by Tom Haase
50
Savannah, Georgia
Port Authority
Karim arrived at the port with one of his men. The other two drove the pickup truck along the main entrance road. They made loops on the highway to stay within a half mile of the main gate.
He proceeded through the port entrance dressed like a stevedore, just another man reporting for work. The I.D.s the two showed had been procured from local men of Iranian extraction having sympathies toward their cause. They were part of a sympathetic network that existed all over America. These men would provide small measures of support but not take part in any direct action. They couldn’t commit to losing everything they had.
Their plan remained unchanged. After spotting the truck with the container, they would wait until it moved away from the ship and then hijack it before it reached the main gate. The distances within the confines of the port were vast. One could disappear inside the area for weeks without being seen. There were rows and rows of large containers stacked in various depths all around. Some were set aside by customs for detailed inspection, some waited for transport by road or on one of the two major railroads that serviced the port.
On arrival, he acquired the information he needed. The computer, in the stevedore break area, provided the ship’s name and the berth where the cargo for Alexandro Import/Export business would unload. He also noted the container number.
They went to where the ship berthed. Both men carried a small backpack with their handguns. There had been no security scan on entry, only the I.D. verification, which was cursory at best with so many men entering at the same time. Karim had learned the time when the shift changes occurred and entered in the midst of a throng of men going to work. Then they arrived before the vessel docked, so they used the time to plan every last minute detail of the hijacking.
“Okay,” Karim said. “I’ve seen what I need. Here’s what we’re going to do. The route the truck will take from shipside will require it to make a sharp turn where we are standing in order to reach the exit. It will have to slow down to a crawl to make this sharp corner.”
That would provide them with the ability to jump up on the side of the truck and shoot the driver. Then they would put his body between rows of stacked containers and proceed out the main gate.
“You jump on the driver’s side and take him out. Push the body to the passenger side and jump in to take over driving. I’ll pull the man out and hide him between those rows over there. You get the truck moving at a very slow pace and I’ll jump back in. Got that?”
The man nodded.
“Good, let’s get a little closer to the ship now it has docked and we’ll be better able to observe. There will be more than one truck to receive a container directly from the ship. We want to make sure we get the right one. I have the container number so we make no mistake.”
* * *
Matt and Bridget observed the unloading of the ship. They identified the container for Alexandro and watched it being loaded onto a truck. The procedure seemed well practiced and now it had been completed.
“Looks like someone off the ship is going to accompany that cargo,” Matt said. He watched with interest as a man climbed into the passenger side of the truck.
“Let’s move in closer to get a better look,” Bridget suggested.
Matt put the car in gear and slowly edged forward to try and see the newcomer. He already took a photo of the truck driver while they waited for the loading to be complete.
“Stop,” Bridget shouted.
“What?”
“Look over there, by that stack of containers. I noticed those two approaching the ship and then I saw them walking away. I could swear that one of them is Karim,” Bridget said.
Matt stopped the car and searched the area Bridget indicated. He did see two men rounding the corner but couldn’t positively identify either.
“If I’m right, we have a big problem. He wouldn’t be here by himself and it can’t be a coincidence that he’s here at the same time the arms shipment arrives,” Bridget said.
“You know I believe in coincidences just about every time a dinosaur is born,” Matt said. “We need to get some backup. Things could get dicey real fast.” He considered dialing the number of the SWAT team but changed his mind and decided to wait. At this point, he and Bridget were enough to handle Karim and his man. He wondered what the extra man from the ship meant.
“Maybe the second man in the truck is some form of extra security. Somehow Alexandro may have gotten wind that Karim is up to no good. Crap, maybe we should just go up and take the truck now,” Bridget said.
The truck started to move away from the pier. Matt began to follow it, remaining a good distance behind. They were in a security area, besides, what could happen here?
51
Savannah, Georgia
Bridget’s phone rang, seeing Jonathan McGregor’s name, she let it go to voice mail. Whatever he wanted would have to wait. They were focused on the arms shipment and nothing else as they began to head out of the port.
Up ahead, she watched the large semi as it slowed to take a tight corner to get onto the road that led to the exit of the port authority. Matt stopped their car and waited about a hundred yards back for the big truck to make the turn.
“What do you think is going to happen?” she asked Matt.
“I don’t know for sure, but I’m betting we can follow this truck to wherever they are going to do the exchange. Then we call for backup and take them down,” Matt said.
“Shouldn’t we call for some backup now?”
“It’s too soon and a lot of FBI around might spook them. For now we stay back and watch.”
“Look, they’ve stopped,” Bridget observed.
“Probably just having trouble negotiating that tight turn. The driver may have to back up.”
