The Remote Traveler (The Remote Series Book 1)

by Finian Blake

  “Make sure that you have a solid chance before you act. If there is any doubt, back off. We can’t afford to lose anymore assets. There is no firm evidence that they are directly involved with this mess.” The foreman wanted to be clear. “Ray reported in and said that none of the gun fire came from the house. They called the police. That’s how they bagged Don’s team. Remember that they bagged the first three teams and never left a clue, it doesn’t sound like the same group.”

  “Don was too aggressive.” Brian pointed out. “Everything he did out here was a bust. Hell he could not even kidnap a church lady out of an empty parking lot with four prepared people. That clown could screw up a one-man parade. I’ll have a look at things and see what can be done.”

  “All right but back off if you are not positive of success. Remember you are our last sweeper team. We have lost five teams on this one project.” The Foreman still wanted the original target. He needed to get at the original target to justify the losses.

  Nadia was watching the crews finish their work on the Security system. She had been watching them work all day. With her sniper training Nadia could remain watching the same target just waiting for one break. Toward the end of the day Nadia noticed a boat in the turning basin trolling past the house several times. There were four men in the boat, and two of the men were looking at the docks with binoculars. Nadia did not like the looks of the boat, so she took out her camera and snapped several pictures. She had Alex and Anna come up to their bedroom with three pairs of range finding binoculars. It took an hour for the boat to pass by again. It was a twenty-five-foot fiberglass boat with dual outboard engines and a small cabin. Their home was on a turning basin in the channel with a distance of about seven hundred feet to the opposite dock. The main channel was 550 feet away with a 400 foot maneuvering area for boats maneuvering in and out of their slips. The boat made a slow loop of the area. The four men seemed to have great interest in the townhouse. Alex agreed that this boat did not belong and he noted that the name of the rental company was on the side of the boat.

  Nadia was hoping to call it a day but this did not look good. Ted would be out tomorrow afternoon and be able to help, but she decided to call Four Diamonds and see if she could have Tom spend the night giving him a list of equipment to bring with him. Bob gave Tom a ride out to the house in one of the contractor’s trucks. They unloaded four steel cases in the garage and Bob left. Nadia gave Tom a kiss on the cheek.

  “I am glad that you could come out. What were you able to bring with you?”

  Tom opened the cases, “We just received some Benelli semi-automatic shotguns with eighteen-inch barrel. I brought four of them. We have, magnum riot loads and slugs. Two are setup for the new non-lethal rubber slugs plus I brought two AR15s with three power sights. We can use them from the second floor if we are not firing across water and we want to be firing down to avoid any skip over the water. I brought some night vision binoculars and some pepper spray. The shot guns have a folding stock so we can maneuver easily inside the house.”

  “Tom, you preformed wonders! I had the construction crew add some infrared detectors for the front and back. We have headsets to protect us from the noise of the security system and goggles with tear off lenses that will protect our eyes. I had them upgrade the speakers, raise the decibels to a directional one hundred fifty and program three different ear shattering frequencies. The lights are about the same as looking into the sun. They will be blind and deaf for at least half a minute. We can remote activate the system again instantly if we need to.”

  Tom offered an alternative, “With all of that you might want to load one more of the Benelli’s with the rubber slugs that I brought with me.”

  Nadia liked the way that Tom thought. “Not a bad idea. I think that we might want to capture one.”

  Brian decided to go for the target. From the side walk to the top of the fence was eight feet. They could carry a step ladder and be over the fence quickly that would avoid the patio security that entrapped Don. Once they took the house it would be a simple matter to exit. The security system was great if you went in the standard way. But there were still many weaknesses that Brian was able to spot. They decided on three AM for the break in. The team would come in from the dock and they would snatch whoever they could, killing the rest. They had a few small shape charges for the door and the kitchen window. There would be no delay getting in this time. Don had been caught by his own stupidity. Brian was not going to get caught by the same mistakes. He would come prepared. Brian also brought night vision glasses so that they would not need to depend on artificial light. He eased the rented Bayliner quietly into an empty slip on the finger. His crew turned the boat around so that they would not have to back out. They bought two step ladders from Ace Hardware being careful not to leave any fingerprints on them. The team would hop the wall, plant the charge, and come in like gang busters. There were three people in the house, one old man and two ladies. Those old farts would not be any trouble at all. Clouds screened the moon, the patio was dark and they put their night vision on before they jumped off.

  Tom won the pool for when they were going to attack. At three AM straight up the first man went over the wall. When all four were over the wall they passed the second ladder over the wall as an emergency exit. All four men paused to double check their surroundings. All four had body armor and ski masks on. They all gave a ‘thumbs up’ signal to indicate that their night vision was working. Tom waited until they started for the house before he triggered the sound first and then the lights. The crew was covering their ears when the lights glared. Everybody in the house was wearing hearing and eye protection in preparation for the raid. Nadia had everybody wait until the lights went out before starting their move not wanting to be blinded in her own trap. The four men spun around wildly trying to find the source of the attack. Two of them depressed the trigger on their weapons with the other two firing wildly, and three of the men were shot by their own gunfire. Nadia and Tom each had a shot gun that was equipped with rubber slugs. The fourth man tried to jump the wall. Nadia and Tom both fired a twelve gage rubber slug aiming between his shoulder blades knocking Brian over the fence onto the walk eight feet below. Landing on his head Brian passed out as he landed.

