“Nevertheless, we’re here. Are you ready to hear what we have?”
“Van, this is Dick. I’m as surprised as Barbara is, but I must admit that firsthand information is the best kind. So go ahead and tell us what you found.”
Van quickly covered what they had seen and done. One cache was definitely in Derna. Rehman was likely nearby. He also told them about pinning down the caches in the mountains.
“So what we need now is for Brice and his team to get airborne and on their way to Libya. We suggest that they use Martuba Airport, which is a field jointly used by the Libyan Air Force and the airlines. Just a few military helicopters though. You might want to appear as oil field workers since they compose the most civilian traffic here. I’ll reserve a van or two for you at the airport. When you get here, give me a call on channel 5 and I’ll give you directions to equipment and weapons you can use. Meanwhile, Harry is sending you more details and video of what we have so far.”
“Brice just left the Ops Center on his way to his team. He’ll be there in less than twenty-four hours, assuming we can count on some private air transport from Stellar,” Dick said.
“Not a problem, Dick. Harry will have an aircraft ready at Reagan National by the time Brice gets there. Meanwhile, Harry and I will be looking at the potential mountain caches.”
When the connection to Virginia was closed, Van thought about Barbara’s objection. He couldn’t tell if she was more angry or worried. On the surface, she was right. He had no conventional training in special operations or even intelligence gathering. But thanks to the learning chair, he now had more knowledge than many operators did after years of experience. He couldn’t very well tell her that, however.
Maybe she’s actually worried for me, he thought. Learning or not, things could go south at any time. But without risk, there could not be great success. And he was a risk taker.
CHAPTER 26
Van and Harry waited until 1:00 a.m. local time to start their new mission. Two of the three targets were located west of Al Bayda and the third was to the east. Near the far western site, the Enterprise landed in a small clearing among the pines. Van departed the shuttle dressed as he had been the previous morning and with the same equipment, except for the coil of climbing rope in his backpack, but still with the tool kit, just in case. This site was about a quarter mile north of Abraq Road and in a short valley carved into the mountainside. At the end of the valley were two small buildings flanking what looked like an old mine entrance. The whole site looked in a state of disrepair, and an old Toyota pickup truck was parked in front of the building on the left. There was one light on in the building but nothing more. Looks like an old abandoned mine or something. Good cover.
With his stealth mode engaged, Van slowly walked up to the building with the light on. Inside, one man slept on a cot and another watched a small television. If this was security, Van thought, it was pretty bad.
“Harry, just two men in here. Can you scan the other building and the surrounding area for signs of anybody else?”
“Done, Commander. There are two men patrolling the area to the left and right of the facility entrance and one sitting on the top watching the entrance. The second building shows no life.”
“OK, keep an eye, or whatever, on them. I‘m going to look inside the entrance.”
“Commander, why not just let the fireflies enter the opening, and we can monitor things from the Enterprise?”
Following his thought process when planning this mission, Van wanted to see the area for himself and then compare his views with that of the fireflies. He wanted to check for potential flaws in the fireflies, if any.
“Go ahead and send the fireflies in, Harry, but I’m going in to see for myself. The danger seems minor here.”
Thankful for his suit’s invisibility, Van walked quickly to the mouth of the cave. Seeing no doors or barriers, he kept on walking, his visor display making night vision easy.
The tunnel took a neat 90-degree turn to the right, and in twenty or thirty yards turned back to the left with a slight down slope. As he walked on he could sense increasing light. In another fifty yards, he could see a lighted opening to a larger chamber. When he reached the entrance, however, instead of seeing mounds of munitions, he saw an array of worktables, chairs, and parts bins. This was an assembly or maintenance area of some kind. Not all the lights were on, which meant that, at present, there was no work going on. No people that he could see.
“Harry, are you monitoring my helmet cam?”
“Yes, Commander.”
“Any idea what’s going on here when in operation?”
“Our onboard scanning capability is limited due to the mass of rock between me and the cavern, but based on your video and firefly sensors, I would assess it as an electronic repair and/or assembly area likely for communications or computer equipment, and perhaps remote triggering or detonation equipment. There is no evidence of explosive material, toxic gas, or other weapons material. Whatever is done here, it is likely that the work is done for now but could begin at a moment’s notice.”
“That seems reasonable, but the mere existence of this facility presents a potential danger. We’ll monitor it remotely for a while, but we need to proceed to the next target.”
The second and middle site was remarkably similar to the first in location and even the poor external security—except that the cave opening was noticeably larger and the ground more compacted than the first. Another pickup and a relatively new Range Rover, both painted a light brown, sat outside.
Van made his entrance in the same way he had in the first site. This time there were no tight turns, however. Instead, a dark tarp secured to the roof of the tunnel flowed down to the ground, covering the whole path forward. It was made of two overlapping sheets that could part in the middle. Van might have walked through the tarp entrance had it not been for the two armed guards, standing on each side of the apparent opening, who would see the tarp moving. Due to the density of the overhead rock and the curtain, Van could not launch fireflies nor could Harry scan from the Enterprise. Van could not afford to engage the guards or even stun them lest the noise draw attention or their unconscious bodies be discovered. After all, this was a reconnaissance mission, not a seek-and-destroy operation.
