Dark Secrets

by Doug Pountain

  “How are you getting along with Colby”?

  “Actually very well, and he now fully realises the threat posed is very real”.

  “Before you go Graham I have one other piece of information that you won’t like. Fermi’s Daughter is already in New York, she arrived there early this morning. She travelled on a diplomatic passport and used a decoy at the airport to make us believe she was on a different flight”.

  “That could mean she will go straight to her Father’s apartment and then the shit will really hit the fan. She will know exactly who killed him and she could go after Aslanov or even worse his Daughter Cathy. Look Richard I have to go, things are getting very unpredictable here and we have very little time”.

  “Keep me up to date Graham as I have a meeting with the PM later and I will need to come clean about exactly what’s going on. One last thing before you go, our American friend blurted something out when we were questioning him and he kept repeating it. He said “Change Is Coming To All The World”. I spoke to the American Ambassador who told me of your meeting with him at the airfield, and strangely enough the man they have who arranged the false paperwork for Fermi at the Embassy, also spoke of “Change Coming To The World”.

  “At the moment they are still keeping him at the Embassy in London, even the Ambassador is not quite sure who to trust at the moment. Neither of us fully understand the meaning of the statement, and so we are still investigating its true meaning. If indeed the information from the two men is credible then this event could be much larger than we imagined. Graham let me ask you a question, have you ever heard of “The New World Order”?

  “I have, but if I remember correctly that title relates to groups from the distant past such as the “Illuminati” of the 18th century or the “Knights Templar” even further back in time, so I am as confused as you, maybe they have both been brainwashed. But having said that, we still have this upstate meeting that took place with Senator Dixon and the Russians and we have no idea what was being discussed, but I don’t think they were planning a picnic. But now you have said “New World Order” I am getting very concerned, but one thing at a time, we have things to do here first, I will keep you in the loop Richard, bye”.

  Graham’s mind was now working overtime as he pondered the exact meaning of all he had been told, but he was right, he had more pressing things to do. He turned and looked at the two FBI agents with a slight look of apprehension on his face.

  “Look, I know we have got to keep the Director informed as to what we find, but take those bloody ear pieces off, we are supposed to be tourists. Right David, Roger, Joyce and this Gentleman, I am sorry I don’t know your first name”.

  “Just call me Phillips”. Came the reply. “And I am Davis” said the other agent.

  “Alright have it your way, you will be team 1. Carl, Carol, Davis and I will be team 2 with this man, you take the Natural History Museum and we will take Ellis Island, and if we can move on to the other targets that’s even better. We are looking out for any strange requests by anyone, or new building work or maintenance work that has been carried out over the last couple of months. If you find anything keep it to yourselves but let me know, but most of all be safe”.

  The two groups got into the cabs and waved to each other as they went their separate ways, but the Museum was only minutes away from the Park and the David’s team where very soon in the queue to pay for entry with all the other tourists. Once inside they looked around at a few of the exhibits before the FBI man left the group and discreetly made his way from the others to the Curators Office, and a few minutes later he returned and asked the team to follow him. He led them down a corridor to a large office where they were introduced to a grey haired man.

  “Good morning, I am assured that there is no cause for concern by your visit, but the fact that you represent the FBI does worry me somewhat regardless of what I am told, so having said that what can I do for you”?

  David said “I cannot go into details, but have you recently had any inspections or work carried out anywhere in the building that took you by surprise, in fact anything that you were not expecting”?

  The curator went over to a large desk at the far side of his office and looked at the maintenance log for the building on his computer.

  “No, everything was exactly as planned. Oh there was one flying visit by the Public Health Team, I assume they were from City Hall, but they were only here a few minutes checking the cooling towers of the air conditioning system for any contamination, but it was all fine”.

  “Did anyone go with them to check what they were doing”?

  “No, they went alone through the maintenance hatch to the roof, as I said they were only here a few minutes”.

  David and Roger looked at each other. “That’s fine then, but I think we should just check what they did and that everything is in order”.

  “Shall I show you the way”?

  “No, we will be alright on our own, and when we have checked we will let you know. “Alright, the stairs are at the end of the corridor outside of my office”.

  The group quickly made their way to the stairs and up ten flights and finally out onto the roof, the view was magnificent over the Park and the Lake, but they were not here for that. They knew that if they were right their work would save possibly many lives that could be lost if panic set in this Great City, plus the effect it would have on the economy of this Great Nation if a terror attack took place. They walked over to the cooling towers and looked all around but there was no sign of anything out of the ordinary. This particular stairway only served this one small area of the roof, and so whatever had been done it had to be here somewhere. Even though the roof was very wet, Roger lay on the floor and looked under the towers.

  “There is an access panel here, but it has only got one nut holding it on and the others are on the floor underneath it”. He quickly removed the remaining nut and the small access panel fell to the floor.

  “Can you see anything Roger”? Asked David.

