Operation Zulu

by Ernest Dempsey

  The giant door fixed into the mountain began to slide open, and the truck to their left pulled in front of them. Once the SUV was past it, the second truck fell into line, just as the guard had said it would.

  “That wasn’t much of a welcome,” Zeke said.

  Jessica flashed a questioning glance into the rearview mirror. “What do you mean?”

  “Seems like they would have asked more questions. They didn’t bother to check us.” He motioned to the other men and then himself. “They didn’t tell us who we were going to talk to. And after the initial, semi-threatening way he approached us and told us we were in a restricted area, wouldn’t it make sense to get some more detail and maybe tell us a few more things?”

  She understood what he was getting at and was fairly impressed he was thinking that way. That was a critical thought process and one most that agents had to have to survive in the field.

  “I’m sure they’re just trying to keep things hush-hush,” she explained.

  “Yeah? Well, I don’t like it,” Phoenix confessed. “Something is fishy.”

  “Look,” Zeke said, “I’m not saying we should freak out. I was just wondering, that’s all.”

  “We’re with other Americans,” Gary said. “It’s going to be fine, guys. Relax. We’re with the good guys now.”

  “Maybe,” Zeke wasn’t sold on it either.

  Jessica didn’t say anything, but the look in her eyes as they passed through the giant door and into the tunnel belied what she was thinking. They may have just gone from the frying pan into the fire.

  22

  The convoy of the two trucks and the SUV carrying the four GIC agents made its way through an enormous tunnel.

  The corridor was fifty feet high and at least that wide. Bored out by a massive drill, the mountain rock around them was roughly hewn for function, not aesthetic appeal. An elevated steel catwalk ran along the side of the two lanes going in and out of the base. The road was paved with asphalt, unlike the snow-covered gravel outside. Bright lights illuminated the tunnel, fixed to the ceiling in two long rows that stretched from the entrance all the way—apparently—into the core of the facility.

  For such an immense structure, there was relatively little activity. As the convoy continued into the mountain, they only passed a couple of soldiers with M4 carbines strapped to their shoulders. They wore malicious scowls on their faces as if they were unhappy to see newcomers invading the base.

  After a five-minute drive that seemed more like thirty, they reached the end of the road. The manmade cavern opened up into a huge circular space with a high domed ceiling. The catwalk wrapped around the entire space, interrupted at regular intervals by doors that led into the rock walls.

  There were several other trucks, identical to those escorting the SUV, parked around the perimeter of the gigantic space. There were also four Humvees with .50-cal guns fixed to the tops. All of the vehicles were painted a pale brown, lighter than most of the dirt and rock that covered this part of the world. It was a color that would enable the vehicles to blend in during any season, whether it was snowy outside or a hundred degrees in the shade.

  “Keep your eyes open,” Jessica said. Not that she needed to, if they were right with their crazy theories, then they’d just driven straight into the belly of the beast. The lead truck peeled off to the right and parked parallel behind two Humvees. A guard came into view on the asphalt ahead, and he waved Jessica into a parking spot between two pickups.

  “This is weird,” Zeke said, looking around the room, taking it all in.

  “Yeah, it’s like NORAD,” Phoenix added. “Massive underground bunker, right on the edge of the border with China. I gotta admit, that’s gutsy.”

  “Or stupid.”

  Jessica cut off the engine and removed the keys from the ignition. Unseen by her team, she removed the SUV’s key from the fob, leaving only a random office key hanging on it. She palmed the car key and opened the door, noting that several armed soldiers were marching toward them. There was a guy at the back, but he was difficult to see in his position behind the soldiers. The back doors to the SUV opened, and Zeke and Phoenix climbed out. Jessica took the opportunity to bend down and tuck the key under the tire, just on the inner part of the tread so it wouldn’t be visible to the casual observer.

  The six soldiers stopped ten feet away from the back of the SUV and stood at attention in two neat rows. Each row took a step to the side, in opposite directions, allowing the guy in the back to approach through the center.

