"I'm impressed Brad. I feel safer here than the White House.
One thing I failed to mention is we have a medical clinic. My wife is a Chinese trained traditional medicine doctor. She is also skilled as an RN. That's where I met here when she was working for the Red Cross in Afghanistan."
Brad, I see now why we recruited your services. When I first took office, that damn senior killer was shaking up the nation. That serial killer was damn clever, but you got him in the end. The hired killer cleaning out my cabinet was the next one. You never told me what happened to the guy behind it."
Brad smiled and said, "There're some things better left unsaid than said. Let me say this, he had time to reflect on his misdeeds before the end. All it took was a gentle push for him to open his eyes wide open."
They walked back to the bedroom and up the stairs to a wonderful smell of clam chowder and garlic bread. Sujin said, as they entered the living room, this is just a snack Mr. President. We have a special seafood dinner planned for later."
"I am very hungry Sujin. I thank you. Oh, did I tell you I met your parents in Seoul? Wonderful people. Now let's dig in before I pass out from hunger."
"Brad, I got a text message saying that some activity in North Korea has been observed. The information is sketchy, but we suspect that North Korea might be selling off their nuclear equipment to a broker for the Taliban. We've increased our surveillance at all locations to affirm or deny this bit of news."
Brad listened with keen interest. Anything to do with the Taliban was of vital importance to him. His reputation was surfacing and someone caught him on camera with Kim Jongun as they walked down the steps departing the plane in Pyongyang. His picture was plastered across the major newspapers of the world.
Chapter Three
After a night of fresh caught crabs and perch, the President left early for bedtime.
The next morning Mike and family came up again to meet the President. The day was spent in relaxing and enjoying the company of each other. A fax came in for the President about an update on the North Korean nuclear issue. Apparently it was true that North Korea was dismantling its nuclear program. The broker was a front for the Taliban. Brad got really nervous. This wasn't good news at all.
Brad's mind was racing. What if they sold a submarine to the Taliban. With a price on his head, Brad was vulnerable to attack from the Pacific Ocean. Now this damn gold thing would leave the Round House unprotected. It was time to call his father. He would have a SEAL team come up and stand guard. Wait a minute was he over reacting? Well better safe than sorry.
The President rose after lunch to pack his bag. The Secret Service would be here shortly. The Batt Team would ride along and then fly east. A second plane would carry the Secret Service spill over.
After the President left, Brad went downstairs to call his father General Pratt in Palm Springs. His mother answered the phone. He had to chat with her for a few minutes before his father came on line. Brad, without particulars, told his father to have a five member SEAL team on standby to come to his home. He told his father he would explain it when he saw him very soon.
Brad asked Billy for all the Romeo class submarines of the North Korean Navy. It didn't take him long to have report on what he asked for. Brad sat down and read the report with interest.
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The future would prove Brad Pratt correct in fearing an attack on the Round House. In the Middle East, negotiations were going on to purchase a Romeo submarine from North Korea. North Korea was scaling down its military under Kim Jonguns' orders. Those orders came from the USA as per the agreement he follow to remain in power.
Currently at least a hundred and fifty Taliban were being trained in Egypt in submarine sailing. These were handpicked and fanatical Muslins. Each member had a picture of Brad Pratt in his head. They had been brainwashed that it was Brad Pratt that had murdered their leader Bin Laden.
The only Intel the Taliban had was Brad Pratt was living on the Pacific coast near Bandon, Oregon. Google Earth did the rest pinpointing the location of his house where the creek emptied into the ocean.
For the next thirty days the Taliban trained hard in rafting, swimming, and training in the sand dunes in the desert region of Egypt. The weapons were primarily mortars and AK 47s. Some members would carry what was known as Bangalore Torpedoes explosives. They were used to clear obstacles by tubes. The Taliban were taking no chances assuming that the compound would be guarded and armored.
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Meanwhile, Brad, after the team left for Vermont, flew down to see his father. His father and the Colonel were both were waiting for him. It was a beautiful day and the General had scheduled a round of golf for the three of them. The SEAL commander had flown up to make a foursome. The golf course was a perfect place to hold a secret meeting.
Brad was a natural athlete. He shot a respectable 88 and took a little money from the Colonel and his partner the General. He relayed his fears to the SEAL commander. The SEAL commander said not to worry. Just give him a few days lee time.
Later he told Sujin that at least twenty SEALs would fortify the Round House. They would dig in around the cliff area making cement bunkers. She told him Park was working his tail off making preparations.
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Billy flew by commercial jet to Vermont. Winter still had a strangle hold on Vermont. Snow was piled high, but the roads were clear. He rented a van, found an obscure motel room and set up his computer. He sent a text to Agent Jones and Wendy telling him his location. They agreed to meet at the Aldrich Public Library off highway 62.
Billy was early and browsed the history of the capital of Vermont. In particular he was looking at the influx of immigrants into the area. What he really needed was an old timer that knew the history of the area. When he was searching for this library he saw a Historical Society office nearby.
