Solemn Duty (1997)

by Leonard B Scott

  A ruddy faced middle-age agent nodded and pushed back his chair. "Call me J. C., guys. For the benefit of everyone, me run down how we can expect this handoff to go down.

  Once we all see what we're up against, we can try and come up with solutions to the problems. Fust we have to assume Devoe will in fact allow Agent Tanner to accompany the colonel.

  Talking him into it will be Tanner's department. The second assumption is Devoe is smart and has the necessary equipment and people to do the handoff the right way."

  O'Malley lifted his chin. "The scenario I'm about to give you is the worst case for us. The first thing Devoe will do is give us very little reaction time. He'll say it will start at specific time, but will call again and move up the time schedule. Tanner will be told to drive the colonel to location X, and Devoe will warn us he is not to be followed in any way. Once Tanner and the colonel arrive at X, it will be a place in the open, like a parking lot. Not far away will be a hotel or apartments, and somewhere in the building will be a lookout with glasses or a telescope. He'll call Tanner by cell phone and tell him that he and the colonel are to get out of the vehicle and leave everything in the car including the cell phone, watches, rings, etcetera. He'll then tell them to strip naked and walk to another vehicle Devoe's men will have prestaged. He'll have another cell phone in the car for Tanner and give him directions to location Y. He'll tell Tanner he will be watched and probably followed to ensure there is no tail. Tanner will get to location Y after traveling over long stretches of highway where lookouts will check for tails and aircraft. At location Y, Tanner and the colonel will be met by someone who will check every orifice of their bodies for transmitters. He will also have a wand and pass it over both of them to ensure they haven't swallowed a transmitter or placed one way up their behinds. Once satisfied they are clean, he will direct them to another location or possibly drive them to the last stop, where the handoff will take place. Once there, they will be searched again and business will be conducted. The spot will be in a remote place with limited access and be under the cover of trees or perhaps in a deserted building so that a passing plane or helicopter cannot observe the activity. The place will, however, have one, and most likely two, quick escape routes. Guards will be on the entry route into the spot and lookouts will be posted to cover all avenues of approach. Despite what you see in the movies, the hostages will not be at the final site. Their presence complicates things, so Devoe will have them somewhere else. Once he's satisfied we kept our end of the trade, he will tell Tanner where the women are located and hopefully let him call and have people confirm they are in good condition. Once they are confirmed safe, Devoe will expect Agent Tanner to leave the colonel with him."

  Wrinkling his brow, O'Malley regarded Eli and Anderson.

  "That was the worst case scenario for us to deal with. It basically takes away any chance to track you both. Sounds gloomy, doesn't it?" O'Malley shook his head. "Don't worry, things are not as bad as they sound." He motioned to a balding man seated at the table.

  "Chris Pullen, the Agency hostage expert, and I talked before you two arrived. We know we can defeat their attempts at keeping transmitters off you. It's just the last part we haven't figured out yet. I guarantee we'll have you tracked every inch of the way to the final handoff spot, but bow we get the strike force in to protect you still isn't solved yet."

  The third man at the table, wearing an Army green uniform with a silver star on each of his epaulets, raised an eyebrow.

  "Why is that a problem?"

  It was the way he said it that made hope bubble up in Eli's chest. At the beginning of the meeting the brigadier had introduced himself simply as Walker and he had not said a word until asking the question.

  O'Malley was caught off guard by the general's question and stammered, "Well, uh . . . General, a strike force just can't magically appear out of thin air."

  Walker shook his head. "'That's not quite true, Agent O'Malley. If you can track Agent Tanner and Colonel Anderson, we can have a reaction force mounted in our quiet Black Birds that can stay out of sight and follow at a safe distance until they reach the handoff site. They can be on top of the location, and the detachment can fast-rope out of the choppers and be on the ground in less than fifteen seconds. Tell me how you see the last part of the handoff. Run it down for me from when the colonel and Tanner arrive at the site."

  O'Malley walked to the chalkboard and drew a circle and a line from the outside to the center. "Let's say the circle here is the site. The line is the entry road. A guard will be posted on the road as they enter the site. Others will probably be securing the site. The vehicle pulls in and is stopped by the guard to confirm it's Tanner and the colonel. The guard will then call Devoe and confirm both men have arrived. Remember, one of Devoe's men might be in the vehicle with them. Anyway, the vehicle will proceed into the circle until told to halt. Then both Tanner and the colonel will be told to exit the vehicle and move to a spot where they can be clearly seen. Devoe will now make his appearance. Tanner says he's done his part, now it's Devoe's turn to do his, free the women. Devoe tells Tanner where they are, and Tanner calls us and everybody waits until our people find the women and we confirm they are safe. We tell Tanner they're safe, and then Devoe will expect Tanner to depart. He'll be escorted back to the vehicle and leave."

  General Walker sat in silence a moment and finally nodded.

