“This is now the beginning! Here in Boston!” Abdullah was very excited and raised his fist in the air. “Since our plans for Philadelphia, Chicago and New York were interfered with, it will begin here instead. And it will be all of you who will make this happen! There will be others coming after you but history will be marking this event as even more important than nine-eleven.”
These words were definitely inciting all those in the room and many began cheering loudly. Although spoken in Pashto, Missy had understood every word. It was obvious they were filled with hatred towards everyone in the U.S. and their determination was indeed frightening and disturbing for Missy to experience.
Chapter Thirty-One
Dec 20, 2019
Robert and the others returned to their conference room at Hanscom after just over an hour’s flight. That had been long enough for establishing their claim about examining the Zahir property. Missy didn’t need them up in the helo anymore; she was continuing with her recon and Mike was dutifully on the phone, relaying all her messages back to everyone.
Robert stepped away into a side office and reported in to Dale Hewson, updating him on what they’d just accomplished and giving credit to Millie and Desiree. His psychics could now confirm this was indeed the WIJO terrorist cell. Further, and even more important, they could predict this cell was planning an attack on December twenty-ninth. While this was only “psychic knowledge” and not any actual evidence which they could use for making arrests, Dale agreed all the BAT task force resources would now focus on getting that evidence. Robert’s psychics had been accurate last time, for stopping those Thanksgiving Day attacks. The task force had some time yet and with redoubled surveillance efforts, they definitely could stop any attacks from this cell. Dale was very pleased with this progress and thanked Robert for the help his division was providing.
Drew, Les, Marsha and a few others were in the “P” Branch conference room down in Washington, D.C. and were still controlling all the communications. When Robert ended his call with Dale and rejoined the others, they filled him in on the latest info which Missy had reported. Zahir had finished his meeting and had released everyone; they would be free for the next several days but were to remain on call. Then, everyone was to report back there in a week.
Missy was searching through every inch of the warehouse and would do the same for each of the vehicles inside. She had already provided them with some added details on the drones. These each weighed about twenty pounds, had four rotors positioned on a diameter of three feet with four blades on each rotor, were fitted with a small camera and had a height of fifteen inches without the camera. In addition, on close examination, they had a small tank which could hold and disperse liquids. However, this was not obvious and any casual observer would probably view the drones as being merely recreational.
She had not located any explosives or weapons or suspicious fluids which might be dispersed. This group was being very careful and not risking getting caught with anything which might incriminate them. Even the drones, while very advanced and high tech, were not illegal. Neither were all the computers inside the vans which were being used to control these drones. Perhaps, once the manner in which all this high tech equipment had been obtained was discovered, there might then be some crime they could prove, but that would require some further investigation. Otherwise, while no doubt in violation of some FAA regulations, that fell far short of proving terrorism.
Major Schermerhorn explained, “From the videos we have plus what Missy is telling us, the specs for those drones are pretty much the same as for some military models being manufactured right here in the U.S. Supposedly, those models are only being sold to our military so we need to check for reports about any missing or stolen shipments. They are designed to actually look like ordinary hobbyist items but can disperse various liquids, gases, powders, etc. for crowd control or neutralization.” He had sat through several classes on drones at the Pentagon, as part of his Intel background. “What about the stuff these drones were spraying over that zoo today?” Three of the BAT Teams had noticed this and reported it. “I thought someone was going out there to check on that, now that all the vans have left.”
Les said, “Yes, and that was new. At least, none of the earlier surveillance teams ever noticed any spraying being done like that before. It’s looking like today was maybe a final rehearsal with the drones actually dispersing something. It was probably only water but with that speech Zahir just gave, they believe they’re now ready to do something catastrophic.”
Earlier that week, Robert’s team had discussed possible drone targets in the Boston area, both with Drew and the others at “P” Branch as well as during some of the BAT Team meetings. Dale Hewson already had a map set up with colored stick pins marking various locations.
Robert said, “Since we now have a date for their attack, combined with knowing this involves multiple drones dispensing some sort of liquid, we should be able to narrow down their likely targets. What’s happening December twenty-ninth where large crowds will be exposed and vulnerable?”
Ed said, “Well, the Patriots are playing that day out at Foxborough; that’ll have close to seventy thousand people, regardless of the weather. But, I gotta believe the anti-drone systems at Gillette Stadium have all the latest stuff … probably similar to what’s used at Logan Airport. Potential drone attacks would be a worst nightmare otherwise.”
“Yes, but what if those systems can be disabled?” asked Les. “Suddenly, those nightmares will become very real!”
Everyone began suggesting targets, commenting about the extent those locations were being protected with anti-drone systems and speculating as to what might disable such systems. The discussion went on for several minutes and then Mike suddenly interrupted to announce Missy had just joined him at his place and wanted to ask a few questions.
Missy said, “Hey, everyone! I thought I’d check back in to learn more about these drones I’m seeing in their special vans. It seems pretty clear this must be the Boston cell which was mentioned by one of the captured terrorists. I’m guessing these drones can spray something which might kill a lot of people, right? What should I be looking for?”
