Bobby knocked on the door upon seeing Stan and another man in the lobby. He held up his package and clipboard and yelled, “Important delivery!”
Stan looked up and was about to let Bobby in when the other man stopped him and waived for the deliveryman to go away. But Bobby was persistent and would not go away. Finally, the man watching Stan told him to open the door but to stay behind the security desk. Stan buzzed the door open, and the man walked to the door to take the package. Big mistake.
As soon as the door opened, Bobby lunged at the man guarding Stan and grabbed him by the throat. He fell backward with Bobby on top, which gave the rest of the team ample time to enter and subdue the still-struggling man.
Ross deactivated his stealth mode and opened his helmet visor. “Understand you have some unwanted visitors tonight.”
Stuttering with amazement and fright, Stan stammered, “Y-y-yes, sir. They went through that door and toward Mr. Childs’s SCIF past the cafeteria.”
“How many?”
“Four, and they were being led by a really tall guy.”
“OK. Help Bobby here tie this guy up while we go after the other four. Do not sound any alarm. Understand?”
“I understand. Are you the police? What about my family?” Stan said nervously.
“No, we’re private security helping Mr. Childs. What’s that about your family?” Ross replied.
“They’re being held at gunpoint at my house. Please help them.”
Ross made a call to his backup team to go to Stan’s house and free his family. Then he and his remaining team, now all in stealth mode again, entered the interior hallway and immediately saw three men approaching the company entrance to leave. They all held what looked like AK-74s. Where is the fourth? Ross wondered.
One of the three men stopped briefly and pulled up his weapon as if he was focusing on something dangerous. The other two, seeing their friend, also stopped.
“What’s the matter, Heinrich?” Alonzo said in German.
“I don’t know. I thought I saw something in front of us.”
“You are seeing things. Let’s get out of here. The boss is right behind us doing something in the cafeteria. Time to go. This was a waste of time.”
“There it is again but closer. Did you see it?”
“No, Heinrich. Nothing is there.”
Heinrich yelled out and fell to the floor as if he’d been struck on the head. Frozen at the moment of Heinrich’s fall, the other two fell in the same way, rendered unconscious by an invisible blow. That left the fifth man, the tall one.
Just then a loud bang and the sound of shattered glass came from the cafeteria. Ross ran to the sound, but there was nobody there, just a hole in the glass door big enough for a man to climb through.
“Bobby!” called Ross on his suit radio.
“Bobby here.”
“Come back here to the SCIF and check it against your inventory while we tie these guys up before they wake up completely.”
“On my way.”
Ross then ordered the four captured men to be secured in a Stellar van parked outside.
He turned to Stan and said, “I just got word that your family is OK. When my guys got there, the man with the gun was gone. We’ll brief Mr. Childs about this, and he’ll help you deal with this mess.”
“What will you do with these men?”
“We’ll likely question them a little. Then, since they don’t seem to have any ID on them, we have some friends at the Border Patrol that might also like to interview them.”
Returning from the SCIF, Bobby said, “They got a secure telephone and a DVD player.”
Ross knew that the secure phone was no big deal. But the DVD player had been mentioned to him as being important. He didn’t know why, but if it was important and gone, that could not be good.
Along with music, Peter Meier liked art and favored realism over abstract. He was looking at the art on his townhouse office wall now, appreciating the skill of hand and eye used to capture reality. Until recently he had enjoyed painting his own works. But his newly unsteady hands had caused him to stop painting, and the realization made him angry. His foul mood was only increased by preliminary reports on the Stellar raid that suggested nothing had been found. With this anger raging, he dialed Eric Borman and began pacing in front of the speakerphone. Then Borman answered the call.
“Hello, Peter—”
But before he could finish, Meier lashed out. “Eric, what am I paying you for?” he shouted. “Each time you plan and execute a project against Childs you fail. What do you have to say for yourself?”
“We did not fail, Peter!”
“What do you mean? Of course you did. You have nothing of value from the Stellar facility.”
“That is not exactly true. We did find something.”
“Like what!?”
“The DVD player. It functions as a DVD player, but there is more inside the box.”
“What do you mean?” Meier then stopped his pacing to focus on the phone and Eric Borman.
“That is a question best asked of Lom. But it has a speaker and a microphone. It seems like a communications device of some sort.”
“Really,” Meier said in a more mellow and introspective tone. “How interesting. Perhaps you didn’t entirely fail. Have you checked his house or any other place he owns?”
“We checked a property he owns near Alpine, but there was nothing but an empty garage. We have not been in his house yet, nor the cabin he owns in Arizona.”
“Well go there and search them both. There have to be records and data of his work somewhere.”
“As you wish,” Eric said as he closed the connection.
Suddenly Meier was struck with a thought. If Childs has discovered a site like mine, wouldn’t that be the place all the data would be stored, if not at Stellar or his properties? But where is it? He had only stumbled on his site by accident. No telling where there might be another.
