Special Talents (26 page)

"I understand, colonel," said Jeremy.

"Also, most infiltrators are foreigners," continued Green. "Now, while we know they most likely speak English, quite a few of them will feign ignorance of the language. That wastes time making us find a translator and makes it harder to communicate with them and find out what they know. So if any of your people speak a language other than English: and they are captured: they should speak only in whatever language they know other than English."

"I understand, colonel," said Green. "I assume my people will not be mistreated in any way by your men if they are captured?"

"They will be treated as prisoners of war and afforded every right under the Geneva Conventions," said Green. "But my men won't hesitate to defend themselves if your people get aggressive. Make sure your people know that."

"They will," said Jeremy.

"Fine," said Porter. "Doctor, once you leave this office you'll have approximately twelve hours to get the statue and deliver it to this office. Between 7:00 and 8:00 o'clock tomorrow morning you will need to bring the statue here and place it on Secretary Napolitano's desk. If you do not accomplish this goal the exercise will be deemed a failure. And there will be no excuses for failure. We rarely get a second chance with real terrorists. If the statue is not on Secretary Napolitano's desk by 8:00 a.m. you simply concede that you failed and offer no excuses for the failure. Is that understood?"

"Perfectly, general," said Jeremy. "You just remember the other part of the bargain. When I set the statue on Secretary Napolitano's desk, you admit my people are at least as good as yours and you offer no more criticism of them."

"That's not going to happen," said Porter.

"I guess we'll see," said Jeremy.

"Madam Secretary," said Scarborough. "Just for the record, I'm not going to be involved in this training mission. I don't want to give General Porter any reason to suspect that I might have used my position or influence to give the team an unfair advantage. With your permission, I'd like to be here at 7:00 tomorrow morning to see if Dr. Sloan and his team are successful."

"I think that's a very good idea, Assistant Director," said Napolitano.

"Well, then," said Jeremy, "as one of my favorite authors was fond of saying, I guess the game is afoot. General, I'll see you in about 12 hours."

"I look forward to it," said Porter, a smile on his face.

Jeremy and Scarborough left the office and headed to the parking garage. After they had left the office, Porter pulled out his cell phone and dialed a number.

"Major? General Porter. Please make those phone calls now. I want the alerts going out as quickly as possible."

"General, what was that?" Napolitano asked as Porter put his cell phone away.

"Major Harrison is calling all of the local law enforcement agencies in the area," explained Porter. "They're going to put a BOLO out on Dr. Sloan's vehicle and all the vehicle's registered to his team members. They're being told that Sloan and his team are wanted fugitives and are to be taken into custody immediately and held until they hear from us."

"That wasn't part of the agreement, general," said Napolitano.

"With all due respect, Madam Secretary," said Porter, "real terrorists wouldn't be aware of all of our actions. Dr. Sloan needs to learn that not everything operates by a well-ordered plan. Sometimes things happen you aren't aware of and aren't prepared for."

"The general is right, ma'am," said Green. "This would be standard procedure in a real infiltration situation."

"It's dangerous, gentlemen," said Napolitano. "We don't have any control over the civilian authorities. They aren't aware that it's only an exercise. Someone could get seriously injured."

"We're aware of that, Madam Secretary," said Porter. "But we can't pull any punches just because Dr. Sloan's team are civilians. Assuming they pass this test, they'll be going up against real terrorists. The danger there will be just as real. We need to know now how they are going to react and if they can handle it. If they fail now, it is possible that one or more of them could get hurt. But if they fail during a real assignment, there's no telling how many innocent civilians could end up as casualties. Despite the dangers, I believe this is a necessary part of the exercise."

"Well, I can see your point," said Napolitano. "I'm not necessarily happy with it but I can see it. I guess it is necessary to see how the team reacts. Let's just hope there are no tragic accidents."

"I'm trying to prevent that, Madam Secretary," replied Porter.

"So, why a training exercise for these civilians?" Green asked. "It doesn't look like they'll be much of a match for my boys."

"I'm afraid that's classified, colonel," said Napolitano. "Let's just say if they're successful we could have a new weapon in the fight against terrorism."

"Well, I can't say that makes me unhappy, Madam Secretary," said Green. "Anything we can use to stop terrorism will be a big help."

"Colonel, if I can, I'll fill you in better after the exercise," said Porter. "For now, just do your best to stop them. I don't want them walking through this exercise."

"General you don't need to worry. My boys are the best there are. They'll safeguard that statue as if it were the President of the United States. No one is getting off that base tonight or any other night."

"That's what I'm counting on, colonel," said Porter.

"Well, people, we're a go," said Jeremy when they had returned to the house. "We have just under twelve hours to get the statue and deliver it to Napolitano's office."

"That should be about 11 hours too many," joked Simon.

"Simon, get serious," said Scarborough. "This is not a game. You screw up and it could all be over."

"I am serious," protested Simon. "But you have to have a sense of humor. Otherwise life's just boring. I promise, I'm taking this seriously."

"I hope so," said Scarborough. "Now, I'm going to be in Secretary Napolitano's office tomorrow morning at 7:00 when Jeremy delivers the statue. I've had one of my staff rent a black van that's sitting outside. You'll ride to the site in that."

"Why can't we just take our own cars?" Wil asked.

"Because it's very likely they've put a BOLO out on them," said Scarborough.

"A what?" Mariah asked.