* * *
The truck approached the turn to get on the exit road. The driver slowed down to walking speed. He deftly maneuvered the cab around the sharp corner and carefully rolled forward making sure the container didn’t touch the wall of stacked cargo on the inside of his turn.
“Now,” shouted Karim.
His man moved with lightning speed and jumped up on the running board of the truck. Karim performed the same feat on the right side of the cab. He heard a shot and the sound of breaking glass. When he reached the passenger window of the cab, he noticed the man sitting there had focused on the assailant on the driver’s side. The driver now slumped over the steering column. The passenger attempted to draw a weapon from under his arm still looking at the man through the driver’s window. Karim jerked open the door and fired two shots into the man’s head. Blood and brain matter splashed the dashboard and streamed down the windshield.
His man pulled open the door on his side. Karim looked at him and grinned.
“Let’s pull these bodies out of here and place them on the road directly behind the truck. They will block this small road for a few minutes and we may need that time. Federal agents are here.” Karim pulled the body out of the cab on his side as he saw the man do it on the other side. They both reached the back of the truck at the same time and laid the bodies perpendicular to the roadway.
Karim scanned the area behind them and saw the government car a hundred yards back. After he looked squarely at the vehicle, he ran to get back into the cab and arrived at the same time as his man.
“Get us out of here,” Karim ordered, as the other man put the truck in gear.
* * *
Bridget’s phone rang again. At that second, she saw a man throw something on the road near where the truck would have to turn. She couldn’t believe her eyes when the man standing by the truck rotated toward their car. A familiar face looked squarely at them.
“It’s Karim,” Bridget said. “How in the hell did he get here? I thought we were expecting Alexandro.”
“Beats me, but I think he just killed those men and is planning on hijacking the truck. Call the SWAT team and tell them w
hat’s happened. We’ll be in pursuit and keep them informed.” The car squealed rubber as Matt floored the accelerator. They arrived at the turn and he slammed on the brakes, now seeing two bodies blocking his advance.
They both exited the sedan and ran forward to grab a body each. After checking for pulses, they found none. They moved the bodies to the side of the road, and then they rushed back to the car.
Bridget dialed Scott. “Get ready to follow the truck. Here’s the tag number and the container number. It’s Karim and he just killed two men. We’ll be there as soon as we can.”
“Better hurry. Your truck just exited and a pickup is following it. A man is in the back with what looks like a machine gun,” Scott said. “I’m moving our car out to follow the semi.”
Bridget heard the unmistakable sound of an AK-47.
“Holy shit, he just fired at us,” Scott bellowed.
52
Savannah, Georgia
Mike Alexandro reached his Hummer. He congratulated himself on previously trading his BMW in on this solid black monster with the crash bars across the grill. He loved the way it handled and its size. After starting the engine, he drove to where he could see the gate to the port.
The truck with his goods exited the gate and turned left toward downtown. He recognized the name on the container and checked the numbers on it as well. He noticed a pickup tailing his semi and witnessed the man in the back of the small truck open fire on a car. The car stopped and pulled to the side of the road.
What the hell?
As his goods approached, Mike saw the man in the passenger seat. The face of Karim could be clearly seen in the window of the truck. It took only a second for Mike to comprehend that it was actually Karim. In another second, Mike’s mind understood what transpired right in front of him. The bastard stole his goods and was attempting to get away without paying. If he were to be successful, it would be the end of Michael Alexandrovitch. No family connection could save him from the punishment that would follow such a loss.
Without hesitation, he gunned the vehicle forward. It gathered speed as he headed toward the pickup. He had to neutralize it before he could engage the main vehicle. He couldn’t allow the automatic weapon to be used against him. His vehicle reached forty miles an hour when he T-boned the pickup. The sound of crunching metal filled the air and Mike felt his adrenaline spike. The pickup rolled over and over, finally impacting against a concrete telephone pole.
Mike slammed the gears into reverse and backed away from the spot where he slammed into the truck. Then he shifted gears and roared after the container truck. The front grill bars had protected his vehicle from any major damage. He never gave much thought to the men in the pickup other than to hope they were in hell.
He could still see his container truck in the distance.
* * *
“Scott, are you all right?” Bridget shouted into the phone.
“We’re okay. No real damage. Most of the bullets missed the car and we aren’t hurt,” he informed her.
“We should be there in less than a minute.”
A silence followed until Scott let out a loud whistle. “Sis, you’re not going to believe this. A Hummer just T-boned the pickup that shot at us. Totally wiped it out. Now it’s going after the container truck. What the hell is happening?”
Bridget told Matt what Scott said.
“Damn, we never checked Alexandro for vehicles. I’ll do it now.” Before he could call Liz, he saw Scott’s rental car. Scott appeared standing beside it. He approached and Bridget lowered her window.
“Just checking the car for damage. Looks like we’re good to go,” Scott said.