While talking on Mike’s phone, she went over and grabbed the fluffy bathrobe she’d asked him earlier to have out, ready and waiting for her. She grinned at the way he was watching her while she slipped it on, covering up her nakedness. She hoped they’d manage finding time later for some of the things she could sense he was thinking and feeling to go along with all those lustful looks he was giving her.
“Yes,” answered Drew, forcing her attention back to the business at hand. “There are a lot of possible toxins which indeed would be very lethal. With a coordinated attack like what these men seem to have been practicing for, their drones might disperse enough to kill thousands. Finding whatever liquid agent they have won’t be easy since it can be disguised and packaged into bottles, cans, or canisters which will appear harmless and won’t require that much space or any special storage. Think about maybe a case of beer or soft drinks, for example.”
“Well, I can go back and do a more thorough search but, so far, I haven’t noticed any suspicious liquids or containers.” Missy thought for a moment, reviewing everything she’d seen during her check through the warehouse and the vehicles inside. Then she said, “Before I do that, though, I have another reason for my checking in with everyone. I saw some equipment in one of the vans … some unusual devices which I’ve never seen before; I don’t have any idea what they might be used for. I didn’t try describing any of them to Mike since I figured it might be better if I actually did that in person. I doubt these are for Zahir’s transportation business so I’m guessing whatever these devices might be for, it’s probably related to the attack they’re planning.”
Once she described the items and answered a few questions about them, it didn’t take long to determine what she was probably seeing. Major Schermerhorn said, “Those are special transmitters a
nd I’m betting they can jam or interfere with whatever anti-drone systems are being used at their target. We were already talking about how they would need to disable whatever protection was in place.”
Marsha asked, “Are they illegal? Can those devices be the evidence we need?”
“Unfortunately, no,” said Robert. “Even if it could be proven these were already preset for whatever frequencies were being used by whichever protection system was at their target, it would still be too circumstantial without other proof that location was their target and these men intended to attack there with something dangerous or lethal.”
Drew said, “We have to assume they actually know all the frequencies they need at their target. Homeland Security has already warned how a lot of their data was compromised once Philip Arnold turned traitor. And, WIJO has already demonstrated they can get their personnel into the U.S. along with equipment and explosives, due to knowing those secrets. Making the necessary changes to avoid all the places we’re become vulnerable because of Arnold will take time.”
Missy said, “Well, I was able to get up close and personal with each of these guys today. Maybe instead of trying to search through buildings and vehicles I should be popping back in on each of them, spying where your surveillance teams can’t go, seeing and hearing what each of these guys are up to.”
Ed was astonished at this and couldn’t help asking, “You can do that?”
Missy laughed and said, “Just as I was able to find you up in that Black Hawk today, I now can find any of these guys any time I want and instantly be right there, lurking invisibly wherever they might be. And, I’ve also learned enough Pashto this semester so I can understand most of what they might be saying.”
Robert said, “Welcome to our world, Ed, where we don’t need warrants to search places or listen to conversations but where none of what we learn can be used in court. As Dale and I were discussing earlier when I briefed him on what we’ve done today, this so-called psychic knowledge is great for determining what actions our BAT team needs to stop from happening and what evidence we need to go and gather, but we need to let the BAT team actually go do their work. It’s a waiting game but at least we know which players to watch. And, we can take appropriate action at any time, once that time is right.”
“Meanwhile,” said Drew, “maybe we can learn more. Who are the leaders back in Afghanistan who have planned these attacks? How are they communicating to the cell leaders over here? What other plans have they made?” He looked at Les, Marsha and the others gathered around the “P” Branch conference room table, all of whom he’d recently been brainstorming possible paths forward. “Missy? Can I ask you to teleport yourself down here for a private meeting with us? We have some ideas but those depend on your willingness to spend part of your home leave doing some things away from home.”
Chapter Thirty-Two
Dec 20, 2019
Missy had kissed Mike goodbye, after promising to return to be with him before going on any “P” Branch missions, and had teleported down to where Marsha was. Once she’d dressed herself in the clothes Marsha had there waiting for her, the two of them headed back to the conference room where Drew and the others were still gathered.
While Marsha had now accumulated quite a bit of clothing for her from earlier Missy missions and had selected one of the sets of Army fatigues and combat boots which Missy had used before, the underwear was new. New, expensive and very sexy! Wearing such naughty niceties under her military garb was definitely fun! As Missy entered the room and took her seat, she noted the satisfied smirk on Marsha’s face; she was obviously pleased about what she’d done concerning Missy’s wardrobe.
Drew and the others greeted Missy warmly. Drew then nodded at Les for him to start. It was clear everyone there was already aware of what he’d be saying.
“We know you’ll be at your sister’s wedding on Sunday,” Les began. “You probably have family things planned for tomorrow as well, right?”
Missy sighed and said, “Well, yes … but I promised Drew I’d search all through wherever this latest terrorist organization has been operating.” She looked over at him. “Now that we’ve confirmed Zahir Transportation Services is the cell we were worried about, we need to make sure they get arrested. Right? But, those arrests need to be based on solid evidence.”
