This is too easy, thought Brice as he grabbed the first guard and dragged him around the guard shack and out of sight. Stunned, the second guard didn’t know what to do. He called out his friend’s name, but in a blur he was grabbed by an invisible Ross Taylor, the team’s number two man. Both guards were knocked unconscious, tied up, gagged, and hidden in the shadow of the guard shack. No noise, no shots fired.
Brice motioned Jimmy Fletcher, the communications and computer specialist, into the guard shack to open the gate without setting off an alarm. Jimmy was also able to transfer the open and close codes onto a programmable remote that he carried with him.
After closing the gate behind them, the team walked silently but quickly up the driveway to the main building entrance, which, as expected, was locked. Through the glass doors they could see the interior guard post and two guards. This time Brice did not knock on the doors. Instead he picked up a handful of gravel and began slowly tossing stones into the glass. Initially the guards ignored the noise, but in just a few minutes they had to investigate. As had the first two guards, they moved forward together, the second guard covering the lead with another AK-74. The guards looked out through the glass but could see nothing through the glare of the interior lights. The first guard then deactivated the door alarm, opened the door, and stepped outside. He looked left, right, and center and could see nothing. He stared for a minute more but then laughed to himself and turned to reenter the building as the second guard lowered his weapon. Just as they had with the first two guards, Brice and Ross grabbed these two and in short order had them secured and moved out of sight.
Knowing that an alarm might be sounded if nobody appeared to be at the guard desk, Brice had one of his team members, Bobby Calhoun, remove the first guard’s uniform and assume the guard-post position. Meanwhile, Jimmy Fletcher looked over the guard station controls as well as the video feeds of the interior spaces. By switching through various cameras, they could see the route they planned for the computer lab and verify the locations of additional guards. Jimmy also found the security access switches and codes, which he shared with Bobby, then gave him a radio that linked with the rest of the team to maintain contact. Bobby’s helmet was with his suit, neatly piled out of the way.
Locating the target was one thing; real-time coverage of the complete path to the lab is another, Brice was thinking. Then he saw Van move to the locked interior access and signal for Jimmy to unlock it. As soon as the lock clicked open, Van pulled the door open and released additional fireflies, which Harry guided remotely to the best positions.
Back in Virginia, Dick and Barbara watched video feeds of the team’s progress. So far the team had encountered no significant resistance and not a word had been spoken. Just like the rehearsal training. However, Barbara had an uncomfortable feeling that things could not continue to go this well. No matter what kind of technology we have, there will still be unexpected problems. And she was right.
Somewhere in the interior hallway lay hidden motion and magnetic sensors. And they went off.
Out of the rear manufacturing center a group of ten armed and armored quick-reaction guards appeared. Dressed in black and looking like a New York SWAT squad, they moved forward with precision. Red lights flashed, and the alarm klaxon wailed its irritating BRAK… BRAK… BRAK, over and over. Fortunately, that hateful sound lasted only a few minutes before somebody turned it off.
The team and Van picked up their pace to the computer lab. As they rounded the last corner to the computer center access hallway, they saw security guards already poised behind their shielded posts with weapons up. Though not able to make out details, the first guard saw a massive shimmering disturbance in the air at the hall entrance and opened fire. Brice’s team hit the ground and returned fire. With the muzzle blasts giving away the team’s position, the remaining three guards opened their own fire on the bright flashes in front of them.
Brice pulled a flash-bang grenade from a suit pocket and threw it toward the guards, while at the same time alerting the team to shield their eyes and ears. That was an unnecessary alert since the helmets of their suits would automatically dim their visors to minimize the flash, and the helmet audio system would dampen the blast sound to near nothing. A lesson learned.
The four security guards, not as lucky, were completely immobilized by the grenade and were easily bound and gagged. Jimmy then rushed to the door they guessed controlled access to the target computer. Using a homemade device, he was able to open it, but there was a second door protected by better security, and he could not get in.
Just then the ten guards of the quick-reaction team in black rounded the corner and hit the floor as they opened fire down the hallway. They weren’t sure what they were shooting at, but the four prone and immobile security guards convinced them it was the right thing to do. Whether by luck or cunning, one of the black-suited guards produced a smoke grenade and launched it down the hallway. His probable intent was to obscure his team’s movement. What he saw, however, was a surprise. Like some sort of ghosts, the fleeting images of men in what appeared to be blurred combat suits rushed into the far lab. His team opened fire at the ghosts.
“Get into the entrance and take a defensive position. They can see us in the smoke!” yelled Brice through the helmet intercom.
Just then Conners was thrown back against the wall—and didn’t move.
“Conners!” shouted Brice through the team radio. “Are you hit? Speak to me!”
There was no response, and enemy rounds continued to bounce off the lab access doorway.