  "Our problem is fifteen to twenty seconds, gentlemen. The way I see it, once Tanner receives confirmation that the women are safe, the clock starts ticking. My strike force will begin its attack run as soon as confirmation is given. The guards won't hear the choppers, but we have to assume they will see them coming and get off a warning. From the time they see the choppers and my first men hitting the ground, at most twenty seconds will pass. We need to make Tanner and the colonel somehow disappear during that time. We'll gain a few seconds because Devoe's people will be totally surprised and confused, but if Devoe is as good as everybody says, he'll recover first and begin popping at Tanner and the colonel."

  Pullen, the CIA rep, lowered his head. "We have another problem. We have to ensure Devoe and his men are taken out quickly. If any of them call whoever they left in the Washington area, they may start blowing things up to make us pay."

  The general shook his head. "No, we'll have an ECM bird overhead to jam everything within ten miles. The bird puts out white static, and believe me, nobody can communicate over any type of radio or telephone when the emitters are on."

  O'Malley tapped the chalkboard. "That leaves us with the twenty seconds to worry about. It's obvious they can't disappear, so we need a diversion of some kind. Something that will make Devoe and his men take their eyes off our people."

  Pullen's chin came up. "We could tape bags of liquid to the abdomens and cover the flat bags with what we call 'second skin.' It's used in the film industry, and once makeup is applied, it will appear they are average American males who have a slight pouch. Tanner and the colonel can puncture the bags with their fingernails. As soon as the chemicals are exposed to air, it becomes a persistent gas that will severely affect anyone within ten to fifteen meters."

  "What about Tanner and the colonel?" O'Malley asked.

  Pullen nodded. "Yes, they would be affected as well, but at least they will be prepared for the effects mentally. Unfortunately, what we currently have also causes severe vomiting."

  "Seems that one is too iffy," O'Malley said "Devoe isn't going to be standing around with his thumb up his butt while these two are tearing at their stomachs. With that idea, he and his people are left with too much time to react. General, do you have a suggestion?'

  Walker thought a moment and canted his head. "We need something that will scare them or confuse them. Maybe we can have a gunship fire rockets or missiles. . . . No, our weapons' killing radius is too great. I'm not sure we can modify our rockets or missiles in such a short time."

  "What if they fired a smoke rocket?" Pullen said. "My people can handle the
modifications to the rockets."

  The general shook his head. "Still would have shrapnel effect when the body of the rocket broke up on impact Tanner and the colonel could be wounded very badly. But that is an option to consider. I was thinking maybe we could make a low pass with a smoke chopper. The only problem is it takes time for the smoke to settle to the ground and obfuscate the site, plus it will cause problems for my people when they come in."

  Eli decided to speak up. "If we need something that will scare them and shake them up, how about if . . ."

  When Eli finished telling them his idea, O'Malley shot a look at General Walker. "Can you make that happen?'

  The general allowed himself a small smile. "I can do better than that. I can improve on his idea. The only problem now is Tanner's." Walker shifted his expressionless eyes to Eli and pinned him with a stare. "You're going to have the advantage because you know it's coming. You'll have to pick your man beforehand and get close to him. When it happens, you'll have to make your move quick and focus on his weapon. Once you've got it, take out the biggest threat first and keep moving, don't stay in one place, keep shooting and moving."

  Eli kept his eyes locked on the general. "I know what has to be done, sir."

  Walker shifted his gaze to Anderson. "Colonel, when it happens hit the ground and stay there. With that leg wound of yours, you'll only be in Tanner's way if you stay on your feet.

  Tanner has to know everybody that's standing is the enemy.

  He won't have time to think, he has to react. You hit the ground and don't move. As soon as my people come in, roll over faceup and don't move. Tanner, that goes for you, too. When my people come in they'll come in quick. You hit the ground and stay faceup so they can ID you easily and move on to take out remaining targets."

  O'Malley clapped his hands. "All right, looks like we've got a plan. Chris, tell the colonel and Agent Tanner how we're going to keep track of them."

  Chris Pullen took a small metal disk from his pocket.

  "Gentlemen, this is the latest design of the smallest commercial transmitter on the market. The problem is, a security wand will pick it up because of the metal shell and the components inside. In this situation we'll have to use one that our people designed a year ago and recently turned into a reality. It is constructed entirely of plastics, ceramics, glues, and fiber optic wiring. It's bigger than we would like, but it works like a champ. Once it's swallowed, we'll be able to track you with no problem. Since you both will have them, we have redundancy and that makes it even better."

  O'Malley stepped back to the table and picked up his notebook. "Gentlemen, it's time for us to prepare. Chris, I'll need your techs here as soon as possible with the transmitters. We'll have to settle on frequency compatibility and see what kind of work-arounds are going to be needed. General, I'll need your commo people ASAP to get me up to speed on the airborne command post's capability and also to talk to the Agency reps about their transmitters."

  General Walker stood. "I'll have them over within an hour.

  I need to request the assets we'll need and begin staging aircraft and my detachment from Delta Force. I should be able to brief my people and be back to go over the plan again in three hours."

