Coughing and sputtering the beat up old jalopy turned into town and made its way down the main street. When Zach found a place to park, near an open-front bar, he pulled in thinking a bar should be an excellent place to get the inside scoop. Several men stood around the entrance guzzling beer and laughing like they didn’t have a care in the world. Inside there was just a scattering of tables, Zach looked around and saw an old man sitting in the corner nursing the final remnants of a beer. The man had leathered skin, a mangled left hand and two prominent front teeth made of gold. Something about the man told Zach that he had found someone that would have a wealth of information. Approaching the man and grasping for the right words, he said, “¿Puedo comprarte una cerveza,” thinking that was a good phrase to know in many languages.
The old man held up the beer bottle as if he didn’t know it was almost empty and sensing Zach’s struggle with Spanish replied, “I do speak English, and thank you I could use another.”
Zach walked over to the counter ordered two beers and returned to the table beers in hand. “Mind if I have a seat?”
“You bought the beer.”
“Thanks, I’m Zach,” handing over a beer and taking a seat.
“You can call me Juan. So what brings you to town?”
“I’m here to do a documentary at Mount Roraima, and we’re staying at John Adams’ place so I thought I would check out the town.”
“Nice man, John, he always has work for us and pay’s well.
“So, any advice for me while we’re in the area? Are we safe here?”
“Well let’s see. The town has lots of stores, and you can buy almost anything you might want, but it won’t be cheap. If you need local help for anything, I can steer you to men you can trust. The miners can get rowdy when they’ve had too much to drink, but other than that they are good folks. Most of the men standing out front are miners. Now for what you were asking me. Try and stay away from the men with a red bandana, they work for someone you don’t want to upset. If you value your life, stay off the road leading to the gold mines, those in charge are protective of that area. Other young men that are flashy with their cars and gold chains may not be the most honest lot. All in all, it’s a good town, don’t stick your nose into other peoples business and you will be fine.”
“Sounds like good advice,” looking at Juan’s empty beer bottle, “Care for another?”
“Since your paying, don’t mind if I do.”
Zach retrieved two more beers and sat listening to Juan’s colorful life stories, feigning interest even when they became wearing. All of a sudden the blare of an alarm pierced the air and lights started to flash. Interrupting his story mid-sentence Juan looked outside and said, “Quite the alarm for an old piece of junk. It looks like someone wants in your car.”
Without a goodbye, Zach jumped up and made a panicked dash towards the SUV. When the two boys saw Zach running towards them, they ran down the street and disappeared around a corner. The assembled crowd looked at Zach puzzled that he had an alarm that must be worth more than the vehicle. Shrugging, Zach disabled the alarm, climbed in and headed out of town.
Back at the house, Zach walked in and found six zombies absorbed in some action-adventure flick. Not one of them noticed him standing at the back of the home movie theater. “You know, those movies make it look too simple, don’t expect everything to just fall into place like that in real life.”
The response was a “shush” in perfect unison. Aware that at this moment in time it didn’t matter, Zach sat down to watch the rest of the movie. After the film, a selection of old cartoons filled the screen. Uproarious laughter exceeding the level of humor on display came from every seat. First the peanut butter debate and now this, Zach realized his team was wound as tight as a drum. At a loss for words, Zach said nothing.
While he had faced close calls on a few of his adventures, that wasn’t the case for the rest of the team. They had far surpassed expectations during training, which was why they were already in the field. However, they would no longer be using marker rounds. Now it was all real, with real bullets and munitions, and the distinct possibility that if you got shot that was it. At that moment, which couldn’t have been more opportune in Zach’s mind, Clay and Shawn burst in joking about their secret stash while gnawing on big chunks of beef jerky. “Could use some help with all this damn food,” Shawn bellowed.