  “Not yet, but let me see if I can get my hand inside, I think I can feel something, hang on I have got it”. The FBI man took a step back as Joyce also knelt down.

  “I will pass it to you Joyce, but be very gentle because I haven’t got a fucking clue what it is”.

  She reached underneath as Roger handed her a metal box, and Joyce very slowly got to her knees and passed it on to David.

  “Well let’s have a look and see what we have, shall we”? And he very gently lifted the lid slightly to see if it could be booby trapped, but all was well and he finally removed it completely to reveal a green liquid contained within some kind of clear plastic ball about the size of a table tennis ball.

  “Do you know what it is”? Asked Joyce.

  “But this time it was the FBI man who spoke first. “I know exactly what it is, it’s VX Gas, it’s a nerve agent, and if the vial burst even though it is only a small amount these fans could spread the gas for possibly over a mile in radius, and that could kill thousands with a very horrible death”

  David looked at the package, “It’s linked to a phone and a tiny detonator, it is very crude but that doesn’t really matter, I don’t suppose they thought anyone would find it”.

  “Can you do anything with it”? Asked Roger. The American was by now getting very edgy, “Don’t touch it I will get a special team in to deal with it”.

  “Don’t be fucking stupid, you might as well take out an advert in the newspaper and tell everyone, your boss told you to do whatever we wanted so if you don’t like it just get out of the way or better fucking still go home”.

  David spent a few minutes examining the device, “Can I do anything to help”. Asked Joyce.

  “You know, you have bigger balls than some men I know”. He replied, show me your hands Joyce”?

  She held them forwards while David looked at them. “They really are much smaller than mine, so I want you to very slowly pull this yellow wire away from the explosive
while I hold the phone, are you ok with that”? He asked, “I certainly am”. She replied.

  Joyce knelt down beside David as he showed her the wire. “Are you ready”?

  “I certainly am”. She replied with no sign of hesitation in her voice.

  David held the phone steady and Joyce slowly pulled the cable until it was clear. “Well done Joyce”. Said Roger as he kissed her head, closely followed by David who kissed her full on her lips.

  “Is it safe now”?

  “Sort of, but I still have to remove the vial containing the gas”. David held his breath as he removed the “blu-tack” holding the vial in place inside the box, but by now the American was shaking like a jelly.

  “For fucks sake, stand still you are making me fucking nervous”. Said David.

  “I am sorry, but I know how this kills and it’s not very nice”.

  With the vial now free David handed it to Roger. What are you going to do with the explosive charge, even though it is very small”? He asked.

  “The location they chose is very good, all they had to do was to burst the vial and the cooling tower fans would have done the rest, that’s why it only needed a small charge and the explosion itself would have done very little damage. Davis call your boss and tell him we need a very discreet pickup of an item outside the Museum in 5 minutes, remember the word is discreet, tell him there is also an explosive device and a phone and I want to know everything about that phone ASAP, do you understand”?

  Davis nodded his head as he contacted Director Colby while Roger called Graham to explain what they had found which may be a clue and could help the team in their search on Ellis Island.

  “Give the box to me”. Said Joyce, I will carry it outside”.

  The others looked at her and smiled. The pickup was confirmed and they made their way down stairs while Davis went to the curator’s office and told him they had found nothing and reassured him that all was well. Much to everyone’s surprise as the group walked outside a small van pulled up a short distance away and a man wearing a UPS driver’s uniform got out,

  “Hello, I understand you have a special delivery item for collection” David as cautious as ever asked if Joyce could put it in the van.

  “Of course sir, allow me to open the doors”.

  Just as he had expected he found two very large men sat in the back armed with automatic weapons, and on the floor between them was a very special sealed container into which Joyce very gently placed the materials. “Thank you Madam, it will be delivered later today”.

  The man got back in the van and the group watched as it drove away, but they were also aware that following a short distance behind were two other large vehicles in support. But the pickup had been discreet and so everyone was pleased that part of the exercise had gone very well. David now contacted Graham to confirm all was well.

  “Where are you now Graham”?

  “We are just on the Ferry going to the Island”.

  “Right well we are off to City Hall to see what we can find there, let’s hope it is as easy as this one”. And Davis hailed a cab and the group scrambled inside.

  “Take us to City Hall please”. Said Roger as the cab sped off from the Museum and made its way into Downtown Manhattan, the driver kept talking about the weather and the heavy traffic, but no one was really listening, they had other things on their mind.

  “The maintenance boss here at City Hall is my Brother in Law, so if anyone can help us it will be him, I will give him a call and tell him to meet us outside”. Said Davis”.

  “Is he discreet”? Asked Roger.

  “He is a patriot and knows how to keep his mouth shut”. Replied Davis who had by now regained his lost composure.

  The journey through the City seemed to take forever as the cab weaved its way through the traffic and the road works, but eventually they arrived at the magnificent building that was City Hall. If anything were too happen at this location it would cripple the city completely and the cost to New York would be incalculable. At the bottom of the steps to the entrance stood a man who was very much over weight as many New Yorkers are, and even though it was a cold day he was sweating profusely. Davis shook his hand and introduced him, this is my Brother in Law, Eric.