He was thumbing through some pictures of the old days when Wendy and Agent Jones came in. They were dressed like university students doing research. Agent Jones had a Georgetown sweat shirt on and Wendy had Vassar in big white letters across the front of her shirt.
The librarian never gave them a second glance. Quietly they discussed their research so far. Jones said first, "At another library we discovered that during the winter of 1940 some work was being done in the museum. The contractors or carpenters were German. However, it's commonly known a lot of German immigrants were carpenters. We went to the museum under the guise of doing advance degree research and asked for a tour. The curator, a really old bat, balked when I said I'd like to look at the basement. Finally she relented. The basement was jammed packed with old antiques and stuff like that. The outside walls were cement except one which was built out of red brick. The old lady had no idea why one wall was brick."
Wendy added, "After that we went to the old train station which is not far from the museum. Also an old stone church adds some Old World charm sitting regally on a slight rise."
"It would appear then we must talk to the locals and check the city records for construction going on at that time. Either that or someone buried the gold in their back yard. That would take a hell of big hole in the ground during the middle of winter. The Historical Society and the Senior Center would be obvious places to check out. I'll take the Senior Center," said Billy.
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Eric Weber sat stoically on the old davenport of his grandmothers. Like a good German, Eric waited patiently for his grandmother to speak. To him, being thirty five year old, Eric thought his grandmother was ancient at eighty seven. Eric was also a fine example of a blue eyed, blonde hair German of pure blood. His stout body was the result of his life as a carpenter. Mostly he did remodeling work as the very old town rebuilt its appeal to tourists and residents alike.
Grandmother Muller said, "Eric I've a long story to tell you. There's not a person left alive that knows what I'm about to reveal to you. I'm the only one left to pass on a wealth unimaginable. You might even think I'm a crazy old bat, but indeed, a s
tone's throw away sits millions in gold." She watched his eyes and saw not a flicker of emotion. She liked that.
"In the spring of 1940 your grandfather Albert was an SS officer in the vanguard of the invasion of Norway. He and two of his lower level staff discovered the Norwegians were shipping their gold to England for safe keeping. Your grandfather was hot on their trail. Unfortunately the Norwegians were always one step in front of them. With persuasion, they received the name of ship that carried the gold." She paused and took a sip of water. Eric had come to full attention. This was an amazing story that he realized was true.
"How he and his two friends did it I'll never know. I didn't ask him how he got from Norway to England. I was instructed to immigrate to England. It took a lot of money for me to make the arrangements, but I made it. The other two friends were not married. Anyway, we followed the golden trail to Montreal and from there it was put on a train to New York City. We thought the best place to hijack it was here in Montpelier, Vermont.
We moved here as immigrants. The USA was not in the war yet. We had no trouble coming here. We rented a house and waited for the gold to arrive. It had been snowing and it continued snowing hard. By the time the train arrived, it was pushing snow in front of it. The engineer said no more and they went to the old hotel. It was very cold out and no one thought anyone would be foolish enough to steal the gold. So, the guards went to the hotel to wait out the blizzard. That was when we made our move. You grandfather and friends made three sleds that could be pulled by a man or horse."
"We didn't sleep for three days. We transferred the entire load and no one was the wiser. When the snow storm ended there was no trace of our tracks. We watched and no one checked the boxcar, it was too cold out. The train finally left and we heard no more about it. Your grandfather and friends stored the gold behind a brick wall they put up in the basement of the museum. We waited for the opportunity to take it and travel to South America. We are still here waiting for the opportunity."
"One of many problems was the basement of the museum filling up with old junk. Then it got to the point the basement was full and stuff was stacked to the ceiling. We kept waiting for the bastards to build a new museum, but it never happened. Now I'm not the only one left who knows about it. Eric, I leave it all to you."
Eric sat there spell bound on the inside, but calm and keen eyed on the outside. His mind was racing and by the time he had run through a few scenarios, he mind became flustered.
Eric Weber was married with two kids. How was he going to explain this to his wife; or should he? He would need help, but who could he trust; not any of the guys he knew. He thought they were okay guys, but certainly not to trust with millions of dollars in gold tempting you. Greed was always there waiting like sweet chocolate melting in your mouth. Damn, he thought, this is some heavy stuff.
"Grandma, do you have an idea how one might go about packing off enough to retire on?"
She laughed and then started coughing. Finally after a drink of water and a balled up handkerchief in her hand, she said, "I've had more years than you are old Eric to think about it. We went through everything or way that was possible in our feeble minds. We came to the conclusion to take all or none."
Chapter Four
Eric decided, after he left for home, to walk by and take a hard look at the building next door. He'd done some work for the Historical Society a few years ago and he remembered that they had an old basement full of old documents. He wondered how he could worm his way into the basement, tunnel across to the museum basement. That would take some work, but he was used to hard work.
His hopes rose thinking he'd not completely finished the job and it was time to put his best foot forward and give them a low cost estimate to finish off the project. They'd give him a key, to work at night, so as the noise wouldn’t bother the visitors. Damn, he thought, could this really work? Also how would transfer tons of gold out of the Historical Society's basement? Where could he store it until he was finished? So many things to think about were giving him a headache.