Once the food was put away, they all decided on plain ole hamburgers and fries for their evening meal. Over the course of the meal, Zach detailed his conversation with Juan, emphasizing the red bandanas, not sure if those men worked for Rafael or someone else. The gold road was north of the area they were interested in so he mentioned it as more of an FYI. To close out the evening Zach said, “Tomorrow it gets real, everyone needs to get some sleep, and we’ll meet at zero six hundred hours to review details for the day. Goodnight everyone.” Then headed off to his room.
Chapter 14
Venezuela
Linda was the first to wake up, looked at the clock which displayed five something and decided to get up. She headed to the kitchen and started a big pot of coffee brewing. Linda dove into the frig and came out with two packages of bacon and a flat of eggs. There were several large sheet pans in a cabinet next to the stove, she pulled out a single tray for the bacon and with just a modicum of overlap managed to get all the bacon on one pan then shoved it into the oven. Retrieving a bowl, Linda deftly opened two eggs at a time using just her thumbs and index fingers. When the aroma of fresh coffee and bacon filled the house, she was sure a group of delighted men would soon greet her.
Instead, a team of robots efficiently moved the nutrition from the plates to their mouths in silent repetition until the dishes were void of food. Once the last one had placed the utensil down in an apparent programmed motion, Linda wondered if any of them even knew they had just eaten bacon and eggs. While she understood the men’s preoccupied mental state, she still selfishly wanted recognition for her effort. Her disappointment was not lost on Zach, he walked over, placed his hand on her shoulder and said, “Thank you for a wonderful breakfast,” but almost as if it was a meaningless platitude, continued, “let’s all convene in the theater to go over satellite images.”
The giant screen came to life as the team was getting settled, and displayed an image from that morning centered on John’s house. “This is us,” Zach said. Zooming out a little and using an electronic highlighter, he said, “This is Rafael’s compound. Green team, your objective for today is to get ears on the place. Mainly for show, the white team will be taking a helicopter ride around Mount Roraima, and hopefully, we can get the pilot to take us on an extended tour that passes over the compound. We’ll tell him we want to see John’s place from the air but give him directions for Rafael’s place.”
Zach switched to a dated image of the area, “As you can see, at one time there was a road leading to the complex, abandoned once the compound was finished. All traffic in and out now seems to be limited to helicopters.”
Switching back to the current view, “I think you can still make it part way down the road, but most of your work will have to be done on foot. Green team, I want you to be prepared for anything. Have a USP Compact Tactical in an ankle holster and a MK 23 Mod 0 on your thigh. Remember this is no longer an exercise, if you have to shoot, you are saving your life or one of your teammates’ lives. Everyone ready?” Met with silence, Zach finished with, “Let’s do it.”
For the white team, the day’s prep was simple, Phil and Barry gathered some video equipment together, and the team was ready. The green team's prep wasn't as easy. Chris and Ray dug through the bags in the game room and pulled out the listening devices they hoped would do the job, based solely on the satellite images. They had other listening equipment available but wanted to carry as little as possible. At the same time, Justin and Clay were getting the holsters, guns, and ammo together. The four then gathered the rest of the equipment they might need and loaded everything into the
green SUV. With both teams ready to pull out, Chris thought it was a good time to mention a feature of the vehicles Zach may not know.
“While I was playing with the onboard computer, I discovered there were several running modes to choose from, old mode, normal mode, and silent mode. Those are my names for them, but you get the idea. There are other things, but for today that should cover what you are doing,” Chris said.
“I want you to fill everyone in on what other features these things have, but it can wait till this evening,” came Zach’s response.
As part of their cover, the white team would make the three-hour drive to Santa Elena de Uairen where they would charter a helicopter. Zach's biggest concern was what it would take to convince the pilot to deviate from his standard flight plan. Zach fired up the Land Rover to the noise and smoke that was programmed. Tapping a command on the computer screen, it instantly stopped. The smoke and noise disappeared, replaced by the sound of a modern vehicle with a smokeless exhaust. As they pulled away from the house, they all waved as the green team gave them a collective thumbs up.