CHAPTER 23
The day after the break-in at Stellar, Van went to the facility to assess the damage; it was minimal except for the DVD player. My house! he suddenly thought and raced out of the Stellar facility to his rented car. When he finally got to his house in Chula Vista, he was shocked to see that the inside had been tossed upside down. Dishes lay broken on the kitchen floor. His home desk was ransacked and his computer hard drive was missing—not too surprising given the break-in at Stellar. But this one hit close to his heart. This had been his home for over twenty years, and now his things lay in piles at his feet. Sure, he could straighten it all out, but what was to prevent it from all happening again? Maybe it’s time to move to the Arizona cabin after all. Wait! The Arizona cabin!
“Harry and Dick!” Van called via his implant communications. Both answered immediately.
“My house in Chula Vista has been broken into and everything turned upside down. If they’d do this to the house, they’ll probably do it to the cabin as well.”
“Nothing happening here at present, Commander. I installed a wide web of detection devices around the property, as you know. Nothing has stirred,” Harry replied.
“That’s good news,” Van said, “but we need to get some people up there as soon as possible. As soon as I clean up this mess I’ll be on the way.”
“Van,” Dick said, “as it happens I have a couple of men, Jimmy and Rick, standing by not too far from the cabin. I’ll alert them, and they should be there well before you arrive.”
“Thanks, Dick. I think I can be there in a few hours. By the way, what did you get out of the men you captured at the Stellar facility in Rancho Bernardo?”
“Not much except that they took orders from Red Wolf Security, one of Meier’s companies. And they took the STU-III and the DVD player.”
“The connection to Red Wolf is interesting, and a definitive connection to Meier. My only concern is that they might find a way into the communications device hidden in the DVD player without the self-destruct going off. But not
hing we can do about it now. What did you do with the men you captured?”
“They are now in the hands of the Border Patrol trying to explain why they have no IDs or home of record in the US. They will be out of commission for some time.”
“Good to know. But I suspect there are more like them out there. I’m on my way out now, Dick. Talk to you later.”
A few hours later Van drove up to the cabin in the jeep. Sure enough, there were two of Dick’s men patrolling the cabin grounds. Jimmy Fletcher and Rick Conners, the same Conners who’d been injured at Avantek.
“Good afternoon, Mr. Childs,” Jimmy said cheerfully.
“Hi, Jimmy. Hi, Rick. Anything happening?”
“Nothing at all. Quiet as a church on Monday.”
“Well that’s good. Listen, I have some things to do in the cabin and can’t be disturbed for an hour or two. Are you guys OK outside?”
“Sure thing. We brought drinks, food, and camping gear. We can live off the land if necessary.”
Van smiled at the competent operator and said, “I don’t think that will be necessary, but you can contact me on channel 5 of your comms gear if you need me.”
“Roger that,” responded Jimmy.
Van went into the cabin and took the secret elevator to the Ops Center. Immediately he saw the holographic image of Harry.
“Harry, we need to think about what to do when, not if, Meier’s men get here. Ideally I would like them to go away thinking this is nothing more than just a cabin. I would, however, rather not have the whole place trashed. Any ideas?”
“That depends on their approach, Commander. If they try to force their way in and somehow succeed, there will be trouble and restraint will be required. We could not let them return to Meier, and that would tip him off that something is here. If, on the other hand, they come in a seemingly peaceful mode, you can be hospitable and even show them the cabin if you like. That approach would probably be best if it can be done.”
“Yes, but I’m not confident, given their bullish history, that they’ll be subtle. I guess we’ll have to play it by ear. I’ll go talk with Jimmy and Rick to brief them on how to act.”
Late that afternoon, sensors and cameras picked up two men hiking about a quarter mile from the cabin. Spotting the cabin, the two started moving toward it.
“Jimmy,” Van said, “my home sensors indicate two men approaching from the road. Stay alert but look casual. We’re here to enjoy the outdoors and the cool air.”
“Got it, Mr. Childs!” Jimmy said and went to brief Rick.
Van took up a position in a rocking chair on the cabin porch as the men approached.
“Hello in the cabin!” the biggest of the two said.
“Good afternoon to you. Can I help you?” returned Van.
“Well yes you can, if you don’t mind. My name is Frank and this is my partner, Bill. We’ve been out hiking and didn’t realize how far we’d come. We were wondering if we could take a break here and perhaps get some water. Ours is nearly gone.”
“Sure. Come on in where it’s warmer. My name is Van and those two hooligans are Jimmy and Rick. We came up here to spend time in the woods.”
“Thank you very much.”
The two strangers stepped up on the porch and shook hands first with Van and then Jimmy. Rick feigned work outside and just waved his hand.
The three men entered the cabin and took up seats at the small kitchen table. Van poured cold water for everyone and sat down.
After taking a long drink of the proffered water, Frank said, “Boy that hits the spot. Thanks again.”
“Not at all. A person can work up a sweat hiking up here in these hills, even when it’s cool.”
“That’s the truth. This is a nice place, seems new. Have you lived here long?”
“Only a few months, actually. I use it as a retreat from work. Jimmy and Rick work for me, and I offered them a getaway trip and they jumped at it. Not sure they expected me to put them to work, however.” Van cracked a smile at Jimmy.