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Brad really didn't want to leave the Round House. However, he was in a hurry to solve the gold problem. Sujin cautioned him not to be hasty and wait for the Master to arrive. "Go for a run on the beach," she told him with her hands on hips.
Brad thought that was a good idea and down the stairs he went to change clothes. Later he and Rocky were almost to the jetty when his cell went off. It was Steve calling. He slowed to a walk and answered a little out of breath. Steve said, "Sorry I stopped your exercise, but something has come up.
"I'm listening," Brad said.
"When can we see your smiling face here in Washington?"
"The Master is coming in tonight and we'll leave tomorrow. We should be in the X Office at around 3 pm your time."
"That's fine then. This can wait until then. Nancy has some things for your attention. See you then."
Brad turned around and ran for home. He sucked in the salt air and made Rocky earn his dinner. By the time he reached the top of the side hill trail next to his house, he was panting for air like Rocky. He walked around to cool down and noticed that a truck load of loamy soil had arrived for Park's garden. Brad went through the door with a good feeling. He always felt better after a run. Sujin had the house smelling like garlic, but that was a nice touch to his nose. He hurried to take a shower and come back up. Brian was in his high chair waiting for someone to fill his belly.
While he was in the shower, Park came in after feeding the dogs. He was fast becoming a member of the team and family. Sujin felt good when he was around. When Park was outside he had his eyes open and ears tuned in for unusual sounds.
He hustled downstairs to clean up. He'd heard the Master was coming and he was nervous. Of course he was aware of people like him, but had never personally met one.
After dinner Brad left for the airport to pick up the Chinese Master. The Gulf had picked him up in Portland. Sujin had his favorite noodles and green tea ready for his arrival. She told Park that he wouldn't say much if anything tonight. Tomorrow morning he'd be more likely to say a few words.
It was drizzling when the plane landed. Brad pulled up next to the plane so the Master would not get wet deplaning. Brad held an umbrella for him as he scurried into the waiting van. Brad told the pilots that a ten am departure time would be fine with him to DC.
Brad carried the Master's bag in with him as they entered the house. Sujin was waiting and gave him a big low bow. The Master acknowledged her bow with a short neck bow. Park did the same as Sujin. The Master looked him in the eye and Park quickly lowered his eyes. Sujin left to fetch the steaming bowl of noodles while all sat on the floor. Brad poured the tea and the slurping began.
After dinner he rolled out his mat next to the window that looked out over the southern dunes and was asleep before the bowls were picked up by Brad and Sujin. Park said, "Is he always so talkative?"
Brad laughed and said, "I suppose if you were over a hundred and twenty years old, you'd be a little jet lagged too."
Park's jaw fell open. Then he went downstairs to his room. Brad changed out Rocky for Sandy and the stage was set for a good night's sleep.
The next morning it was raining hard. When Brad came up the stairs the Master was starring out the window with his hands behind his back. Sujin had hot tea ready. Little Brian was still sleeping. Park was sipping tea at the kitchen table. He appeared to study the Master. It was true he looked like an enigma. His ancient dress of what appeared like pajamas top and bottom with dragons sewn on the heavy cotton shirt gave him a comical Chinese look with his long grey hair in a pony tail, slight body and a grey goatee.
Park did not know the history of the Master working with the Batt Team. However, he did notice all the respect the others gave the old man. Park thought something was wrong with his vision when all he saw was a blur that began at the large plate glass window and reappeared next to him at the kitchen table. The Master gave Park a toothless smile and g
rabbed his hand to look at his palm. Park swallowed hard and wondered how the guy moved so fast or were his eyes playing tricks on him. Later he asked Sujin about it and she said his eyes were fine. The Master was just exercising before breakfast.
When breakfast was ready they all moved to the floor table. A simple fish soup and noodles with a few nice side dishes completed the meal. There was no talking only eating. When all were finished, the Master looked at Brad ready for his assignment.
Brad said, "This is an easy one Master. I know you can literally smell the metal gold. We are looking for a big volume of it in the state of Vermont. It would seem that from very reliable sources, many tons of gold are hidden somewhere in the town of Montpelier, Vermont. We'll fly to Washington DC and from there take a vehicle to Vermont. But first we stop and see Steve and Nancy at our new office next to the White House. Your job is to locate the gold and we'll do the rest."
The Master continued to stare at Brad even after he finished speaking. Then he rose effortlessly and picked up his bag to leave.
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With the Master in tow, Brad led the way to the office where Nancy and Steve were in the Executive Building. Rocky was the chosen shepherd for this trip. Brad was a little surprised when he saw a receptionist sitting at the front desk of the office. Nancy, Steve and the new guy, Wade Jenkins was in a conversation when they walked in. The Master was a blur and disappeared down the hall. Wade never saw him.
Wade was ex military, but not SEALs. He came from Navy Intelligence and Brad's father was responsible for him occupying the chair. Brad smiled to himself thinking it was just like his father to stick his nose in somewhere just to be in the loop. The poor guy didn't know he was the eyes and ears of General Pratt, father of his fast becoming famous son.
Under Water Secret Page 2