Shortly after the vehicle turned south onto highway ten, the backseat came to life with childhood car games that would last the entire drive. ‘I spy with my little eye’ was the most popular game. Barry, Shawn, and Phil were taking the game seriously, they went so far as to have a wager for winning and quickly made up some rules on how they would determine a winner. That led to loud conversations regarding the meaning of the rules, along with the occasional “stupid clue” and “you’ve got to be kidding” echoing throughout the interior.
Linda was in the passenger seat and sat in quiet contemplation. Most of the time she looked outside taking in the passing scenery. Every once in a while she would look over at Zach and wonder ‘when.’ Zach could sense her eyes gazing at him from time to time but showed no acknowledgment. His focus was now on the mission. When they passed through San Francisco de Yuruani Zach pointed out that was the turnoff for Mount Roraima, based on the lack of response, he thought, so much for being a tour guide.
They had no problem finding the airport and helicopter pilot after arriving in Santa Elena de Uairen. However, it did take some coaxing and ample funds before the pilot agreed to the extended flight Zach wanted. A trip as far north as Las Claritas would put his chopper at the limit of its fuel range for a round-trip flight. First, Zach had explained they just needed to do a quick flyby of the Mount Roraima cliffs since they would have two cameras filming everything. Secondly, he assured the pilot that if they got too low on fuel, he could touch down before Santa Elena and Zach would have a fuel truck come to them. The pilot was dubious of that last claim, but the money was a hefty sum, and he was almost positive he could make it round trip. With a handshake, the pilot and Zach agreed, and the team went to board the chopper.
The cabin only had room for four people so Shawn, being a pilot himself, suggested he take the co-pilot seat. To improve their angle of view Barry and Phil sat directly behind the cockpit where the side windows were largest. Tucked away in the back, but still with an acceptable visual field, were Linda and Zach. When the chopper lifted off Linda clutched Zach’s knee as if she was nervous. Zach ignored the gesture knowing Linda had flown in all manner of craft and was never anxious, therefore, reassurance wasn’t necessary. Removing her hand, she realized Zach had entered his singular focus mindset just like he did on all his adventures.
With the chopper approaching the adventure site, Phil and Barry started recording the cliffs for Zach’s assessment when they were back at the house. Zach made a note of a cliff face not that far south of the base camp where tourists started the hiker-friendly trek along a path to the top. Once Roraima was behind them the pilot set a northwest course for highway ten. Spotting the road the pilot turned due North and would go as far as Las Claritas before turning around. At Zach’s direction, the pilot headed west of the highway. Zach insisted the house should be in the immediate vicinity. Phil and Barry picked up on the cue and started recording again. Through the telephoto lenses, the compound appeared. Phil pointed, and said, “There it is.” Seeing where he was pointing the pilot headed in the direction of Phil’s finger.
Neither man was picking up much activity inside the compound. They had only spotted two men who appeared to be cleaning up the yard. With the sound of the approaching helicopter that changed instantly. From a long building next to the main house, a flood of men all with M16’s burst into the courtyard aiming their weapons at the sound of the chopper. When the pilot saw the guns, his immediate reaction was not to play games with these men and turned towards the east.
Shawn turned to talk to his teammates in the cabin when the intensity of a bright flash made their eyelids seem nonexistent. Everyone, save Shawn, was blinded by the light. The deafening noise that accompanied the light shook every rivet of the helicopter. Shocked and blinded the pilot lost control of the chopper as it pitched and went into a tailspin. Shawn spun around grabbed the stick and wrestled to bring the bird back from a crash trajectory. Kissing the tree canopy the chopper lifted, stabilized itself and sped south.