Just as he was about to give up, he heard what sounded like a truck approaching from the other side. Sure enough, moments later the curtain parted and the nose of a large diesel truck slowly appeared. Jumping at the opportunity, Van quickly took advantage of the disturbed curtain and dodged to the other side. It was dark! But not for long. As soon as the truck was clear of the curtain, bright lights came on, revealing exactly what he and Harry were looking for.
The huge lighted cavern was piled high with boxes and crates that bore the markings of weapons and ammunition from multiple countries. There were several M117 armored cars, a ZU-23-2 antiaircraft weapon, several Type 59 field guns, and several desert-sand–colored pickup trucks with automatic weapons mounted in the beds, ranging from .50 caliber to 20mm, the latter being what the intelligence community call “technicals.” There were also a few cargo trucks like the one that had just departed that were either parked or in the process of being loaded. Van loosed a few more fireflies as he had done on the way in and turned to depart. This time, all he had to do was wait for another truck to depart and exit the same way he’d come in.
The third site to the east was not underground. Instead, it was a storage building made of concrete and wood. It looked dilapidated, with broken windows and a rusted metal roof, and there were no other buildings or vehicles around it. Harry’s scan of the area, however, revealed four guards encircling the building. No windows existed at ground level, and the only access point was large metal sliding door—probably a very noisy one.
Van launched a few more fireflies, which entered the building via one of the upper-level broken windows. There were no lights and no activity inside. But through his augmented visor he could see stacks of
metal drums, cardboard boxes, and wooden crates. It didn’t take long to realize that he was standing outside a full-service depot for vehicles and machinery.
Van had seen enough. “Time to go, Harry,” he said and returned to the Enterprise.
Once the intel mission was complete and he was back inside the shuttle, Van ran through the firefly images of all three sites and was impressed. Compared to what he had seen, the fireflies saw more detail and from multiple views. His regard for the small machines only increased.
CHAPTER 27
As he had the previous day, Van slept late, and it was almost noon local time when he awoke. There was indeed a small head with a shower in the Enterprise, so he took advantage of the cold water to wake up. When he was dressed in clean clothes, it was time to see what Harry had discovered while he slept.
“What new things do we know today, Harry?”
“Some good news indeed, Commander,” Harry said in a gleeful way Van had not heard before. “We have located Mr. Rehman. He is in the center of the three U-shaped barracks to the west of Derna. I have taken the liberty of reallocating some of the fireflies to his location and recalled the rest. I have even been successful in pinning one of the fireflies on his person. His right shoulder, to be exact. We are now capable of following him almost anywhere we can get reception.”
“Now that’s great news, Harry. The sooner we complete this operation the better!”
“Indeed, Commander. We can pick up Rehman at any time. With Mr. Johnson’s help and that of his team, we can easily destroy the four sites we located. The question remains, what to do with Rehman? Do we contact Mr. Carson and arrange for a pickup location as we did with Sudani?”
“I’m not sure that would be smart so soon after the Sudani operation. We don’t want suspicious fingers pointing at Dick, which in turn might point to us. In addition, Rehman is small potatoes when compared to Sudani. But I think we’ll leave that up to Dick and Brice. For now, have you located a rally point to meet Brice and his team?”
“I believe so, Commander. There is an abandoned oil equipment warehouse just outside Derna. The D2 and the fireflies verify that it is both abandoned and away from local inhabitants. We are on the way there now to drop off the equipment and weapons.”
“I love it when a plan comes together, Harry. What about transportation for the team at the airport?”
“I have taken the liberty, Commander, of renting three cargo vans in the alternate name and ID for Mr. Johnson, which he provided earlier. I tried to get three SUVs, but there aren’t many in this area.”
As he often was, Van was impressed with the detail Harry displayed in everything he did, including this mission. There were times, however, that Van wished Harry was a physical being and able to do some of the hard work.
“I think the vans will do. Now I get to unload the equipment and then wait for Brice to call. By the way, can you download yourself into one of the robots, or at least remotely control one? I’m getting tired of doing all the heavy lifting.”
“I can do that, Commander. But as you know, there are no robots on the Enterprise.”
“I know, Harry. But next time we might change that.”
As the sky was darkening, Brice called on channel 5. “We’re here, Mr. Childs. What next?”
“First, I think we know each other well enough for you to call me Van. Second, Harry has reserved three cargo vans for you at the airport. I assume that you have a GPS?”
“Yes we do, Van.”
“Then Harry will give you the coordinates for an abandoned oil equipment building just outside Derna. It isn’t far, and you should be here in less than an hour.”
“On our way.”
In forty minutes the three vans drove up to the abandoned building and Van beckoned them in through the big doors, which he closed behind them.
Some generator-powered lights illuminated the equipment and weapons Van had laid out, and the team wasted no time in changing. Van was already in his suit.
“You going on this mission also?” asked Brice.
“Yes, but not with you or the team. There are four total sites to reach. One of them Harry and I will tackle. It’s probably the least dangerous and is all but abandoned. Some sort of electronics-manufacturing area.
