The Isle of Devils HOLY WAR

by R. C. Farrington

  By the time they reached Broadway the limo was in sight. They continued past the round-about and on to Trimingham Hill. To Savage’s surprise the limo went east on South Shore instead of west. Storm would have bet they would have gone west on South Shore towards the Dockyard. Savage yelled out, “What the hell are they going that way for? Don’t lose them, Storm.”

  Storm yelled back, “Don’t worry. As long as they don’t go over twenty five miles per hour we have a chance. This toy scooter can’t go any faster.” The duo followed the limo all the way past the airport.

  Savage now thought the Arabs were going to St. George’s, but once again he was wrong. The limo turned off the round-about in the direction of St. David’s Island. Savage was bewildered. There was nothing in St. David’s that would interest terrorists. Savage tapped Storm on the shoulder and said, “Don’t lose them now, mate. They’re running out of real estate. There’s basically one way in and one way out of St. David’s.

  Storm snapped back, “Alright, quit telling me what to do. I won’t lose them.” The duo kept back at a safe distance, making sure that the limo was not going to lose them. Savage was shocked to see the limo enter the old US Navy base which ran parallel to the Bermuda International Airport.

  Savage thought to himself, “What in the world are these Arabs going to do now, hijack a jet?” The limo did not stop at the airport, but instead circled around the end of the runway and made its way on to Cooper’s Island.

  Storm yelled back to Savage, “Where are they going? All I see is a tourist beach ahead of us.”

  Savage yelled back, “You’re not going to believe what’s on the other side of that beach, and I bet that’s where they’re going.”

  Storm asked, “So tell me, what’s there.”

  Savage replied, “It’s an abandoned NASA communication tracking centre. It might be loaded with old equipment.” Savage was right. For years this NASA base had tracked rockets and the space shuttle as they launched from the Kennedy Space Center. The extra long runway in Bermuda was always an option for the space shuttle to make an emergency landing after liftoff. A few years after the US Navy closed their base in the Bermuda, NASA decided to close their tracking centre. As the limo turned the last corner before nearing the NASA centre Savage tapped Storm on the shoulder and said, “Pull over here. If we get any closer they’ll see us.” Storm pulled the scooter off the road and they hid it behind some bushes.

  The duo ran alongside of the road. As they rounded the curve they could see the limo stopping in front of a huge gate that spanned across the entire road. Savage stopped and said, “Well mate, that’s about the end of the line for those Arabs. That’s an electronic gate, and I’m sure the power to the centre has been shut off for a couple of years.”

  No sooner had Savage quit talking then a window rolled down in the limo and a hand came out of the window holding a small controller box. Within seconds the gate began to open. Storm said, “So much for it being the end of the line my brother.”

  Savage snapped back, “Alright, but we better get moving before the gate closes.” The two went on a dead run on the right side of the road trying to get there before the gate closed yet hoping not to be seen. As the limo passed through the gate entrance, it stopped and let one of the Arabs out. Once out, the limo continued on out of sight. The gate continued to close. It was now apparent to Storm and Savage that the Arab was left at the gate to guard it.

  Both men moved over behind some bushes. Once out of sight Storm asked, “Now what? The gate closed, and there’s an Arab probably with a gun guarding it.”

  Savage pointed towards the gate and said, “See that phone booth up there in the middle of the road just in front of the gate?”

  Storm replied, “Yeah, so what?”

  Savage continued on, “You casually walk up to the phone booth and call for backup and distract the Arab while I sneak around the gate.”

  Storm started to nod his head in agreement, but abruptly stopped and said, “Are you nuts?”

  Savage laughed and added, “Just kidding mate.”

  Storm said, “Keep this up and I’ll have to kick your Bermuda butt.”

  Savage smiled and signaled for Storm to follow him. He turned to his right and walked through some thick overgrown bushes coming out onto a walking trail. Savage said, “This trail will take us around to the other side of the centre. If my memory serves me right, there’s a low place in the stone wall that we can climb to get on the NASA grounds.” After running along the trail for about one hundred yards they came to the low wall. To Storm’s surprise someone had already placed a couple of cinder blocks at the wall to make it easier to bridge. Savage said, “See mate I told you so.” The two climbed over the wall and stepped down on a mass of concrete over one hundred feet wide and fifty feet in length.

  Storm looked around and said, “What is this? This huge slab of concrete is as big as a parking lot and why the twenty degree slope?”

  Savage replied, “This is the water catchment for the centre. When it rains, the water flows down the incline and drains into holding tanks. This would have been their source of water. In case you haven’t noticed, Bermuda has no rivers. We have to catch our water when it rains.”

