by Jerry Ahern
“Originally, there was a system of ditches as well as tunnels,” Jones said. “The entire system consisted of dike water development tunnels, surface water intakes, open ditches, gates, flumes, siphons, roads, trails, camps, support shops, etc. That system started at Kahana Valley in windward O’ahu and collected primarily groundwater and some surface water through a series of tunnels in the Ko’olau Mountains, transporting the non-potable water to Central and Leeward O’ahu primarily for agricultural purposes on about 4,000 acres of sugar cane lands.”
“How big is this thing?” Shaw asked.
Jones, now really becoming irritated, said, “If you’ll stop interrupting, I’ll get to that.” Taking a deep breath, Jones continued, “The total length of the Waiāhole Ditch and Tunnel system is approximately 25 miles, stretching from Kahana Valley to the Leeward plains. The system is comprised of two major parts. The collection part of the system consisted almost entirely of tunnels, starting from Kahana and running through Waiawa. This is where the water is collected. At Waikane, there are two development tunnels: Waikane One Development Tunnel and Waikane Two Development Tunnel. The system then enters the lands of Uwau and Waianu. Here, the Uwau Development Tunnel has two components: the original Uwau Tunnel on the windward side of the Koolau crest and its extension on the leeward side of the Koolau crest.”
“Beyond the North Portal, the system-wide tunnel then goes downstream, descending and entering into the lands of the Waiawa; it is also known as the Waiāhole Main Bore. The length of the system is about 14,500 feet, and the elevation is approximately 724 feet at the south portal and 754 feet at the North Portal. I also need to caution you that the Trans-Ko’olau Tunnel or the Waiāhole Main Bore develops groundwater. The entire system runs from the northwest of the Kahana valley, along the Ko’olau Mountain Range, to the southeast and the Waiāhole valley with the side tunnels entering the main system at these points.” Jones drew the bayonet from his side and pointed; he always liked the impact that had.
Clearing his throat again, Jones boomed, “Now, on to team assignments. Secret Service, you will hit Waikane #1 and #2. The Honolulu County Sheriff’s Department will cover the Kahana and North Portal routes, and that will leave Provincial Guard personnel to hit the Uwau Tunnel, its extension and the Trans-Ko’olau Tunnel. Bear in mind, these systems have been abandoned for a long time; there is no telling what obstacles you may run into. It is possible that entire sections have collapsed and are impassable; it is almost a certainty that we will encounter hostile forces. We will have attack helicopters and fighter jet support from the Kaneohe Marine Air Base.”
Jones saw a hand come up in the back but could not see who it was attached too. “Yes, in the back. Please stand and identify yourself.”
The man stood and asked, “What type of weaponry will be employed?”
Jones’ frustration betrayed itself again, “I said to ‘stand and identify yourself.’ Who the hell are you?”
“My name is John Rourke, General, and I’m trying to determine how many of these people you’re going to get killed in this operation, that’s all.”
“We will be using the standard energy type weapons we always use, why?”
Rourke shook his head, “That’s what I figured you would say. General, those weapons will not work on these opponents. I’ve come up against these forces twice; I guarantee you they won’t work.” Pulling one of the Detonics from his shoulder holster, Rourke said, “You need weapons like this to win against them. I assume, General; your plan is to win. Correct?”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Transport of the various teams to their assigned locations had been accomplished by both ground and air transports. The process of transport had begun at 0230 hours. The Honolulu County Sheriff personnel had been formed into two teams. Team One was to enter the Kahana tunnel at 0430 hours; they had moved into their assigned area via the highway that ran from the old Schofield Barracks location to Whitmore Village.
They were to clear the entrance and move to the main tunnel and, if no resistance was encountered, move southward to make contact with the other teams and continue to sweep the main tunnel. The second Sheriff’s team had been flown by chopper from Highway 63 to their location at the south end of the tunnel system to “catch any rats leaving the trap.”