  O'Malley raised his hand. "Okay, we'll all meet again at four and take a break to listen to Devoe's call at six in the deputy's office. Agent Tanner, you and the colonel will not need to be in attendance at the four o'clock. You two should get some rest. For now, you have all you need to know, and we'll fill you in on details much later. Okay, that's it."

  Eli and Anderson remained in their chairs as the others departed. When the door shut, they looked at one another and Robert slowly lowered his head. "Eli, they're working hard for us, but we both know your idea is a long shot I want Devoe just as much as you do, but my first priority is making sure my wife is safe. When I know she's out of harm's way, then I'll do anything you want."

  "I understand, sir, and I feel the same about Agent Sutton. . . . I got kind of close to her. We'll still have surprise on our side, so it ups our odds."

  Anderson reached over and patted Eli's arm. "Anything else got you worried?"

  Eli raised an eyebrow. "To tell you the truth, yes, sir. The CIA DDO said we could swallow those big transmitters, but he didn't say how we were supposed to get 'em out. That's got me real worried."

  Anderson grinned and pushed his wheelchair to the doctor.

  "That's good, Eli-you're thinking we're going to be alive after it's over. Come on, I need to find some real food, and I want to buy some Cheetos for tomorrow's trip."

  .

  5:55 P. M. FBI Headquarters.

  Those seated around the large conference room table sat in silence listening to the Chief of Operations as he reported on efforts to find Devoe. ". . and a check of the rental car agencies also came up negative. Sir, Devoe has covered his tracks well. We haven't developed a single lead. Even inside the Beltway most people can't distinguish a Cambodian from any other Southeast Asian, or even a Chinese or a Mexican, for that matter. I'm sorry, sir. We've done our best but we're still at square one."

  The deputy nodded. "Bill, I know you and your task force have done your best." He looked at the faces of his other chiefs of divisions. "Do any of you have any good news to report?"

  Silence and the lowering of heads told him his answer. The deputy turned to his left and looked at the director. "Sir, as you heard, despite our best efforts we have been unable to make any headway in finding Devoe or the location of the hostages.

  I ask your permission to allow Agent J. C. O'Malley to brief you on the second option we discussed earlier."

  The director nodded in silence and steepled his hands under his chin as O'Malley stood. "Mr. Director, as we speak, final preparations for the Bureau, Agency, and Department of Defense joint operation called 'Sword' are almost complete.

  Agent Tanner and Colonel Anderson, 'Team Tan,' have been instructed on the use of their equipment and been briefed on possible scenarios. The strike force, aircraft, and support personnel are staged at Bolling Air Force Base and are on one hour alert. If approval is given, Operation Sword will be ready to execute within an hour's notice."

  The director lowered his hands to the table. "Agent O'Malley, if I approve option two, please tell me again how you'll be able to track the location of Agent Tanner and Colonel Anderson."

  "Sir, Team Tan's internal transmitters emit a signal we will be able to monitor aboard a KC-135 military aircraft which will double as my command post. We would maintain a twenty thousand foot altitude and be able to track the location of Team Tan on a computerized, digitized map display within an accuracy of plus or minus five meters."

  Turning and looking at Eli and Robert, seated to his right, Thomas spoke quietly. "Gentlemen, we speak of operational names and options, but it all really comes down to your willingness to try and stop these murderers. Before I make the decision, I must ask you if you still want to proceed with this."

  Eli looked into the director's searching eyes and spoke without breaking eye contact. "Yes, sir."

  Anderson nodded as he clenched his fists in determination.

  "Yes, sir."

  The director exhaled slowly and turned to the deputy.

  "Larry, as I told you after the discussions with the Attorney General, we feel option two is our only recourse if your manhunt for Devoe and the hostages is unsuccessful. I approve option two with the understanding that your manhunt continues up till the time Devoe gives us for the handoff process to begin. So that everyone in the room is aware, the Attorney General has declared Devoe and his men a threat to national security. The Department of Defense has been authorized to provide us support, to include Delta Force and aviation assets from Special Operations Command. Agent O'Malley has overall operational command, and General Walker from SOCOM will have tactical command. This will be an historic joint operation made necessary by Devoe's proven capabilities. The President has been briefed and has authorized the Secretary of D
efense to allow military involvement. The President has given the Attorney General and myself the authority to approve the option, and as you just heard, I have done so. I will be in the ops center with the deputy during the operation and will monitor the operation in progress and-"

  The cell phone in Eli's hand began beeping. Eli waited for the tech to turn on the recorder, then answered. "Agent Tanner."

  "Agent Tanner, I'm sure you are with your superiors. Is that correct?"

  "Yes, Mr. Devoe, but before I give you the decision, I need to know if the ladies are okay. May I speak to each of them, please."

  "Of course, Agent Tanner. I expected no less. Here they "Eli, this is Sandy, I'm doing fine under the circumstances, please tell Robert not to worry. Here is Ashley."

  "Hi, Eli. I'm okay. Did you get the keys?"

  Eli began to respond, but Devoe's voice came over the speakers again. "'That should satisfy you, Agent Tanner. As I told you before, I would not harm them. They are not now here with me, so I await your superior's decision."