  Alex got an all clear from Nadia and moved outside checking each one of the attackers. Two were bleeding out rapidly since they had been shot in the Femoral artery and the blood was gushing out. The third was shot in the calf, leg and shoulder. He was trying to regain his weapon. Alex took an AR15 from one of the others shooting him in the Femoral artery producing a gusher of blood that sprayed out over him. He knelt down next to the attacker immediately starting CPR. Alex was covered with blood and needed a way to explain it by doing CPR which seemed like a good idea.

  Tom and Nadia passed Alex and went out on the side walk to find the fourth man. It was not a problem since Brian lay on the side walk in a pile unable to move. He was wearing body armor, but the rubber slug hit him in the neck above the protection. The shock of the slug snapped his spine with the impact and he was paralyzed. Not caring if she would cause a paralysis, Nadia flipped Brian over on to his back removing all of his weapons.

  “Tom I think that this one is paralyzed. All he can do is blink his eyes.”

  Tom cautioned her, “We need to be careful how we move him.” Nadia stood up and kicked Brian full force between his legs.

  Nadia smirked, “It is too late I just did the paralysis test. He can’t feel a thing. Why don’t you help Alex up on the patio?

  Anna called the attack in to 911 requesting an ambulance and the coroner. With the exception of Tom and Nadia’s shotgun, she rounded up all of the shotguns, ejected the shells, and put them away in the garage leaving the rubber slugs loaded in the Benelli shotguns. The first car pulled up shortly after she finished. The police sent out several cars. She directed them out on the patio. Alex was giving one of the attackers CPR, and the Officer put his hand on Alex’s shoulder to stop him.
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  “Forget it he’s dead.” Alex stopped his efforts.

  “How can you be sure?”

  “There is no more blood coming out of him. It’s all on the ground.” The officer said seeing that Alex was covered in blood.

  It was noon before they were finished with the crime scene. Tom took credit for shooting Brian so that they would not detain Nadia. He claimed that he came over to show Nadia the new shotguns. It was obvious that the attackers had shot each other. Nobody else was using 5.45, ammunition except for the attackers. The only round fired from the house was the rubber slug from Tom’s shotgun that paralyzed the lone survivor. Brian was the only survivor and he could not talk. His real injury occurred when he broke his neck falling off the wall. He was paralyzed from the neck down and unable to speak.

  The police were happy to turn the whole mess over to the FBI, since they had all four of the perpetrators and they were no longer a threat to the community. This time, Alex and Anna were forced to vacate the house. The FBI was disappointed when they found out that Alex, and Anna would be staying next door at Grace’s house and Nadia would be staying two doors down at Alice’s house. The local police hoped that they would go somewhere out of state. When the FBI searched the boat they found sweeper supplies on board much like they found in the van, plus they found a white Ford van with government plates parked at the public dock. Byrne made a phone call to the director who sent two Agents to arrest the Foreman.

  The foreman was hoping to get an evening off with his family. He just made it to the door of the parking lot when the Agents stepped up and presented their badges.

  “Sean Manworth we have a warrant for your arrest. Please come with us.”

  “You can’t arrest me!”

  The agent mocked Sean, “That is not what the Director said.”

  “Exactly what did the director say?

  “I can’t repeat that word for word, but the gist was that the only acceptable excuse for not coming back with you is death. We won’t put you in cuffs, if you agree to go with us quietly.” They patted Sean down putting his briefcase in the trunk. Another Agent was sitting in the back seat waiting for him. The ride to the FBI building was done in silence. Sean was shown up to the Directors office by way of a private entrance.

  The Foreman was livid, “What the hell do you think you are doing?”

  The director smiled, “Arresting a murderer, it’s my job.”

  “This is a matter of national security.”

  “Yes it is Sean, and the nation will be more secure with you behind bars.”

  The Forman tried to protest, “I am operating under the President’s authority.”

  “Let’s call him and find out,” the director said dryly.

  “You have no evidence,” Sean decided to take a different tack.

  “We have three dead citizens, nineteen dead agents, three agents under arrest and four on the run. A facility under your control was leveled with three dead and numerous injuries.”

  Sean could only offer a weak bluff, “That is not evidence!”

  The director snapped back harshly, “What about the two sweepers that you tried to kill in LA or the one that we caught last night? Oh yes, I did not include the three men from his team, so you can add three more dead to the list. The FBI, ATF, CIA and Air Force Security have lost their collective mind. You are so far off the reservation that there is no going back.”

  “But national security…”

  “Right now you are the biggest risk to national security that I can imagine. If you want to kill someone to preserve national security…” The director stared at Sean letting the statement hang.

  “Is it that bad?”

  “It’s way beyond bad. Your last sweeper team from Miami received their orders directly from you. Members of your team were swept by members of your team. This nation is going to find out what you have done in open court.”