The two Secret Service Teams had offloaded with the first Sheriff team and, utilizing their AATVs, had moved to their locations. Tim Shaw and John Anders were leading the two Secret Service Teams that would be exploring Waikane tunnels #1 and #2. They were to have Shaw’s team enter Tunnel #1, clear the entrance, and begin moving south to hook up with Anders where the entrance for #2 connected to the main tunnel. Five minutes after Shaw started into Tunnel #1, Anders and his team would start on #2. Should resistance be found in #1, it would be possible to plug that hole with Anders’ team.
Failing to find resistance, Shaw would join forces with Anders and the Sheriff’s personnel, and all teams would continue to move southward toward the other tunnels and the teams that would be entering them at staggered times. Within 30 minutes of Shaw’s entry, all other teams should have entered their tunnels and plugged the hole trapping any enemy combatants.
The Provincial Guard had driven from Pearl City as far as they could then moved out on foot to get to their locations. General Jones had divided the Provincial Guard personnel into two teams. The first team, led by Jones, had entered the Uwau Tunnel and its extension. The second team, led by Major Chris Barnett, was in the Trans-Ko’olau Tunnel. Barnett was an excellent officer, a strong leader who took care of his people, while taking care of the mission; the exact opposite of his narcissistic commanding officer. By 0330 hours, all teams were in position and ready.
In the final minutes before the push was to start, each of all of the team’s members were making final checks on their weapons. John Rourke, with Tim Shaw’s team, heard one of the Secret Service Agents intone what could be his last prayer, “Lord, make me fast and accurate. Let my aim be true and my hand faster than those who seek to destroy me. Grant me victory over my foes and those who wish to do harm to me and mine. Let my last thought not be, ‘If only I had my gun,’ and Lord, if today really is the day you call me home, let me die in a pile of empty brass.”
At 0410 hours, the attack helicopters from the Kaneohe Marine Air Base launched for the short flight to the tunnel system. Ten minutes later, the fighter jet support launched from the same base and established a high-level CAP (Combat Air Patrol) flight pattern of the tunnels. For the ensuing 20 minutes, everyone waited.
All of the personnel involved in the Tunnel Sweep were dressed in black military-style energy suits, complete with helmets that offered secure communications and infrared sight modes. Four men from each team comprised the lead search elements; they were armed with energy rifles but carried pistols with conventional ammunition. The rest of the teams carried the Lancer M-16 A-12s, which used standard lead and copper nickel slugs.
John Thomas Rourke had insisted on this based on his first encounter with Captain Dodd at the Mediterranean archeological site and the Battle of the Forest. John carried his standard CAR-15, his twin Detonics .45, and the Mag-na-Ported and Metalifed Colt .357 Python at the small of his back.
The hard chrome plating process that Metalife perfected had some remarkable properties compared to traditional chrome plating. Metalife’s hard chrome plating would not separate from the base metal. The superior bond eliminated flaking and cracking seen with traditional hard chrome. Critical edges, sharp edges, and threaded edges weren’t affected by the chrome plating nor were critical tolerances, as the standard thickness ranged from only .00005” to .0005”.
Knowing the energy weapons would not work against the clones and their energy suits, Rourke’s hope was the use of those energy weapons by the American forces would make the enemy more aggressive and the non-energy weapons would save the day.
Sheriff Royce Crawford made a final call to his second team and confirmed they were ready to
make entry. Six years ago, Crawford had been the youngest Sheriff ever elected for Honolulu County. At six feet four inches tall and weighing in at 245 pounds, he was now a seasoned veteran of law enforcement. Early in his second term, he had created a Special Response Team; today was their first actual mission other than training.
Crawford knew that he had to secure the northern end of the tunnel system; that would involve entering the eastern tunnel access opening and making his way to the main tunnel, leaving a holding force there and splitting off a team to turn north and clear the northern tunnel access. Once that had been accomplished, that team would rejoin Crawford, and they would begin the sweep southward to hook up with the other “friendlies.”
Each of the teams had difficulty locating the entries to their access tunnels due to the active or adaptive counter-illumination camouflage. It had taken each team about 10 minutes to locate the entries and pass through that barrier.
