by Mark Donovan
“Well we need to take them out,” demanded Barbas. “They’re a national threat, not to mention they’ll kill our plans for the passage of the TMA.”
President Coleman winced when he heard Barbas suggest “taking them out”. That type of overt language he simply didn’t want spoken in the White House, and even more so now with the threat of nano-spies everywhere. Ken Hardy noticed the President wince at Barbas’s choice of words and cut Barbas off.
“Dimitris, yes we agree there is the possibility that NSurv could be a threat to the national security of our country. However, there is still a significant amount of conjecture in the general’s assessment, with all due respect to the general here. It is apparent that Mr. Henson and NSurv have an interest in the actions of the administration. But we really don’t have any evidence to say for certain that NSurv is spying on the administration, and is in some way trying to subvert the country.”
“Very well summarized Ken,” said the President. “I believe the general has done an excellent job of researching NSurv and giving us an initial assessment of what they could be up to. However, I think more investigation is necessary before taking direct action on NSurv.”
“But Jesse,” interrupted Barbas. “My own sources have confirmed that Mr. Henson was in San Francisco attending the business leaders meeting. We also know that he contacted Dana Cogswell about the first video. I think we have more than enough information to nail these guys.”
Again the President cringed before speaking. “Dimitris, yes your information does correlate with the general’s assessment, however, we still have no clear and specific evidence to legally shut down NSurv’s operation. I agree we need to move quickly to plug the leaks in our administration. However, we need to do it carefully and legally, for if NSurv is truly behind this they could inflict even more damage to us in our attempt to close them down.”
“Mr. President, to that point,” interjected Ken Hardy. “I will contact the heads of the NSA and FBI to have their organizations covertly follow-up on NSurv’s activities. We will make sure that we keep constant tabs on all NSurv employees outside of their facilities.”
“We should also want to keep in mind acquiring NSurv’s technology,” commented the general. “If my assessment of NSurv is correct, which I believe it is, their nano-sensor technology is state of the art and we need to be all over it. The additional security and surveillance capabilities that it could offer to the nation are nearly limitless. Not only could we keep better track of what is going on with our enemies around the world, we could more closely keep tabs on our enemies on our own shores.”
Ken Hardy looked briefly over at the President with General Jarod’s last comment. Both of them were already a step ahead of the general’s assessment. With the type of surveillance technology that the general was surmising NSurv had, both men had already independently thought of the benefits it could provide to the administration. Barbas was also having similar thoughts as he stayed silent on the phone. He was going to need to crank up his own personal plans on acquiring NSurv’s technology. He couldn’t trust the fools in the White House to do it.
“Well Ken, it sounds like you’ve got a plan for finding out more about NSurv,” commented the President. “In the meantime, we will work up a recovery plan to deal with the fallout of Mr. Barbas’s and the Secretary’s conversation. We will start by dismissing this video as a fabricated stunt by a group of people opposed to the administration. We’ll then add to it, that the conversation between the Secretary and the general was taken out of context. In the end, we’ll probably just have to accept the fact that we’ll need to sweeten up the pie a bit more for a few more congressional fence sitters.”
With that said, the President stood up to signal he was done with their meeting. Ken Hardy said goodbye to Barbas and hung up the conference phone and the general and Secretary departed the Oval Office. As the President and Ken Hardy were leaving the office, the President whispered quietly to Hardy, “You need to make sure another video doesn’t happen. Find a way to shut these guys down fast, but make every attempt to do it quietly. We don’t need this thing blowing up on us anymore than it already has.”
Chapter 47 (March 21, Thursday 9:00pm Eastern Daylight Savings Time)
Ron and Dan had followed a similar plan as they had executed out in San Francisco a couple of weeks ago at the business leaders meeting. They operated out of a hotel room approximately a half a block away from the 5 Star resort hotel, where the congressional dinner was being held at this evening. Earlier in the day they had located the air conditioning intake ducts at the resort hotel and discretely placed the large canisters of nano-dust into them.