  Zeke’s eyebrows furrowed. Phoenix scrunched his forehead as well, both confused and annoyed at who they saw.

  “Scott?” Phoenix said, still bewildered.

  Scott Brohm put out his hands as if he was going to hug the newcomers, but Phoenix knew better.

  “Guys! I am so glad to see you. I can’t believe it.” Scott stopped short of the four, who were now standing in a single line across the back of the truck. He looked at each one of them, nodding for a moment. “I had no idea you two were the decoys. That’s crazy. What are the odds? Such a small world, right?”

  “Yeah, small,” Phoenix said derisively. He glared at the guy who’d bullied him in the office.

  “Glad you’re alive. I heard you had some trouble with some terrorists.”

  “We did,” Zeke said, nodding. “Took them down, though — no problem for pros like us. Maybe next time we shouldn’t be the decoys. You know?” He spoke with a chip on his shoulder and venom in his voice.

  “Yeah,” Scott said with an absent nod. There was something in his tone, though, that told them he wasn’t serious. “I guess you should, you know, for the next one. Considering what you were up against, I’d say you performed admirably. Maybe I was wrong about you, Phoenix. Maybe you do have what it takes to be a spy.”

  “Very kind words coming from one of the elites,” Phoenix said, deadpan.

  Scott didn’t pick up on the sarcasm and bobbed his head as he shrugged. “Well, not everyone can be this awesome.”

  Jessica arched an eyebrow. She’d been silent during the entire exchange between the other three. Gary, too, had remained silent.

  “Thanks for the welcoming committee, Scott,” Jessica said. Her voice was lathered in disgust. “But we need to speak to whoever is in charge here. We’d like to get secure transport back to Bagram. My team has been through a lot and, well, frankly we could use a hot meal and a good night’s rest.”

  Scott nodded. “Sure. We can assist with that. I’m sure we’ve got some food up in the mess hall that cook can whip up for you. And there are spare beds, too, so you four can rest up and we’ll have someone escort you back in the morning.”

  She heard the lies in his words. A place like this operated with a skeleton crew. They couldn’t afford to send people out on an escort mission to Bagram. Maybe a couple of soldiers, but not many. And doing random missions like that would endanger the secrecy of their operation. Too many faces appearing here and there would raise suspicions.

  Jessica knew the truth. Scott had no intention of sending them back to Bagram. There was another undeniable truth she also latched onto. Scott Brohm was the guy running point for whoever was behind all this.

  There was one other key detail she gleaned from the short conversation. He didn’t know that Beta was aware the other missiles had “disappeared.”

  “So, you’re Alpha,” she said. “The package arrived safely?”

  “Yes, ma’am,” he beamed. “Safe and sound.”

  “Where is it?”

  He was caught off guard by her question. Why did she want to know? What did she care?

  He let out an uneasy laugh. “Silo,” he said. “We have a cluster warhead silo here.” He pointed at a wide door on the opposite side of the giant chamber. The door was wide enough for a truck to get through, even one the size of an M35 cargo vehicle.

  “They’re being prepped as we speak,” Scott continued. “With those things in place, we can take out any terrorist training
facility or camp in the entire Middle East.”

  “And all the while, it will look like it’s coming from the middle of nowhere. Or even better, like it was coming from China.”

  Scott narrowed his eyes, appraising her. “Smart girl,” he said, bordering on insulting. To her, he wasn’t bordering. He was just being insulting.

  “I try, boy.”

  Zeke, Phoenix, and Gary watched the uncomfortable exchange with wide eyes.

  Scott analyzed her facial expression for a moment and, realizing she was firing back at him, cracked an uncertain smirk. “Funny.”

  He led the way across the asphalt to the catwalk and up a set of stairs. Before Zeke set foot on the steps, he turned to Phoenix and whispered, “Sure seems to know a lot about this place for someone who just got here for the first time.”

  Phoenix nodded, keeping his eyes locked on their tour guide. “Yep.”