  “What are you suggesting?” The Director sat back in his chair and stared at Sean. After a long silence he decided to give his answer.

  The foreman exploded, “There is no way that I am going to take that route.” The director answered immediately.

  “Alright I have two people waiting to take you back to your office.”

  “It’s that easy,” Sean could not believe his luck.

  “No, we will amass our proof, gather our witnesses and go through the courts. We will go through court and air your dirty laundry. There’s the door my agents are waiting for you.”

  “I…” The director held up his hand pointing to the door. Sean walked out to see the two familiar faces from the ride over. They walked down to the car and drove him back to his office in silence using Sean’s personal entrance.

  When he was seated behind his desk he blew up. “If those assholes think that they can bluff me, they have another think coming.” One man slipped behind Sean and the other pulled out a large cardiac needle stabbing Sean in the heart injecting a syringe full of air. Sean’s eyes opened wide and his thrashing around lasted only a few seconds. They rolled him on to the floor. One of the men jumped in the air doing a knee drop on to his chest while the other called the paramedics. Sean’s eyes locked wide open, and he stopped moving. Both men checked for a pulse and found none. One man pretended to preform CPR and the other went to his secretary’s office.

  “Pauline, I think that Sean has had a heart attack.”

  “I thought he went home for the day!” Pauline said in a shocked voice.

  “No, we caught him in the parking lot with some business. He was pissed off but brought us in the private entrance. We called the paramedics please expedite them into the office when they get here. We don’t want to waste one second. It looks serious.”

  Pauline was looking for instructions. “Should I call his wife?”

  “Let’s wait until the paramedics get here. I don’t want to alarm her unnecessarily.” The paramedics arrived and took over CPR. They gave Sean a shot of adrenaline with a cardiac needle applying the defibrillator several times, and despite their best efforts Sean died in his office.

  His secretary Pauline was shattered, “He was going home early to pick up a present for his daughter’s birthday.”

  The phone rang, “This is the director of the FBI. I would like to talk to Sean Manworth.”

  “This is Sean Manworth’s office. Mister Manworth just had a heart attack and it does not look good,” Pauline said weakly. The party on the other end of the line hung up the phone without further comment.

  The Director hung up the phone and dialed another number. “Agent Byrne, this case goes up to the highest levels. You will clear any information with me personally before it goes anywhere else. We will be keeping everything exclusively under the FBI’s jurisdiction. Take the survivor of this last raid and keep him with the other two. We will fly them directly to Washington on a government charter from the Burbank Airport. I will arrange for the flight personally. They will go into Andrews Air Force Base and from there to the medical section at the Quantico brig by helicopter. They are to talk to nobody until I arrive to personally handle their interrogation. Other than informing them that they are under arrest, you are to refuse all conversation with them.”

  “One of them is paralyzed I’m not sure that the doctor will release him.”

  “Tell the doctor what happened to the other two. We need those men out here alive. If the doctor deems it medically necessary, we will go with his recommendation. Otherwise we want them at Quantico under close guard. I will expect you to personally supervise this case at your end taking full responsibility. All of your other cases will be reassigned. Let there be no doubt this will make or break your career. Am I clear on this matter?” The Director hung up the phone not waiting for an answer. The director would have sent somebody that he knew better but this was a career breaker. Byrne’s file was on his desk, and he had a spotless record. The Director had every confidence that his instructions would be carried out.

  Nadia went to the airpor
t to pick up Ted. The police released her, with enough time to make it to LAX. Ted looked excited when he met her at the exit for Customs. Lynn had booked him a first class flight. Even though they had only been together for less than a week Ted missed her. Nadia kissed him passionately and showed him to the car. When he was at Camp Pendleton for training there was not much time to see the sights.

  “Ted how was your flight?”

  “It was long, but flying in the front is much better than what I am used to.”

  “We are not going to stay by Alex’s place. He booked us into the Disney suite at Disneyland. His place is a wreck.”

  “What is wrong with his place?”

  “It is all shot up.”

  “What…?”

  “We went ‘Wild West’ last night, and it’s a crime scene.”

  Ted could think of only one example, “You mean like the OK Corral?”

  “Exactly…!” Ted always saw the westerns and gangster movies at the cinema but realized that was just the movies. Nadia was a great kidder. When they rounded the corner he saw the crime scene tape.

  “You weren’t kidding! Was anybody hurt?”

  “Only the bad guys got shot. We are staying next door with Alice. I’ll just grab a few things and introduce you to your American counterpart. Nadia and Ted walked into Alice’s living room as Tom was just preparing to leave. “Ted, I want you to meet Tom. He is going to head Four Diamonds security for us here in the states.” Tom smiled at Ted and shook his hand.

  “I believe that we met at the Sembach Annex. We did some training with you blokes. How did you end up in charge out here?”

  Nadia’s Statement finally registered with Tom, “How did I end up in charge out here?”

  Nadia said quietly, “You were there when I needed you. There is a $100,000 signing bonus, one hundred K annual to start plus perks. Does that sound right?”

  There was no doubt in Tom’s mind, “Yes boss…!”

  “There is one more thing. I need someone to stay out here for the weekend to oversee this mess.”