The Secret Service and Provincial Guard units were to hold positions where their access tunnel joined the main one. This way, at every access junction, more personnel would be added to the sweeping force as it headed down the main tunnel; the only questions were what kind of shape were these tunnels in and when would they contact the enemy?
Arriving at the junction, Sheriff Crawford sent 10 men north, and 20 minutes later, they returned without enemy contact. Crawford started his rejoined force down the main tunnel; the operation was now fully engaged.
John Rourke and Tim Shaw’s team had been forced to scramble over fallen debris from the roof on the Waikane access tunnel. Dirt and rocks had nearly filled the tunnel in two places; while it was obvious the roof could collapse at any time, they carefully negotiated past the obstacles and in 20 minutes were at the junction with the main tunnel; they waited. John Anders’ team found their access tunnel wide open. Their tunnel floor was dry, and they were able to move into position at their junction in about 10 minutes; they waited.
General “J.J.” Jones had immediately run into trouble in the Uwau access tunnel. Forty feet in, the entire roof had given way at some time and completely blocked the tunnel. He sent a squad to begin trying to dig through at the top of the cave in. Twenty minutes of digging had gotten them nowhere, and Jones, “eager for an opportunity to join the fight and garner some glory,” ordered two explosive charges set to clear the debris and moved his men back to just inside the opening of the tunnel.
When the charges detonated, more of the roof came down, and on the outside slope above the mouth of the access tunnel, the vibrations set off a landslide that effectively covered the opening. Jones and his team were sealed in, which was in accordance with The General’s revised plan. His original plan had been to lead his men into an ambush; he had alerted Captain Dodd of the plan, and the American forces would have walked into a trap.
Because of Rourke’s involvement, Jones had decided instead to simply take his people and himself out of the battle and let the chips fall where they might. By the time his men were able to dig out, the battle would be over and Jones would be one step further along in his overall master plan.
Major Barnett had the largest force, over 200 men and heavy weapons. He had established a secure perimeter around the Trans-Ko’olau tunnel and its two extensions. He had sent half of the force to the western tunnel and the other half to secure the southern and eastern access portals. There, he was joined by the second County Sheriff’s team. Their primary job was to cover the exits and engage any of the enemy forces that were flushed out of the tunnels by those entering higher up on the tunnel system.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Sheriff Crawford’s team moved tactically down the tunnel toward Rourke’s position. The tunnel was mostly, but not completely, straight. Clearing the next section around a twist or turn required care and caution. Hooking up with Rourke and Shaw’s team had occurred on schedule. John Rourke was now in the lead and had advanced about 10 yards when he felt the explosion and dropped immediately to his one knee. He watched as loose debris rained down from the ceiling and sides of the tunnel.
“What the hell was that?” Tim Shaw asked in a whisper after kneeling next to Rourke.
“I don’t know,” Rourke said drawing a bead down the tunnel in the direction they had been moving. “Let’s just stand by here for a minute.” Holding up a clenched fist, Rourke signaled a stop.
Crawford came up to him and whispered, “Contact?”
Rourke shook his head, “Don’t think so, but let’s hold here for a minute or two and see what happens.” Once inside the tunnel, the communications within their helmets were not penetrating the rocks above them. The other teams were holding position inside their access tunnels, and none of them could talk to the other teams.
Crawford motioned two of his men to come forward and whispered, “Take a look; we’ll cover you.” With a nod, they advanced to a left-hand turn in the tunnel. While the man on the right “sliced the pie,” the one on the left side knelt to provide low cover.
Rourke watched with a critical eye, while remembering the old CIA Weapons Instructor who had taught him how to slice the pie, something he had passed on to his children. “Start as close to the wall as possible, without scraping up against the wall. Make sure you are at least an arm’s length away from the corner. You don’t want your arm to stick out into the doorway. Observe the corner, and keep in your mind that the pivot point will be the apex of the corner.”