  Scott reached the door atop the stairs, scanned a security card on a panel next to the frame, and then pulled the latch. The door swung open and he held it for the group so they could enter one by one.

  Jessica gave a curt “thank you” as she passed, entering the corridor. It was illuminated by lights fixed to the poured-concrete walls. She wondered why it had been reinforced that way, then realized why. This place was a bunker. Even hundreds of feet underground, the people who built this were paranoid against nuclear attack. The military usually went above and beyond when it came to building nuke-proof bunkers, and this one was no different. There was, no doubt, a considerable amount of reinforcing within the concrete slabs.

  Gary followed close behind her, with Zeke and Phoenix just behind him. Scott let the door close heavily behind them and skirted past the group to take the lead. They noticed that the guards stayed behind in the loading bay.

  “This passage will take us to the control room,” Scott explained. He walked briskly down the corridor, passing a few gray metal doors along the way.

  Up ahead, the group could see another door. It had no windows, only a panel similar to the one that allowed them access into this passageway. They reached the door and Scott stopped again. This access panel, however, didn’t have a card reader. It was a retinal scanner. The group watched as their guide leaned forward and pressed his eyes close to the device. The laser crossed over his eyeballs and a second later, a feminine robotic voice declared, “access granted.”

  The door opened on its own and Scott motioned his guests through.

  They had no idea what to expect as they stepped into the next room. It was overwhelming. The enormous control room was just like something out of a movie. A giant digital screen at the front of the space stretched from one side of the room to the other, spanning at least fifty feet. There were rows of countertops and chairs. A computer screen and keyboard sat in front of every single chair.

  “Reminds me of a NASA control room,” Zeke said, taking it all in. He stared at the huge screen directly in front of them and noted the red dots in various places on the map. None of the dots occupied space in the United States or any of its allies. It didn’t take long for Zeke to come to that realization, though he kept it to himself.

  “Yeah,” Phoenix agreed. “Just like Control in Houston.”

  “This place was built during the 1970s,” Scott said, turning to face the visitors. “Of course, it’s gone through multiple renovations and upgrades through the years. The US military knew we would need a forward attack and defense position if the Chinese ever got out of control or became a threat. So, they built this.” He lifted his arms wide and twisted around, showing off the place as if he built it with his own bare hands. “Now it’s run with only a few soldiers, most of which you saw out in the loading bay. We have enough supplies here to survive for years in case of a nuclear attack, though that’s not really a big concern anymore, what with Russia being disarmed of their nukes back in the early 1990s.”

  “There’s still North Korea,” Gary offered.

  “Pfft,” Scott scoffed. “North Korea.” He laughed, blowing off Gary’s comment. “Anyway, it’s a pretty fascinating place and one that very few people know about.”

  “You talk about it like you’ve been here before,” Jessica noted. “I thought this was your first assignment over here.”

  Scott nodded, though there was something in his eye, a tell, like at a poker table, that gave away the fact that he was hiding something.

  Zeke immediately wished that she hadn’t said that. She was showing her hand, letting him know that they were suspicious. It was a mistake on her part, but he couldn’t say anything about it—not yet.

  “The people in charge asked me to show you around and, since I love this sort of stuff, I said yes. Couldn’t resist. I think it’s a really cool feat of engineering. You just don’t see this sort of stuff much anymore.”

  “So,” Zeke chimed in, hoping to alleviate the situation Jessica inadvertently caused. “Who gets to come here if there’s ever a nuclear attack?”

  “Regional dignitaries,” Scott answered. “Ambassadors and other emissaries, political types. Allies. That sort of thing.” He struggled through the words, clearly making it up as he went. Scott had no idea. He was guessing. All of which told Zeke and the others that they’d been right, that there was something nefarious going on here. “I was wondering if we could see the missiles,” Zeke asked. “You mentioned they’re in a silo, being prepped?”

  Scott lowered his head and chuckled. “Yeah, I would love to show them to you,” he raised his eyes again to meet Zeke’s. “But unfortunately, that’s a restricted area. You have to have clearance to get in there. Retinal scanners only allow certain people into that part of the base.”