"BOLO," said Scarborough. "It means 'Be On the Look Out'. They used to be called APBs. Anyway, standard procedure when looking for or suspecting terrorists is to put a BOLO out on their vehicles. If the police pick you up before you get to your destination it's all over. I had one of my staff rent the van so it can't be traced back to me in case they're looking for that. The vehicle rented for the Oklahoma City Bombing was what led to Timothy McVeigh's capture."

"And remove any jewelry or anything that might identify who you are," said Jeremy. "No ID cards, drivers' licenses, nothing like that. You've all ready removed all of the tags from your clothes so those won't be a problem. Don't be reckless or careless. But the sooner we accomplish the mission the sooner this will all be over."

"Shouldn't we be wearing gloves or something?" Janet asked. "What about leaving fingerprints?"

"Ordinarily you would," said Scarborough. "But it doesn't matter in this case. It's only a training exercise so they won't be interested in fingerprints. You won't need to wear gloves."

"Speak for yourself," said Frank, holding up his gloved hands. "I have to wear them most of the time."

"Well, I guess you're ready," said Scarborough, shaking Jeremy's hand. "Just stick to the plan and don't improvise unless you have to. I'll see you in the morning. Good luck. You're going to need it."

"Thanks, Richard. I know they'll do their best."

Richard headed out to his car hoping their best was going to be good enough.

"That's the building Richard indicated on the map," Jeremy said as he, Kamalene, Simon, Mariah, and Frank crouched in a clump of trees. "Now if Janet and Conrad are in place this shouldn't take too long. Everyone remember your part."

"It's kind of dark," said Mariah. "How can we be sure where the guards are?"

"I can see them," said Jeremy. "Their aura gives off a sort of glow. I can see it even if it's pitch black. There are 2 guards at what looks like the front of the building and 2 more at what looks like the back." He looked at his watch. "They should be in position by now. Simon, you know what to do. Get in and get it done. Stick to the shadows as best you can. If you go in through the side you should be okay."

"On my way," said Simon.

He picked up a satchel and headed for the building. Jeremy watched as he cautiously made his way to the building. The others had trouble seeing him in the night. He would stop periodically and look around. Then he would continue on his way, secure in the knowledge that he hadn't been spotted yet.

Finally he was at the side of the building. He was partially visible in the moonlight overhead. He glanced around for a moment and then turned and simply passed through the wall as if it wasn't there. Jeremy took a breath. He hadn't realized he had stopped breathing. Phase one of the plan was complete.

"Okay," he said. "I would imagine that Janet and Conrad are just about in position."

As if on cue, Janet and Conrad came walking out of the darkness toward the building. They were arm in arm and Janet had her head on his shoulder as if they were young lovers out for an evening stroll. As they approached the building, one of the guards at the front stepped up to them.

"Excuse me, ma'am, sir," said the guard. "This is a restricted area. You're not supposed to be here."

"Oh, Conrad, he's right," said Janet innocently. "We must have gotten turned around in the dark. We're so sorry. We'll just be on our way."

"Not so fast, ma'am," said the guard. The second guard stepped behind the two to block their paths. "Do you have any ID on you?"

"I'm afraid not," said Conrad. "We were working out in the gym and decided to go for a walk. We didn't think to bring ID with us. We didn't know we'd need it."

"The gym's been closed for over an hour," said the guard behind them.

"Oh, I work there," said Conrad. "I have keys to the place. Sometimes we work out after it closes so we have the run of the place to ourselves. No waiting to use the equipment while someone else finishes up."

"You don't look like you've been working out," said the first guard. "And you're not exactly dressed for a midnight stroll. Show me your keys."

"Oh, uh, well," stammered Conrad as he pretended to search for his keys.

"That's enough," said the guard. He leveled his rifle at the two. Out of the corner of her eye Janet could see the other guard do the same thing. "Don't move. Jim, call the captain. Tell him we have a couple of intruders here."

The second guard keyed the mike on his radio and made the report. A disembodied voice came back saying they were going to be right there. As Janet and Conrad stood motionless with guns trained on them they waited. A few moments later a captain and a sergeant came walking up to the group.

"What have you got?" questioned the captain.

"These two came walking up, pretty as you please, sir," said the first guard. "They have no identification and they claim they've been working out in the gym. I work out there nearly every day and I've never seen either of them before."

"Who are you?" demanded the captain. "What are you doing here?"

"Like we said," said Janet. "We were working out in the gym and decided to take a walk in the night air. We just got turned around, that's all."

"The man claims he works at the gym but he doesn't have any keys," said the first guard. "She called him Conrad."

"Got anything to say for yourself, Conrad?" the captain asked.

"Hey, it's the truth," said Conrad. "That's all I can say."

"Sergeant," said the captain. "Take these two over to the confinement building. I'll be there in a minute to interrogate them."

"Yes, sir," said the sergeant. He pulled a sidearm from his holster and motioned for the two to move out.

"Corporal, call in and tell them I said to put on extra guards," said the captain, looking out into the darkness.

"You think these two are the infiltrators we were warned about, sir?" questioned the other guard as the first one reported in.

"My gut tells me they are," replied the captain. "And they may not be the only ones. Colonel Green said there could be several. Get some more men out here. I want extra security on this building. And good work, corporal. You may have just caught some terrorists."

"Thank you, sir," said the corporal. "Captain. Any idea what we're guarding? All we were told is that no one was to enter that building without express orders from Colonel Green."

"No clue," said the captain. "Frankly, you know as much as I do. But that doesn't change our orders. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a couple of intruders to interrogate."