Meanwhile, Jimmy had given up trying to open the inner door. Ross stepped forward with a small strip of Semtex plastic explosive, which he placed on the lock, then inserted a blasting cap and a timer set for ten seconds.
“Fire in the hole,” he yelled through the team radio, and the whole team hit the floor. With a sharp BANG and a puff of white smoke, the explosive charge blasted the door open, leaving it barely hanging by its hinges.
Van was the first into the lab.
With gunfire continuing in the background, he searched quickly. But there was nothing there.
“Harry,” he said over his implant communications, “I’m not seeing any computer here of any kind. What’s going on?”
“Unknown, Commander. It was there when I traced the financial transactions. But the computer is less important than the storage devices, the objects that look like small round balls.”
Over this communications system nobody but Van, Harry, and now Dick could hear what was being said.
“OK, Harry. We looked around and except for some computer cables and clean spots on a work desk, there is absolutely nothing. Brice’s folks are looking in file cabinets, but so far still nothing.”
“Mr. Childs,” yelled Brice, “time to go. We’re taking a beating here. Ross will destroy the lab in a few minutes and we need to get out of here… although I haven’t figured out how yet.”
“Just another minute,” Van said, hands on hips and looking around in frustration.
“There’s no time! We’re running out of ammunition. Time to go, NOW!”
Giving the room one last look, Van finally gave in to Brice’s urgent demands. “I’m ready, Brice. There’s nothing here that I can see.”
Ross ran to the file cabinets and placed Semtex on and around them—enough to make a really big blast. After placing a few extra charges around the lab, he set the timers for five minutes and ran back to the team, yelling, “Five minutes till detonation!”
Dick thought he was nervous watching and listening to all of this, but when he looked over at Barbara, he saw that she had her head down and was pacing the floor, one hand on her stomach the other on her forehead.
“You OK, Barbara?”
“Does it look like it? This isn’t what I expected. It was supposed to be an easy in and out and blow up the computer. Not all of this shooting for nothing. And if they don’t get out of there in less than five minutes, they’ll all die
!”
“Keep the faith, Barbara. They’ll all get out, including Van.”
She stopped pacing for only enough time to give Dick a dirty look. She was worried about Van. Why does he want to go out and play commando and risk getting killed? He’s a businessman now with a bright future! She felt guilty that she thought more about her future with Van than she did her own friends. But she couldn’t help it.
Bobby, still guarding the front desk, heard the gunfire and the increased shouting back and forth between Van and Brice. He ran to the corner where he had left his suit and equipment and changed out of the security guard uniform. Then through his combat suit comms he contacted the team.
“Brice, this is Bobby.”
“Go ahead, Bobby.”
“I can see what’s happening in the lab center and I can hear some sirens in the distance. I’d say it’s time to go.”
“Well no shit. Got a suggestion?”
“Sure do. I’m on my way to your location now. Should be there in less than a minute. I’m thinking the tangos won’t expect someone coming up from behind. We can catch them in a crossfire and get out of here!” “Tangos” was the name often given to bad guys by special operations forces.
“Good thinking. Let me know when you get in position. Stand by, team. We are about to blow this joint.”
Thirty seconds later Bobby was in position with his MP5 trained on the black-suited quick-reaction-force guards.
“Ready when you are, boss,” Bobby said.
Brice said to the team, “On Bobby’s count of three, this time, he will open fire from his hallway position. We can open fire from here and not have him in the line of fire as we run over these SOBs.”
And Bobby started counting.
“One…”
Bobby placed his weapon to his shoulder.
“Two…”
Each team member tensed in anticipation of moving out.
“Three!”
Bobby opened fire on the eight remaining guards. Surprised, they half stood, turned to meet the new threat, and began firing. That was the signal for Brice and his team to move in from their position.
Caught between the two streams of fire with no cover, all the remaining quick-reaction guards went down quickly. Brice’s team, with Bobby in the lead, rushed out of the building’s glass doors. Ross, being bigger than Van, took over assisting Conners as they ran for the entrance gate and their hidden SUVs.
The overhead drones now had sights on both local police vehicles and a few Avantek security vehicles headed to the Avantek facility. They were close. So close, the team could see their headlights and flashing red and blue lights starting down Trojhali.
They ran across the road, then over the railroad tracks just as the police and security vehicles approached Avantek. Making it through the trees to the SUVs, they poured into their seats, and before the last person had shut his door, they were on the move, lights out.
On his own, Harry had the D2 drone emit a jamming signal to interfere with the Avantek and police radios. He also had the drone emit a small directional electromagnetic pulse that disabled all the cars before they could pull into the parking lot and kept them clear from what was about to happen.
As the two SUVs returned to the highway, there was a bright flash followed by an incredible explosive noise. The sky briefly became as bright as day. The team let out a combined breath and then started to laugh.
In Virginia, Dick clapped his hands and shouted with joy as the team escaped, even though the mission was a failure. Barbara collapsed into a nearby chair.