  “But you have clearance, right?” Phoenix asked.

  “Sure I do, but I can’t take you guys in there.” He snorted. “After all, you’re just decoys, right?” He laughed, thinking the rest of the group would start laughing with him, but none of them did. They didn’t think it was funny and replied to his comment with dead, vapid stares.

  “Anyway,” he turned and motioned toward another door to the left of the big screen. “Back there is where your quarters will be for the night. If you’ll follow me, I’ll show you to your rooms. Things start early around here, so you’ll need to get a good night’s rest.”

  “Do you know what time our ride is going to get here tomorrow?” Jessica asked.

  Scott had already started walking toward the door. He stopped and turned around, looking over his shoulder. “No, not yet. I’ll know more in the morning. Now, if I could just show you—”

  “Can we meet the person who’s in charge of this place?” Zeke asked. “Who’s the commanding officer, the guy making the calls?”

  Jessica flashed a glance at him.

  “Sorry,” he said, putting up both hands. “Guy or gal making the calls.”

  “Unfortunately,” Scott said in his most apologetic tone, “the commander in charge isn’t available at the moment. He’s overseeing the preparation and installation of the missiles.”

  “Oh,” Zeke nodded dramatically, noting an alarm switch next to the computer nearest him.

  “Perhaps, in the morning, I can arrange a meeting if you’re so interested in shaking his hand.”

  “That would be great,” Zeke said with a hefty measure of snark.

  “Now, let’s just get to the barracks so I can show you your rooms.”

  Zeke’s face suddenly went pale. He patted his coat pockets, his pants pockets, and even the pockets in the back, shoving his fingers into them. He had a worried look in his eyes.

  “Aw, man,” he blurted.

  “What?” Gary asked. He’d been mindlessly following Scott and was standing closest to him.

  “My keys. I think I lost my keys. They might be in the SUV. I just need to run back and get them.”

  “Why do you need your keys?” Scott asked. “Besides, you’d have to have my ID card and my eyes to get through the access points. Your keys are safe in the loading ba
y. No one’s going to mess with them there.”

  “Yeah, but you know how it is, right? I won’t be able to sleep knowing that they’re out there. Sorry. It’s the anal side of me.”

  Phoenix bit his lip, trying not to laugh.

  Scott looked suddenly irritated. “Seriously? You seriously want to go back to your truck to get your keys that you don’t need and that will not unlock anything in this entire facility?”

  Zeke pretended to think about it for a moment and then nodded. He put on a stupid expression to emphasize the silliness of it as if he was clueless to the pain in the butt he was being.

  Scott rolled his eyes and looked to the others for help. “Fine,” he said. Then he reached for the gun at his hip and pulled it out of the holster. “You know, I tried to do this the nice way. I tried to get you four into a nice cell…I mean room, for the night, but you had to go and make it difficult.”

  He held the weapon out, letting it fall on each of his guests for a few seconds before moving to the next potential target.

  “You two,” he wagged the gun at Zeke and Phoenix, “were supposed to die. You weren’t supposed to be here. You weren’t supposed to survive the attack. Yet here you are, poking your noses into business that isn’t your own.”

  “Um, sorry, Scotty,” Phoenix spoke up, “but this mission is our business. We may just be decoys, but we’re really good decoys.”

  “Yes, I’ve heard.”

  The two friends both scrunched their eyebrows together, confused at what he could have meant by that.

  “Oh, that’s right,” Scott went on, “I heard about your little explosion that took out Ackbar’s group. Honestly, my money is on you two idiots killing Ackbar and his men by accident.”

  Zeke flicked his eyebrows up but said nothing.

  “Either way, it doesn’t matter to me. I’m not the one you’ll need to apologize to.”

  What had he meant by that? Who would they have to apologize to?

  Scott saw the questions simmering in their eyes and started to laugh again. It was an annoying, almost too chirpy sound.