“Take a small step 90° away from the wall. This is the start of a semicircle you will make around the corner. Keep your elbows in and your front foot parallel to your line of sight so that neither gives you away.”
“Pause and scan the slice of the pie. Between each step taken, you should scan from the floor at the corner to ceiling, scanning each slice in a vertical manner. With a firm, two-handed grip on your firearm, lean slightly toward the direction you are stepping to allow your head and your eyes to be the furthest object—this allows you to see your target before he sees you.”
“If you are proficient with both hands, use whichever hand that will keep you most concealed. Never cross your feet. This is a very unstable position, and if something or someone hits you or you are forced to shoot midstride, you’ll be in trouble. Instead, move your lead foot, the one in the direction which you are stepping; then, follow with your trailing foot. Also, be aware of your feet; make sure you are not pointing your toes into the corner, as they may precede your eyes, which means the suspect may be able to see you before you see him.”
“Practice by setting up a mirror in the room. As you are slicing the pie, check to see what you can see in the mirror. Try to adjust your form so that little more than your eye and your firearm are visible. You can also practice with another person using flashlights. As soon as one of you sees any part of the other, shine your flashlight on them. The competitive nature of this drill will sharpen your form quickly.”
“Always point your firearm where your eyes are looking. This will allow you to react more quickly than if you have your firearm at low ready. Arms extended or high-compressed ready are both good options. With high-compressed ready, make sure your non-firing hand is behind the plane of the muzzle.”
“Remember the ‘fatal funnel.’ The ‘fatal funnel,’ as it is affectionately known, is one of the most dangerous areas to be in when traversing a building. This area includes doorways and other portals which only allow a narrow area in and out of a room, like narrow hallways and archways. If you were picking a choke point for an ambush, fatal funnels would be perfect places to focus your attention.”
“It is in your best interest to spend as little time as possible in these areas. At a doorway, the fatal funnel is the area on either side of the door, as deep as the door is tall and just as wide. Since standing to the side of a door does not count, obviously the fatal funnel is an imaginary area—an area which the bad guy might not respect, so just because you are out of the fatal funnel doesn’t mean you can’t be shot.” It amazed Rourke that, in over
650 years since he had first learned it, the technique was still being taught.
Chapter Thirty-Five
A Marine Sergeant came up to the Vice President with a note and whispered in his ear. Darkwater turned his head toward the ceiling, closed his eyes for a moment, and then said, “Let her in.” The sergeant went back to his post and opened the door.
Natalia Tiemerovna-Rourke, former Major in the Russian KGB and now America’s First Lady, walked into the oval office followed by her protective detail. The lead on the detail had locked eyes with Darkwater and held his hands up in helplessness. Darkwater nodded his understanding and moved to intercept Natalia. The First Lady was dressed in a formfitting black dress with boots. She wasn’t happy. Five of the six men in the detail lined the walls of the presidential office; the sixth one went to the window and faced outside watching the grounds.
“Jason,” Natalia said without prelude, “we need to talk.”
“Natalia, how is the President?” Darkwater asked.
“That’s what we need to talk about,” Natalia said. “For your information, Michael is fine. In fact, under normal situations, he would be here right now. But, these are not normal situations, and I need to discuss a plan with you.”
“Is this the way you want to do it?” Darkwater asked and motioned toward her protective detail. “Or, should this be a ‘you and me’ conversation?”
“No, we need to do it this way,” she said, and she unceremoniously plopped down on the large couch and crossed her long legs. If you accept this plan, it needs to be handled as a top secret operation. However, I want witnesses. Jason, it is not that Michael and I don’t trust you; having said that, there are ‘elements’ in this administration that we do not trust.”
“Lay it out then,” Darkwater said and sat across from her.
“Jason, simply put,” Natalia said, “while the rescue mission to find Michael was being launched, some of our operatives came to me with information. As a result of that information, when it was found, we have commandeered the floor of the hospital that Michael is on. Michael is no longer in the hospital, and his medical status has not been released, except to some very select individuals; these are primarily my protection detail.”