“I’m kind of in the same boat. Bill and I work in Phoenix and like to get away to the slightly cooler climate up here. It may be winter in most places, but not in Phoenix. We’ve been thinking of building a place up here as well. Any recommendations?”
“Only that you keep it simple. Take this place, for example. The kitchen and living room are virtually all-in-one. There’s a bath with a shower and two small bedrooms. Would you like to see?”
“Well, sure, if you don’t mind.”
With that, Van gave Frank and Bill a proud homeowner’s tour of the cabin, showing them every nook and cranny, which didn’t take long. Then they went outside and he showed them the propane tank and the solar collection system.
“That’s about it. We don’t need much up here,” concluded Van.
“Nice place. And you’re right to keep things simple. Say, do you have the name of the contractor who built this? We might like to talk with him.”
“Sure. I think I have his card here in my wallet. Yep, here it is. You can have it.”
“Thanks. We really appreciate your hospitality and the water. I think we’ve gone far enough today and need to start back.”
The men shook hands again, and the two strangers headed back the way they came.
“Those were two strange ducks,” Jimmy said.
“Yes they were. But I think we just met the men who ransacked my house.”
Later that evening Van had a conversation with Harry about the two visitors. “In my view,” Van told him, “those were the men who broke into my house in Chula Vista.”
“I believe you are correct, Commander. While they were here I detected two devices that were searching for electronics and any hidden places in the cabin. It does not appear that they discovered anything. In addition, I believe their idea of hiking is rather strange. My sensors and one drone I had airborne tracked them here in an SUV that they parked about a half mile away in the trees. They then walked the short distance to the cabin. When they left, they reversed the process and drove off.”
“Any form of identification?”
“Unfortunately no. The SUV was rented in Phoenix for cash, and the information provided was false.”
“Then we can be reasonably certain that we passed inspection and that the cabin is safe.”
“That is correct, Commander.”
“Dick, are you hearing all of this between Harry and me?”
“Every word, including the sad story Frank and Bill gave in the cabin. I agree that we escaped damage to the cabin and have likely cleared it from Meier’s suspicion—at least for now. I’ll have Jimmy and Rick stay there for a while just in case.”
“Agreed. However, we need to plan our next steps carefully. I don’t think Meier is done with us.”
CHAPTER 24
Van, Harry, Dick, Barbara, and Brice were connected visually and audially through both Ops Centers. Barbara opened the conversation.
“I’ve been working with Harry, looking over Meier’s empire, and I’ve run across something that may appeal to our initial ideas to do good things for the world and to mess with Meier at the same time.”
“Now that sounds like a great idea,” Van said. “I’m getting a little tired of having solely Meier problems to deal with. Please explain.”
“Well, Dick mentioned to me that Meier may have had some dealings in Chad, probably associated with arms smuggling. It took Harry only a short time to verify that arms have been a big business for Meier for some time. We believe, in fact, that he has been dealing with a guy named Abdoul Ben Rehman, a remote cousin of the assassinated Abdul Fatah Younis and former commander of rebel forces during the Libyan Civil War. Rehman, in fact, has grown into a new leadership position but still keeps his ties with Meier.
“Harry’s research has also established that Ansar al-Sharia, initially led by Abu Ben Salam, a former Guantanamo detainee, has increasingly embodied al-Qaeda’s presence in Libya, as indicated by its active social-media
propaganda, extremist discourse, and hatred of the West, especially the United States. Ansar al-Sharia is part of the al-Qaeda clandestine network, which is growing, providing weapons, running training camps—including for jihadists headed for Syria and Yemen—and conducting media campaigns on social-media platforms, such as Facebook and YouTube.
“While growing from a variety of sources, Ansar al-Sharia has at its heart many survivors of the old Libyan Islamic Fighting Group and a loose coalition of Islamist and Salafist groups from eastern Libya. Over time the groups have also spread to other Arab states such as Yemen and have begun linking with portions of ISIS. In addition, it was Ansar al-Sharia who claimed responsibility for the attack on the US diplomatic mission in Benghazi.
“Abdoul Ben Rehman is now the new leader of that group, headquartered in Benghazi and Derna, where they are cementing their control through civic works, the introduction of Islamic religious police, and sharia courts.
“It would seem to be in the interest of both us and the US to discover and destroy their Meier-provided arms caches and even cripple or eliminate the leadership and/or major assets of Ansar al-Sharia in Libya. That may also reduce its assistance to brewing Yemeni troubles as well as deal a blow to the growth of ISIS in the region.
“We know that the main headquarters are somewhere in the Al-Quwarsha District of Benghazi, which is located to the south and slightly west of city center. Al-Quwarsha is like a city within a city and is heavily patrolled and controlled by Ansar al-Sharia loyalists. Getting to Rehman will not likely be as easy as the Sudani snatch in London, not by a long shot,” concluded Barbara.
Van looked sharply up at Barbara and frowned when she mentioned Sudani. That was supposed to be secret. “How do you know about Sudani?”
“I had to tell her a little about it in order to get her to warm up to this idea. Prior to that she was dead set against it,” responded Dick.
Future Discovered: Host Saga Book 1 Page 15