“Okay, follow us,” Bridget ordered.
While this transpired, Matt called Liz and confirmed that Alexandro owned a black Hummer.
Both cars took off after the Hummer and the semi.
“How do we stop a semi?” Bridget asked.
“I have no idea,” Matt responded. “But I bet Alexandro is driving that Hummer.”
53
Washington, D.C.
Monsignor Jonathan McGregor sat in his hotel room in Washington with the phone glued to his ear. The room contained all the amenities expected in a four-hundred-dollar-a-night establishment in the middle of the city. The clock above the TV displayed the time as shortly after noon.
Jonathan put the phone down. He had tried for the second time in just a few minutes to contact Bridget. She hadn’t answered either time. He desperately wanted to know if she had achieved any success in locating or in finding the icon. His time in America would soon run out.
His phone rang. He grabbed it anticipating Bridget would be returning his call, but the number he didn’t want to appear showed on caller ID.
“Good day, Eminence,” Jonathan said on answering.
“What news do you have about the icon?” the cardinal asked.
“I believe Ms. Donavan is close to locating it. At this time, I am unable to contact her. Generally this means she is engaged in something that has her full attention.”
“I want your full attention. We need that icon and we want it quickly. We fear that word of this is starting to leak. I don’t know how, but some queries are starting to come our way about the icons. We need to contain any fallout by taking preemptive action with the accounts that this last icon will hopefully provide. Do whatever it takes to retrieve it and return it to Rome. Do you understand?” The cardinal queried.
“Completely,” Jonathan said. The cardinal ended the call.
Jonathan didn’t need or want this type of pressure. He knew what he must do without being beaten over the head by higher authorities. Right now, he was stymied but knew deep down in his heart Bridget would succeed, just like she always had. But then again, there always remained a chance she would fail for the first time.
* * *
Liz called Matt. She needed to find out more about what actions were taking place in Savannah and what she might do to assist. She ordered the tech to see if he could get into the traffic video cameras in Savannah. She waited for Matt to answer.
“What’s going on?” she asked when Matt came on the line.
He brought her up to date on events with a few short sentences.
“I’m looking at the container truck on a Bay Street camera in Savannah. Do you need locals to intercept?” Liz asked.
“No, but have SWAT ready just in case. I’m counting on getting both Karim and Alexandro as a package deal,” Matt said and rang off.
54
Savannah, Georgia
Karim looked out the passenger side window when the semi exited the port, and he saw his men coming toward his vehicle in their pickup. This made him breathe a little easier. Now he had some protection. The problem of the feds, however, remained.
He phoned his men in the pickup and warned them that a fed vehicle might be coming after them. When he hung up, the driver kept his eyes fixed on the rearview mirror.
“What are you looking at?” Karim demanded.
“The pickup is firing on a car. The car has now stopped,” the driver responded.
That might take care of what he assumed were the feds for now, but they possessed other assets to track this truck. He needed to transfer the goods quicker than he planned and dump the container.
“We aren’t on the road to the interstate. What happened?” Karim asked.
“I didn’t take the turn. I missed it watching the pickup,” said the driver.
“Stay on this road. It’ll take us into Savannah. We can pick up the interstate there.”
The driver remained silent for a moment but gave furtive glances into the outside rear view mirror.
“What are you watching now?” Karim demanded.
“A Hummer just took out the pickup. Totaled it. Our men are out of action.”
“Where’s the Hummer?” Karim asked.
“I can’t see it anymore.”
The driver accelerated without being told.
Karim�
��s mind raced to find a solution. He knew the feds were onto the arms shipment, perhaps not exactly on him, so that could be in his favor. On the other hand, he could be the likely suspect due to double-crossing the FBI agent Higgins. He needed to get this truck off the road and unload the weapons.
He rationalized if they went out on the interstate as planned, the cops would be able to find him with ease. Out there every state trooper, county mountie and local would be on the lookout. If they continued on this road into the city and mingled with intercity traffic, they might be able to park near a U-Haul place, rent a truck, transfer the goods and be on their way in less than a half hour. Then they would be clean and the cops wouldn’t be looking for them, at least not immediately, as they would be in a different truck.
“Drive straight ahead. I remember this road. It will take us to downtown Savannah. I’ll give you directions off my phone.” He searched for the nearest place to rent a truck on his phone. Things were not going as he planned.
Before he could give any direction, the driver spoke first, confirming things had gone from bad to worse.
“We’ve got company. That Hummer is coming up on my side.”
55
Savannah, Georgia
Mike Alexandro was pissed. That damn raghead had stolen his goods. Now he had to get them back. For the first time in a very long time he felt rage. His muscles went taut, his focus dimmed to seeing only the truck ahead of him and his mind told him to kill the bastard. He floored the accelerator on the Hummer.