“The other three are more up your alley. An arms cache in the mountains, a supply depot also in the mountains, and a smaller arms cache in the area Rehman is verified to be at. We have fireflies literally on him right now. Harry is in the process of transferring the data and visuals to your suits now. Take a few minutes to review what Harry has and then let’s talk some more.”
About thirty minutes later, Brice returned to Van’s side.
“We looked at all the information, some of which we saw before we departed Virginia. There are seven of us, including me. It will take at least three of us to roust Rehman and get him clear—let’s call it Team One. That leaves four people to be assigned. We’ll put two men on each of the mountain sites you identified—Teams Two and Three. You and Harry are Team Four, and you can take out the manufacturing-and-repair center you mentioned. Is that about what you were thinking?”
“That sounds about right. When we’re done, I suggest you return here to this building to drop your gear and then proceed to Benina Airport in Benghazi where Harry can have an aircraft waiting for you. Flights have recently been continued after the 2014 closure. Then home.”
“What about you? Won’t you be returning with us?”
“No, Harry and I have other plans.”
“Barbara won’t like that at all.”
“What do you mean?” Van said with a contrived look of true wonder.
“Do you mean to tell me that you haven’t even the slightest notion that Barbara still has a thing for you?”
Van was never one to share his feelings with many people. And he especially didn’t want to openly share or admit his feelings for Barbara—at least not yet. In addition, he was not quite sure what Barbara was thinking or feeling. Best to appear professional for now, he thought.
“Not really. We settled some of our differences at dinner before I got snatched. But nothing more than that,” he replied, fidgeting a little and trying to will the conversation to move to other topics.
“Brother, I don’t want to be around the two of you when we get back. Be prepared to defend yourself.”
“OK, whatever,” Van said, again eager to redirect the conversation. “How do you and Dick want to handle Rehman when you pick him up?”
“Well, if you don’t mind, Dick suggested turning him over to a CIA friend in Benghazi.”
“I don’t mind if that doesn’t cause Dick any problems.”
Looking a little surprised at Van’s statement, Brice said, “It will, in fact, help him and the Carson Group.”
“OK, the CIA it is. You take care of that. Anything else?”
Brice thought for a moment with his hand rubbing his chin. Then, looking at his watch, he said, “It would be nice to coordinate the attacks as close together as possible. Looking at where we have to go in the mountains, can we make it 2:00 a.m. local time?”
“Works for me.” Van produced a small weapon from a pouch on his belt. “This is a stun gun that Stellar has been working on. It has a range of ten or fifteen feet at its maximum. At that range the shock radius is the widest but slightly less powerful than the more narrowly focused settings. The settings are here on the right side, 1 being the narrowest and 5 being widest. It might come in handy with Rehman. Don’t lose it!”
Brice took the weapon and turned it over in his hand as he eagerly took in all the details. “Do you ever stop coming up with cool things?”
“I hope not. Have we covered everything now?”
“I think so. The intelligence we have on this, thanks to you and Harry, is much better than we usually have. It won’t be a walk in the park, but you guys make our jobs a lot easier.”
Everyone departed to their appointed targets, and by 1:45 a.m. they all
reported in position and ready.
Team Four, Harry and Van, had already landed at the same place they had previously visited. Van easily retraced his steps up to the guard post. Again, the guards were distracted and not paying attention. So Van continued in his stealth mode into the cave and around the corner of the passageway emptying into the large workroom. He busied himself by placing Semtex charges at strategic points around the room, all with initiators under Harry’s control. On the way out, he placed two more charges on each side of the cave entrance. The he quietly went back to the Enterprise, and Harry lifted off into a high hover.
Team Three, led by Bobby Calhoun, had responsibility for the large arms cache in the middle of the trio of sites. Just as Van had done earlier, the two men waited for a truck to exit the storage room and then entered. Fortunately, the fireflies Van had left previously gave the two team members a chance to plan their route both into the storage area and to pick their location in advance. With that advantage, they quickly placed their charges and left the way they’d come in. Their charges were set to go off promptly at 2:00 a.m. The team quickly cleared the area to a safe distance and waited.
Team Two, led by Rick Conners, approached the eastern supply building in stealth mode. Reasonably sure that no one was home, they picked the lock on the side door and entered. No alarms. As with Team Three, they placed charges strategically around the interior and left as quickly as possible. No need to lock the door again. Soon it wouldn’t matter. They, too, drove a short distance away and waited.
Team One had a more interesting problem. How to defeat the motion and laser sensors in the cache building across from the barracks? Getting in the door was easy. Do just like Van did it before. But the interior sensors? Brice thought. Fortunately, Harry had done some research on the building and located the exterior power. Using a tool he’d brought with him, Jimmy Fletcher was able to turn off the power in a similar way one stops water going through a hose. Instead of bending the line like a hose, however, Jimmy’s tool created a magnetic flux that pushed against the flow of electrons in the power line when wrapped around it. This essentially turned off the power temporarily.
Future Discovered: Host Saga Book 1 Page 17