Tonight’s plan only differed from the business leaders meeting in the fact that Dan’s main job was to use a couple of nano-flies to monitor the entrances of the dining area. He also had one additional nano-fly staged in the back of the dining room itself to monitor the night’s activities and observe who else was in attendance besides the congressional members. However, his focal objective was to keep tabs on any TMA fence sitting congressional members that may have stepped out of the dining area when the nano-dust canisters were activated. As long as they returned to the dining area within 10 minutes of the release of the nano-dust, they would receive a sufficient enough dose to be effectively monitored. For any target congressional member that was absent from the dining room longer than that, Ron would follow up by paying a personal visit to the congressional member at the 5 Star hotel. More specifically, he would get within a few feet of the target congressional member and discretely release the nano-dust using the smaller spray paint sized cans.
Ron and Dan watched the Congressional Dinner unfold from the three nano-flies as they sat in their small hotel room silently. The plan was to release the nano-dust from the canisters in the air conditioning intake ducts when the main dinner entrees were being served. This way there would be a higher absorption rate of the nano-dust through both the inhalation and ingestion of it while the diners ate their meals. In addition, there would less likely be congressional members stepping out of the dining area at that time.
As the catering people began to deliver the main entrees to the dining tables, Ron said, “Game on.”
Dan reported back, “There are three “fence sitters” that are not in the dining room at the moment.”
“A small enough number for me to personally handle if I have to,” responded Ron.
With a push of a button on his laptop, Ron fired the micro-explosive squibs on the nano-dust canisters placed in the air conditioning ducts. Telemetry data back from the canisters indicated that they had all fired successfully and that the nano-dust was being sucked into the air conditioning system. Within just a couple of minutes the nano-dust material would begin to filter down from the air conditioning vents in the ceiling of the dining room, where it would then be inhaled and consumed by the diners.
Five minutes after the release of the nano-dust Ron reported, “Two “fence sitters” have returned to the dining area.”
“Great! That leaves us with only one potential target to chase down,” responded Ron.
After fifteen minutes had passed, Ron and Dan quietly watched the diners eat and talk, and unbeknownst to them ingest and inhale the nano-dust with every bite and breath they took. As the congressional members continued to enjoy their meals, Ron began sorting through on his laptop all the diners who had consumed the nano-dust. By comparing the DNA signatures transmitted back from the nano-dust from each diner, against a national DNA database, he was able to sort out which diners were target congressional members and which ones were not. With the non-targets he immediately deactivated the nano-dust that they had consumed. With the target congressional members, he began sending commands to their consumed nano-dust particles to configure them into camera and microphone constructs.
After configuring the nano-dust on each congressional member target, he ran a series of diagnostic checks to ensure the sensors were operational and that their
download transmissions to his computer were error free. He then manually scanned through all the video and audio feeds coming from various congressional members to actually confirm that their sensors were recording properly. After about 10 minutes he sat back in his chair and relaxed.
“Dan, my work here is complete.”
“Great, you’re only going to need to chase down Congressman Sam Bowman,” responded Dan. “He walked back into the dining room area two minutes ago.”
Dan stood up from his chair and stretched his arms and legs. He had been glued to his computer for much of the day, and his work over the past hour had been extremely focused and intense.
“Roger that,” replied Ron as he walked over and picked up a spray can of the nano-dust. “I guess I’ll go over to the hotel and lie low near the entrance to the congressional dining area. Shoot me a text when you see him starting to leave the dining room.”
“Where do you think you’ll deploy the nano-dust?” asked Dan.
“I’m going to have to wing it,” responded Ron. “My preference will be to release the dust near him when he is standing or sitting still. If those opportunities don’t present themselves then I will simply walk near him for an extended period of time releasing the dust in the process.”