  “Look Eric what I am about to tell you must go no further, if it did it could cost many lives all over this City and the Country, these people are from England and they are helping us prevent what could be a precursor to a possible coup. We believe that somewhere in this building an explosive device may have been planted, we have a time line for this event, so at the moment there is we believe no imminent danger, but we need your help”.

  Eric looked at this small band and said “I am a Veteran and a Patriot and I would die for my Country, so what can I do for you”? Joyce held the man’s hand and reassured him that with his help they could prevent a war. The look of pride on Eric’s face at the thought of being a hero was evident for all to see and she gave him a kiss on the cheek.

  “Let’s go to my office and continue this conversation in private”. He said.

  Now out of public gaze and in private the group explained everything including the fact that his own life was at stake if he ever spoke of this event to anyone.

  “Have you had any work carried out recently that you were not expecting, anything at all”?

  “No not really, I arrange and schedule everything and there is nothing out of the ordinary. Oh, we did have some filters changed on the cooling towers last week that I didn’t expect but that’s all”.

  They all quickly looked at each other before asking how to get access? Eric escorted them to the elevator and took them up to the roof level.

  “Were they here very long Eric”?

  “No, not really, I was surprised it took them such a short time, less than 30 minutes if I remember correctly”.

  There were several cooling towers serving the building and each was checked very carefully before David climbed on top of the largest unit where he found a metal box, but this time it was much larger than the one at the Museum. He carefully cut away some cable ties holding the box in place before passing down to Roger.

  “This one looks completely different, so let’s be very careful”.

  The box was sealed with duct tape which Joyce very slowly removed as Roger and David held the box very still, Eric looked at her “You have very big balls young lady”. To which Davis replied “You have no idea Eric and I certainly wouldn’t cross her if you want to live long enough to eat your dinner”.

  With the tape now removed David lifted the lid slightly. “This bastards booby trapped, if you remove the lid the explosive goes off and releases what looks to be the same type of liquid but this time with quite a few more vials, there is no way we can do it here, I don’t have the right kit. Phone your boss Davis and explain that we need another pickup but this time it needs to be bombproof”.

  “That’s not a problem, we have vehicles specifically for similar situations”. He replied, now trying to sound a little more in control, even if he was shower many beads of sweat on his brow and fear in his eyes.

  If Eric the maintenance engineer was sweating before, he certainly was now, his face had quickly turned bright red and a few seconds later he fell to the floor holding his chest and in great pain as he went in to cardiac arrest before seconds later he died. Davis held his Brother in Laws hand as the last breath of air left Eric’s lungs. But this was no time for sadness, no time for regret, the fate of this great city was as stake and Davis realised that.

  “This is no time for grieving, we will have to leave him here and just let someone find him later, we need to get outside fast”. And Davis with a small tear in his eyes agreed.

  “He was a good man and our families will miss him greatly, but above all he was a very proud American”.

  Even though he was now dead, Joyce knelt beside him and very gently held Eric’s hand and thanked him for his help, but it was time to go, they could do no more here. The gr
oup quickly made their way downstairs and out in to the street.

  “Give the box to me and you all walk away, that way it will not stand out that a group of people are looking inside a Big Truck”. Said Joyce. She was showing no sign of emotion or fear as she stood there holding a box with an explosive device and one of the most toxic substances known to man in her hand. But to Joyce this was her life now and she was in control of her own destiny at long last, she would make the decisions, be them right or wrong.

  The men watched from a distance as a large truck pulled up beside her and the side door opened and she climbed inside. It was all of 10 minutes before she finally reappeared from the vehicle and re-joined her friends before a few moments later the truck drove away and disappeared into the distance of Down Town Manhattan with the traffic. They looked around at all the people going about their daily business including Christmas shopping totally unaware that a man lay dead on the roof of City Hall, a man who was prepared to die and did so for his country. Suddenly David’s phone rang, it was Graham with an update, they too had discovered a box in the ventilation system and he also confirmed that it too was booby trapped, but the American FBI man with them was an explosives expert and he had managed to disarm the trap, but the bomb was still viable.

  “A Helicopter is on its way to collect the device from the Island and as soon as it has been picked up we are coming back to Battery Park, so it may be best if you meet us there”. Said Graham.

  “Alright we will see you in a little while, but have you noticed there is a pattern occurring here, I think the objective is to cause utter panic in the country, but only killing thousands and not millions”. Said David.

  “Yes your right, that thought had also crossed my mind”. Replied Graham. The devices even though they are deadly would not stop a nation, but let’s leave that thought until we meet up”.

  “Alright, see you later, oh before you go, we are going to make a slight detour by going to Grand Central Station for the last item”.

  “Alright, but stay safe”. Graham replied.