  Storm replied, “Thanks for the lesson, but let’s move it before someone sees us in the middle of this water catchment.” The two quickly ran up to the top of the water catchment where they laid down and looked over the edge. They were now looking down over the rest of the complex. They could not see the front gate and the guard from here, but they could see the empty parked limo and a door standing wide open on the main building.

  Storm asked, “What do you think these guys are doing here?”

  Savage replied, “Not sure, but I bet it has something to do with that weather tracking tower over there.”

  Storm added, “You may be right, but the only way we’re going to find out is to go in that building.” Savage agreed and the two climbed down off the water catchment and scrambled over to the building.

  By the time they got there, Savage was huffing and puffing. He said, “All this running is about to do me in.”

  Storm replied, “Well old man if you want to go wait for me over in that limo I’m sure the Arabs won’t mind.’

  Savage replied, “Shut your bloody mouth mate. Let’s go see what these Arabs are up to.” The two went quietly through the doorway not knowing what they would find.

  The Secret of Cooper’s Island

  Storm and Savage cleared the doorway, and instantly it was clear that the NASA centre had been significantly gutted when the facility was abandoned. They both looked around, but were not having any luck finding the Arabs. Finally Storm grabbed Savage and whispered, “Wait a minute. I think I hear voices down the hallway.” Both men stopped to listen, and sure enough they heard voices. In single file they silently went down the long hallway towards the door where the sound was coming from. Savage was the first to peek into the room. He could quickly tell this had been the NASA command room. The room was large with high ceilings and featured very large tracking screens completely covering one wall. The room was dark, and surprisingly most of the equipment in the room was operational. The duo crawled into the room and hid behind a large desk that was off to one side.

  Savage turned to Storm and whispered, “I can’t believe the US government would leave all this equipment behind and unguarded.”

  Storm whispered back, “I don’t think they did. I think these rich Arabs smuggled this equipment into Bermuda in one of their oil tankers. It looks to me like they plan on tracking something, but what? ”

  Savage replied, “Well, we’re here now. Let’s just watch and listen. Maybe we’ll find out.” From their vantage point they could see and hear everything that was going on in the command room.

  Sheik Hooda was in the center of the room talking to three other Arabs. He said, “Men, history is in the making. From this room two of you will be able to track our progress and warn us if any Westerners espe
cially the United States are trying to interfere with our progress.”

  One of Hooda’s men turned to him and asked, “With only two of us here and the guard at the gate what happens if the local authorities force their way in here?”

  Hooda became agitated. He yelled back, “Do you think I am a fool? First of all, we have a two year lease on the facility with the Bermuda Government. They would not dare enter the complex. And should anyone ever do so, you already know what to do. No matter what, I want no trace of what we have done here. When we are done you know what to do. ”

  Savage whispered to Storm, “Sounds to me like this place is already wired to explode.”

  Storm replied back, “I think now we can stop calling these guys Arabs and start calling them terrorists.”

  Hooda went on to say, “It’s time for me to leave. Get all systems running and began the testing. I will contact you when it’s time.” The two terrorists nodded their heads in agreement. Hooda said something in Arabic and left the room with one terrorist following him. One of the two remaining terrorists closed and locked the door. He returned to the console where the other terrorist was sitting and began typing on the keyboard.

  Within minutes the screens on the big wall were lit up showing all sorts of activities. Storm and Savage had no idea what most of the screens represented, but they could make out satellite images of the Eastern United States, the Atlantic Ocean, and Bermuda.

  Savage whispered to Storm, “I think we finally have something solid to report to the Commissioner and the FBI.”

  Storm whispered back, “You’re right. Can you call the Commissioner now for backup?”

  Savage nodded and pulled out his cell phone and tried to call the Commissioner’s office. He quickly snapped his cell phone closed and said, “This room must be made out of nothing but concrete and steel. I’m not getting any bars on my phone.” Savage was right. The command room was solid concrete reinforced with steel. When NASA built the structure they wanted to make sure the room would withstand any hurricane or massive waves. Needless to say the room was noise proof and waterproof.

  Storm added, “That’s great. Now I have another question. How the hell are we going to get out that bolted door without our friends seeing us?”

  Savage whispered back, “The only way I know is to let those bloody bastards know we’re here.”

  Storm snapped back, “Oh that’s a great idea. They’ve got all the weapons and we don’t even have a pea shooter.”

  Savage smiled and said, “Don’t worry, mate. You stay under this table and watch me. You’ll know what to do.” Puzzled Storm looked at Savage, but before he could say anything Savage stood up and walked slowly towards the bolted door. The terrorists were so busy they had not noticed Savage. Savage reached for the rusty bolt and began to slide it over unlocking the door. The movement of the bolt echoed throughout the room causing both terrorists to turn around. Savage turned around sensing he had been spotted and quickly held up his badge. The first thing Savage could think of saying was, “Hello, mates. I am the St. David’s building inspector. I need to see your occupational license.”