After thinking more about it, Dick suspected that after the Avantek raid, Meier would likely take revenge. He needed to talk with Harry and Van about this. Meanwhile, however, he would ask Brice to expand the team and take up a position closer to Stellar.
To say that Peter Meier was upset was a vast understatement. He was actually shaking with muscle spasms. He was so angry at the loss of the Avantek facility that he couldn’t speak for hours. When he could, he called Eric Borman.
“Good morning, Peter, how can I be of service?”
“Oh stop that sycophantic greeting, Eric! You know what the problem is. Childs again. He destroyed a high-value advanced computer lab at Lom’s location. That puts us at a disadvantage to Stellar, which I need equalized. I suspect that he has important technology at the Stellar facility, and I want you to enter and retrieve everything of value there. Ignore the stealth technology they have been working on for years. That is not important. We are looking for advanced computing systems and for any medical data, devices, or records. Do you understand?”
“I understand, Peter. Do you have any knowledge of where in that facility these items are likely kept?”
“No! That’s your job to find out.”
“We are on it now.”
CHAPTER 22
Stan Fraiser was a guard at Stellar Projects. He had been at that location doing the same job for years, long before it became Stellar, and had risen to the level of sergeant in the small security force of ten men and women. He enjoyed life, lived nearby in Rancho Bernardo, and had a lovely wife, Lisa, and two small children, Mary and Randy, both in elementary school.
On a Friday evening at his home, a knock at his door puzzled Stan. He didn’t expect anyone.
He went to the door and looked through the peephole. A blond haired man wearing a dark suit and holding a briefcase, stood there.
Curious, Stan opened the door. “Hello, what can I do for you?”
Eric Borman pulled a suppressed pistol from his briefcase smoothly and said, “You can invite me in for a chat with you and your family, if you please.”
On Sunday evening, Stan was taking his regular shift at the Stellar security desk in the front lobby. A buzzer sounded at his desk, indicating there were visitors. He looked through the glass doors and saw men in suits and long overcoats standing patiently but easily outside. He knew what this was and pushed the button on his desk to open the door, admitting five men. He did not see the blond man who’d forced his way into his house and threatened his family if Stan didn’t comply with his wishes. He was told to expect these men and that they were to have access to the spaces reserved for Mr. Childs, including the SCIF.
“You were expecting us, I believe,” said the lead man, who was noticeably taller than the others.
“Yes… yes, sir.”
“Good. Then you will be so kind as to give us the access badges we expect and then open the security doors to the interior.”
“Yes of course. Here are your badges.” It bothered Stan to be yielding like this, but what could he do? His family was a stake.
“Just for our own comfort, Mr. Jones here will stay with you in the lobby. Is that OK?”
“Certainly,” Stan said nervously. “Just don’t harm my family.”
“Your family will be fine if you cooperate.”
Ross Taylor was assigned as lead for the San Diego team and was relaxing in his motel room in Rancho Bernardo when the call came. They had moved here from San Diego after the failed attack on Avantek.
“Ross, this is Brice.”
“What is it?”
“I just got a call from Dick. Something strange is happening. We’ve lost connection with the Stellar interior and exterior sensors and cameras. Our overhead drone video shows five men in long coats entering the facility. You need to head for Stellar to see what’s going on. Expect something bad.”
“You got it, boss. I have six with me. We’ll get suited up and out of here pronto. Be there in less than ten.”
Six minutes later, Ross and team were in the Stellar parking lot.
After turning off internal and external security systems, Borman’s men moved quickly down the main hall and passed the cafeteria. Tall Man sent two of his men to investigate the two rooms that Stan said might be of use to Childs. The remaining man, along with Tall Man, moved to the entrance to the SCIF. They tried the security badges given to them by Stan, and the first door opened
. They wedged it to stay open and moved to the second door. Not unexpectedly, the second door did not open, and they resorted to Semtex just as Brice’s team had in Ostrava.
The door exploded open and the two men rushed in. They were surprised at what they saw. Nothing. Just a conference table, chairs, a large-screen TV and DVD player, and a secure telephone with a conferencing speaker. Tall Man recognized the phone as a STU-III and grabbed it up, along with the DVD player. His instructions included grabbing any electronic devices. These were the only two except the TV, which was too big to carry. They frantically looked around for more items but found nothing. No file cabinets, no desks with drawers, no storage systems at all.
They left the SCIF and met up with the other two men, who’d also found nothing but a stealth technology test booth and a wrapping-and-packing facility. No computers of any note and no medical devices or records. It was time to go.
Ross and his team approached the Stellar entrance in stealth mode. All except one. Bobby Calhoun was dressed as a deliveryman and had a small box and clipboard in his hand. As Bobby marched up to the glass doors, the team formed up behind him, unseen.
Future Discovered: Host Saga Book 1 Page 14