Drew said, “Our BAT task force will continue working on that and you’ve been a huge help. They’ll have their surveillance teams assigned to watch all of Zahir’s people, both those who are new as well as those who’ve been with him for years. We’d like you to briefly visit each of those people tonight, just as you were telling us you could do, having been up close and personal with everyone at that warehouse. That way, we can be sure we’ve located everyone and have someone watching them at their home or wherever they’ve gone after today’s meeting where Zahir gave them all that nice pep talk.”
Missy stared at Drew and then looked back at Les. She knew there was more.
Les smiled and said, “You can probably do all that by noon tomorrow, right? Let Mike know where each person is and, once he confirms a BAT team is there watching, go on to the next person. You can probably take a quick look around but I don’t think you need to do any thorough search.”
“Maybe spend a little time being thorough at Zahir’s home,” said Marsha. “Yuri Qabani’s place might be worth a look as well. But, this is basically just to identify everyone for the BAT teams. We are confident they can take things from there. You can go be with Mike and your family. Until Monday.” She looked at her husband.
Les continued, saying, “We want to fly you back to Afghanistan on Monday. Only, we’ll be stopping at strategic points along the way, each one within or close to that five hundred mile limit of yours for teleporting. That way, once you’ve established all these places which you can experience and become familiar with, you’ll have them to use as stepping stones later … places to which you can quickly teleport. We’re guessing you can then get yourself back and forth in mere minutes. Right?”
Missy laughed and said, “Maybe!” She knew she’d been able to do that when she’d gone out to Chicago a month ago, stopping half way on a mountain she’d been familiar with. But, what if multiple stops were beyond her ability? It was over sixty-five hundred miles to Kabul, and that was going direct. Finding all these locations where she could stop along the way would make the distance much, much greater. “I’m pretty sure it will take me a few hours, but … probably no jet lag!” She giggled. “Show me all the places you’ve picked out.”
Les nodded to a woman sitting with a keyboard and mouse in front of her. After she made a few keystrokes the large screen on one wall suddenly came to life, showing a world map with several locations marked with large red stars. Les explained these were all the places they’d selected.
From Boston, their first stop would be at Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Next would be Happy Valley-Goose Bay, Newfoundland. Then Kuujjuaq, Canada. Then after flying to Iqaluit, Canada they’d need her to find a spot at least ten miles further east, to be within five hundred miles of their next stop at Nuuk, Greenland. Then after Nuuk it would be on to Tasiilaq, Greenland. That was six stops.
Reykjavik, Iceland. Torshavn, Faroe Islands. Glasgow, Scotland. Bergen, Norway. Kiel, Germany. Linz, Austria. Cluj-Napoca, Romania. Istanbul, Turkey. Adana, Turkey. Ma’an, Jordan. Medina, Saudi Arabia. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. Sur, Oman. Fourteen more stops, so twenty so far.
When they landed next in Karachi, Pakistan, they would again be a few miles too far; she would need to go out a few miles to find a spot within five hundred miles of their previous stop, Sur. Then, finally, it would be on to Kandahar, Afghanistan. There would be no need to continue on to either Kabul or Herat since she had already been to both of those places. So, twenty-two stops total.
Missy said, “I can see you’ve been thinking about this for a while now. What about the airports at all those locations? I’m betting we can’t
use our usual jet. We’ll need something much smaller, right?”
Les nodded at the woman controlling the computer and the screen on the wall suddenly began showing a video. He said, “Well, “P” Branch has an old de Havilland DHC-5 Buffalo which is perfect for this. It can land and takeoff from practically anywhere.” The video showed an aircraft dropping down and landing inside a baseball field and then, after getting into position on one end, taxing back down the field and taking off again. “We’ve updated it with all the latest upgrades plus lots of goodies, of course.”
Marsha said, “Since the normal range for one of these is a little less than seven hundred miles at max payload, it will seem normal for our stopping at all these places in order to refuel. Since these stops will only be for refueling, with nobody even getting out of the aircraft, we won’t need to clear customs and immigration and can get right back in the air again very quickly. We estimate only twenty minutes or so on the ground at each stop. That’ll give you time, of course, to get out and explore while in your spirit form.”
Drew wanted to further reassure Missy about the aircraft. He said, “Of course, your flights won’t be at max payload, even with the extra fuel tanks we’ve added, so actual range will be closer to fifteen hundred miles due to having more fuel and less weight. You’ll have plenty of margin.”
Les said, “We’ll have four pilots, taking turns two at a time and flying straight through except for the stops, so your arrival in Kandahar should be in less than forty-eight hours. That way, you can be back home again Christmas morning.”
“While I appreciate your planning all this so I get back for Christmas,” said Missy, “I don’t think I can teleport back quite as fast as what you’re thinking. I’ve always materialized to either my human or cat form in between teleporting any long distances. I don’t even know if I can make so many jumps but, assuming I can do those, I will need to spend a few minutes at each stop. I’ll probably do that as a cat but, doing the math, that will take me a couple of hour’s total for all these stops. At least. Maybe more. Maybe lots more.”
Missy's Operation Lily Pad (Missy the Werecat Book 6) Page 22