formulation of military strategy, and would not be repeated.

  “Shit, we’ve got to at least try and get our man!” Mack pleaded

  “I know pal. I know…Let me see what I can do. You just keep the line of communication open. I won’t have you guys go down in the process. But if I can’t keep the boys at defense at bay, you’ll have to clear the area in a hurry.”

  “Give me a day, Bill. That’s all I ask.”

  “I’ll see what I can do.”

  Mack Sullivan put the transmitter down and immediately turned to his second-in command.

  “We don’t have much time. Have him make the call. We need to find out what we can.”

  Stevie did as he was told. It did not take long before the CTG soldier’s “persuasiveness” resulted in the terrorist’s full compliance. Stevie learned it was not difficult to manipulate this Azeez – the man was weak, mentally as well as physically.

  The terrorist put the radio to his ear, tuned in to the proper frequency, and began speaking in the coded Arabic commonly used by Sayf Udeen. It was clear to Azeez the CTG operatives understood his communication perfectly (Ben and the other analysts had broken the code long ago); there would be no way to warn his superiors of how he was being manipulated. The terrorist falsely sent word that the raid on Jopprie’s village had been successful and that the youth, along with anyone who had come in contact with him following the discovery of the captured American, had been exterminated.

  “Now offer to find C.J.” Stevie commanded of the captured Udeen officer. They had evidence of their fellow operative’s escape, but had yet to hear back – something must have gone terribly wrong. The reply from Udeen’s superiors confirmed everyone’s worst fears.

  “Azeez, do not worry about the American. He has been apprehended. You are to return here immediately. We need all forces back at once - we fear the Americans may be planning to attack.”

  Mack and Stevie both shook their heads in dismay as the news was related. Azeez looked up at the American soldiers, also with a shocked look on his face. It came as no surprise to the terrorist that C.J. had been recaptured, for Sayf Udeen was in full control of the surrounding territories. But the news about the nearby military aggressors was most disturbing.

  Mack correctly deduced the situation, and skillfully continued to manipulate his hostage.

  “Guess you didn’t know. We found your bombs, pal. It’s over.” Mack began. “There’s nothing stopping us now - you go back there and you’ll die along with the rest of them.” The ops chief spoke matter-of-factly to the terrorist leader in his custody. He knew he would have to rely on Azeez even more now that C.J. was again held captive. The terrorist shook his head in disbelief, all the while knowing that the American operations chief was telling the truth. He and his fellow comrades were being called in to bolster a defense which had no hope of thwarting the impending attack. That was the way of Udeen – the soldiers would be called upon to sacrifice themselves while Ra’ed and his closest advisors would slither away and escape in the haze of battle. If Azeez refused to comply, he would be shunned by the organization, and be hunted down as a traitor to the cause.

  “Let me help you.” Mack offered the terrorist, sensing exactly the dilemma facing the man before him.

  “What makes you think I need your help?” Azeez replied in a shaky voice.

  “Because I know you do not want to die. And right now, that is your only option. Either we get you, or your own people do. You’ve got no options here.”

  “What is it you propose?” the terrorist asked. He was prepared to hear what this American had in mind. It might be his only chance.

  “I want the captured American. I need to know where he is being kept, how he’s being guarded, everything you might know. If we get him back alive, I’ll personally see to it you make it out of here a free man. We’ll see to your safe passage anywhere you like.” Mack would readily allow this wretched soul to go free if it would mean saving the life of one of his own men.

  Azeez laughed at the preposterousness of the proposition before him.

  “The detention chambers are buried deep within the mountains. He will be most heavily guarded. You’ll never be able to get in there, much less free your friend and hope to escape alive. It is impossible.”

  “Nothing is impossible. Just tell me where he is.”

  “Very well.”

  “Where’s Koval?” asked the CT chief. He wanted to i
nform the scientist personally of the fortuitous developments before the upcoming Presidential meeting he was to attend. Groves had just landed at Andrews, and would be helicoptered to the White House to convene with the senior staff to shore up final preparations before striking at Udeen’s positions in Africa. Kelly had but a few short minutes before he would have to depart.

  “I show he’s signed into his lab” said the Langely operator’s voice on the other end of the line.

  “What?” Kelly said incredulously, tersely adding “thank you” before hanging up the phone.

  The CT chief immediately left his office and headed for the laboratories located on the ground floor. He was puzzled why Leo was still at work - RDS was successfully upgraded and the imminent threat stabilized. It was time to celebrate, time to rest, time to mop up the pieces and ensure Udeen would never again be able to threaten the planet - why was his scientist still toiling away after the marathon of activity of the preceding weeks?

  Kelly arrived at the entrance to the STAT labs, punched in the requisite code on the keypad, and entered through the sliding Plexiglas doors. The physics lab was empty, and Kelly ultimately found the scientist in his office, staring at a computer screen.

  “Leo, what are you still doing here?”

  “I have an experiment running. Bill, I heard the news – what a relief. Thank you.”

  “No Leo, thank you. We got ‘em all. Those three devices were the only traces of element 94 on this hemisphere. Not one casualty, Leo. All we have to do now is get our captured man back, and we can put this thing behind us.”

  “Great.” Leo replied wearily, a reluctant smile on his face. The feeble attempt to acknowledge the day’s successes did not fool the astute chief, who immediately sensed something was troubling the scientist.

  “Leo, what is it? Really, why are you still here?”