  Both terrorists looked at each other trying to understand what in the hell Savage was talking about. Finally both terrorists stood up. One grabbed a machete and the other grabbed his AK-47. The one with the machete walked towards Savage swinging his machete saying, “Infidel, what in the hell are you doing here?” Savage just stood there. He looked over at Storm and winked. At this point he knew there was probably nothing to say to stop the terrorist from attacking him. The terrorist was now within a few feet of him yelling, “You idiot! You are going to die now.” As he stepped forward towards Savage swinging the machete wildly, Savage blocked the terrorist’s arm with the machete and hit him so hard in the face with his right fist that the terrorist went flying. He landed on his back on top of the desk Storm was hiding under. Upon impact the machete went flying out of his hand. As the terrorist recovered from the blow he jumped up ripping open his shirt exposing a vest made out of dynamite. He pulled out a wireless detonator from his pocket and raising his hand straight up in the air yelled, “Infidel, the holy war is upon you. You will die with me for the cause.” Savage was shocked. He had never seen a suicide bomber before, except the terrorist from a distance on the speed boat. He knew if he tried to disarm the terrorist he and Storm would probably die instantly in the explosion. All he could do was back up, look for cover, and hope for the best.

  He did try to distract the terrorist by saying, “Mate, are you sure you want to destroy everything in this room? Won’t that mess up your boss’ plans?”

  The terrorist seemed to be in a trance. He slowly replied, “Hooda will forgive me. Two less devil dogs would be worth it.”

  Storm could see he had only seconds to react. He was behind the terrorist. He looked over noticing the machete on the floor. Storm rolled out from under the table, grabbed the machete, and jumped to his feet. He knew if he ran the machete though the back of the terrorist he might still push the button on the wireless detonator. Instead he raised the machete over his head and swung as hard as he could slashing off the terrorist’s arm that was holding the detonator. The terrorist fell to the floor screaming in agonizing pain. Storm had swung so hard that he had lost his balance. As he was falling he could see the terrorist’s arm falling to the floor. Fortunately the arm hit the floor palm up protecting the detonator. The machete went sliding across the room in the opposite direction of Storm.

  The other terrorist seeing this began firing the AK-47 in automatic mode blasting everything in sight. There was not a safe corner in the room. Savage, seeing the machete on the floor, leaped for it and grabbed it by the blade. He stood up and threw the machete as hard as he could lodging it deep into the chest of the other terrorist. As the terrorist fell over he continued firing his weapon exploding most of the equipment and screens. When he hit the floor, the room went silent and he was dead. Storm looked over at the terrorist with the missing arm. He could tell he was also dead. He had been struck in the forehead by a stray bullet from the AK-47.

  Savage walked over to the bloody arm on the floor and removed the detonator from the hand. He looked over at Storm and said, “Thanks, mate, for saving my life. I guess you disarmed the terrorist and the explosives at the same time. I never would have thought of chopping off his arm.” He bent over extending his hand to Storm and helped him up.

  As the two looked around the room Storm said, “Well, l I think this room is pretty trashed. I don’t think Hooda will be using this as his terrorist command center any time soon. Do you think we can sneak out the back way and alert the Commissioner now?”

  Savage replied, “I think that’s a good idea mate.” The two quietly left the building, but before they exited the facility they checked on the terrorist guarding the gate. He had heard nothing. The command room was really soundproof.

  The two climbed back up onto the rain catchment and made their way back out through the dense brush and trails they had come in on. Once back to the scooter, Storm pulled out his cell phone and called the Commissioner. The Commissioner answered, “Yes, Savage. What have you got for me? It had better be good. I just had to cut my call short with the Governor.”

  Savage replied, “Oh, it’s good sir.”

  The Commissioner impatiently said, “Well then, what is it?”

  Savage went on to say, “Hooda and his men have a terrorist command centre in the old abandoned NASA Tracking Center on Cooper’s Island.”

  The Commissioner replied, “Are you sure? If you’re wrong there will be hell to pay Savage.”

  Savage replied, “Yes sir I’m right. Plus, you’ll find two dead terrorists there. When can you get there? Shall we stay and preserve the evidence in the facility?”

  The Commissioner replied, “It’s going to take over six hours to get the proper paper work to access the facility, and it will have to be under the pretense of some type of site inspection. By the way, how the hell did you get in the
re?”

  Savage was slow to reply, “We did a site inspection also, but the terrorists didn’t seem to buy into it.”

  The Commissioner added, “Never mind. Savage, I don’t want to know anymore. Get the hell out of there before anyone sees you. Good bye.”