Dan wished Ron good luck as Ron grabbed his umbrella and walked out the door of their hotel room. Ron exited their hotel and walked down the street to the hotel where the Congressional Dinner was ongoing. As he walked into the lobby of the hotel, there were many guests mingling around talking and laughing. Many stood while others sat in chairs around small coffee tables. As he passed through the lobby, and in the direction of the congressional dining area, a man sitting quietly in his chair paid special attention to him. He got up and slowly followed after Ron. Due to the large volume of people in the hotel that evening, Ron was unaware that he was being followed. As Ron continued to make his way down the long hotel corridor the man gained on him. Ron made it to the restroom area before he could go no further due to the security men standing near the entrance to the congressional dining area. He decided to hit the restroom to kill a little time and figure out his plan of attack.
After relieving himself he decided to walk back towards the lobby area of the hotel since it was the main egress for exiting the hotel. He’d wait for Congressman Bowman to leave the hotel to douse him in a coating of nano-dust. After reaching the lobby he sat down in a beautiful Victorian cloth chair so that he could observe the foot traffic coming from the main dining room area. The man that had been following him passed by him and stepped outside of the hotel lobby area. His mission tonight had been clear, simply follow and report Ron Blackwell’s actions.
Ron waited for nearly an hour before a small group of congressmen and their spouses walked his way. On the left side of the group was Congressman Bowman. Ron waited until the group walked passed him before he stood up to follow the group. The congressmen and their wives exited the hotel, where they waited their turn for a valet attendant to bring their cars to them. As the group mingled with each other while waiting for their respective cars, Ron walked up near them and simply discretely stood, as if waiting for his own car as well. Down by his side, and in his right hand, he held the small spray can of nano-dust. He had concealed it with his folded umbrella that he had wrapped around it. When he moved to within a couple of feet of Congressman Bowman, he discretely pushed on the spray can nozzle with his right index finger to release the invisible nano-dust. He had moved the spray can and umbrella up to waist height and turned it horizontally before releasing the contents of the spray can. He pressed the nozzle for nearly 20 seconds before lowering his arm and slowly backing away from the group. The entire time the spray can’s contents had spewed into the group. With little wind to disperse the nano-dust material he was sure that Congressman Bowman had been dosed sufficiently.
As Ron Blackwell released the contents of the spray can, the man who had been monitoring him in the hotel stood 15 feet away from him and watched his actions. He had noticed the glint of a metal container underneath Ron’s umbrella but was not sure what it was. He did, however, see Ron press the end of the container for a period of time before walking away from the group of congressmen. The man proceeded to watch Ron walk away from the hotel and proceed down the block. The man continued to follow him until Ron walked into the entrance of the hotel where Ron and Dan had set up operations. The man reached into his pocket and grabbed his phone to report in what he had just witnessed. He wasn’t sure what exactly happened, but he was sure that Ron Blackwell and NSurv were up to something clandestine.
Ron walked into the hotel room and immediately asked Dan if Congressman Bowman was now being monitored with the nano-dust.
“Yes, I had him up and configured a couple of minutes ago.”
“Great. Then lets pack things up and get out of here. We need to get down to Miami tonight and pay a visit to Congressman Hector Perez first thing tomorrow morning.”
Chapter 48 (March 22, Friday 8:00am Mountain Daylight Savings Time)
It was early Friday morning when Dave, Dana and Joe drove from the NSurv offices over to the hanger where the Cessna Citation M2 was stored. Joe was still in awe of his new position. It had already been a whirlwind experience. He had just spent much of the previous day getting trained on how to operate a miniature drone and now he was heading to the Caribbean in a private jet for a surveillance mission. Dave had briefed him in detail yesterday on the mission and he understood his role clearly. He was to operate the nano-dragonfly from a secluded area along the shores of St. John Virgin Island and monitor a Mr. Barbas and his visitors on a yacht called the “Kosmos”. Besides finding the job technically challenging and exciting, he was just as much enthralled with NSurv’s main objective. Exposing the administration for what it was. A corrupt group of politicians that were more focused on serving their own self-interests than those of their constituents and the country. He knew the administration’s actions over the past decade were the reason for the country’s economic decay. If the country was to ever be turned around, this administration, and politicians like them, had to have their actions become transparent to the public. NSurv would make them accountable to the public via its nano surveillance technology, and the transparency that it would foist upon the politicians. He relished both the opportunity to learn more about this technology, as well as the purpose it would serve, freeing the public from an oppressive and all-encompassing government.