It took the better part of the trip back to Santa Elena de Uairen for the blindness to diminish to the point surrounding images even registered. When they finally landed the pilot jumped from the cockpit and ran around his helicopter caressing the metal as if to tell the chopper it would be okay. The pilot checked the extent of damage caused by the explosion but stopped, lost in total confusion. There was no damage. He expected to find large chunks of the frame torn away but there wasn’t even a scratch anywhere to be seen. With his helicopter safe, rage set in, the pilot gave Zach a dirty look, and screamed, “You fuckin’ asshole, you almost got me killed.”
“Sorry, I wasn’t expecting that,” Zach replied, as he handed the pilot a wad of cash.
The pilot grabbed the cash and stormed off, “never again, never again,” was all the pilot could be heard saying.
Still dazed the team climbed into the SUV, with Shawn being the most lucid he settled into the driver’s seat. As they headed north on highway ten, Zach made a quick call to Bigfoot. Trying to explain what had just happened as best he could, Zach was sure Bigfoot would have an answer for them. What he got was a, ‘we’ll look into it.’ On their trip back to John’s, no childhood games were being played. They rode in silence with the only sounds those of the vehicle. When they finally made it back to the house, they walked through the front door still visibly shaken by the day’s events.
~~~
Justin, Clay, and Ray climbed into the green SUV once they saw the white team was on their way. Chris was standing just outside the SUV and asked Justin to set it to silent mode. Listening to the engine’s noise, he stepped backward counting off his steps. When Chris had retreated eleven feet the sound of the engine running was gone, impressed with the results he returned to the vehicle and got in. The green team had a trip of less than half a mile after turning south onto highway ten. They found where the road should have been and pulled off the highway. It was apparent this spot had once been a road, but just as obvious was the fact it hadn’t been used in years. Clay and Ray grabbed machetes, hopped from the vehicle, surveyed the area, and cut down a swath of vegetation. The SUV pulled forward and stopped where dense plants again stood in their way. While they were confident the Land Rover could plow down the overgrowth, they waited as Clay and Ray finished their task. Two trees close to the row they cut were used as endpoints for the netting they strung across the opening. Using the vegetation they had cut down, the roadside view of the mesh was covered with the cuttings. To anyone passing by on the road, all they would see was uninterrupted vegetation. Satisfied with their work Clay and Ray climbed back into the vehicle.
The SUV crawled forward at a snail’s pace, pushing the vegetation beneath the vehicle. On occasion, a tree had grown large enough it required a quick cut to allow their progress to continue. When they reached a point two thousand feet from where the compound should be, Justin stopped the Land Ro
ver, and everyone climbed out. They opened the rear and divided the gear amongst the four of them. They snuck towards the complex with their M23’s drawn. They had no information on whether there were regular patrols of the area. As the wall came into sight, trepidation grew as they were sure patrols must be nearby. They reached the complex without encountering any guards. If there were external patrols, they were nowhere near the team’s location. The wall’s structure indicated there had been a vehicle entrance here at one time. It had since been replaced with another section of solid wall. Ray pulled a meter from his pack and placed it against the wall. With a muffled whistle, he whispered, “Six inches of solid steel.”
They all agreed their first order of business was to walk the entire perimeter of the wall and take an occasional glance inside the complex. Chris attached a miniature camera to the bracket on a telescoping rod and extended it until an image from inside appeared on the remote display. Everyone watched the screen as the camera sent images from its vantage point. All they saw were men with rifle’s slung over their shoulder’s cleaning the yard. Lowering the camera, they moved on.
What they were quick to identify was that if men patrolled the area surrounding the compound, it was rare. The vegetation showed no sign of trampling from constant patrols. About five hundred feet from their starting location they came across a door in the wall. The area around the door showed signs of foot traffic, but no paths were leading to the door. Clay made a note for further investigation. They continued with Chris taking regular peeks inside the compound. When Chris’s camera displayed the satellite dish, he looked around for a tall tree and found one that would require pole climbing gear to ascend. Tagging the tree, Chris said, “perfect place for the snooper.”
Beyond Top Secret: A Zach Taylor Adventure Page 12