Dave explained to Dana and Joe their flight plans. They would refuel in Houston, Texas and then land at Cyril E. King airport in St. Thomas. He anticipated their arrival in St. Thomas at 5:00 pm local time. From there they would take a taxi from the airport to the ferry docks in Charlotte Amalie. Finally, they’d take a ferry from Charlotte Amalie to Cruz Bay on St. John. They would be staying at the Westin in Cruz Bay during their stay in St. John.
The flight and trip had been long, but they finally made it to the Westin hotel on St. John around 8:00pm local time. Even though it was already evening the weather was still a balmy 80oF and the easterly trade winds were still providing a light breeze when they arrived at the hotel. Dave looked up after stepping out of the taxi and was amazed at the millions of stars visible in the early night sky. The Milky Way galaxy was easily observable. Like McCall, Idaho, there was little light pollution in the Caribbean. This was one of the reasons he chose to locate NSurv in Idaho. He loved the wide open country and the beautiful night skies. The only difference between Idaho and St. John this time of the year was the temperature, which he was relishing at the moment. The cold winter weather of Idaho took some getting used to, but like his other colleagues at NSurv, he made every effort to enjoy the winter sports, including skiing, snow shoeing and snowmobiling into the back country.
After checking in and dumping their luggage in their rooms, they met for dinner in the hotel’s restaurant to review their plans one final time. They would effectively be on a stakeout for the entire weekend.
After
Dave ordered a bottle of Robert Mondavi Cabernet Sauvignon wine, and Jerked Sea Scallops and Conch Fritters for appetizers, the three got down to business.
“Ken Hardy should already be on Barbas’s yacht, and Jason Evans is scheduled to arrive sometime tomorrow morning,” Dave said. “I’d like us to get an early start. I’ve already reserved a rental car to get us out to Cinnamon Bay beach.”
“Should we bring our bathing suits,” asked Dana with a big smile.
“Absolutely. Though we need to be discrete and preferably out of view of the tourists and locals as much as possible, we’ll inevitably run into some of them. So most definitely yes, we should dress as if we’re typical vacationers. Also, we couldn’t come down to the Caribbean in March and not enjoy the sun, sand and beaches a little.”
“Shall we plan to bring all of our equipment tomorrow?” asked Joe.
“Absolutely. Though the two nano-dragonflies that Dr. Gillian gave us can support much of our surveillance objectives, I still want to release a canister or two of nano-dust onto that yacht. I want to keep constant tabs on Ken Hardy and Mr. Evans over the next several weeks. We’re already tracking Mr. Barbas as you know. Besides the surveillance items, we’ll take the scuba gear and a couple of canisters of nano-dust. If conditions are right, I’ll pay Mr. Barbas and his guests an unsolicited visit.”
The waitress returned to their table with the bottle of wine. She held it up and presented it to Dave so that he could inspect the label and ensure it was the wine that he had ordered. She then proceeded to open the bottle of wine. After pouring a small amount of wine into Dave’s glass he swirled the glass gently on the dining table and then held the glass up at a tilted angle to visually inspect the wine. He then brought the rim of the wine glass to his nose briefly to smell the wine’s aroma before consuming its content and tasting the bouquet of flavors on his palate. He nodded to the waitress that the wine was acceptable, which she then proceeded to refill his glass and pour wine for Dana and Joe as well.