Chapter 9

UNITED STATES of AMERICA House of Representatives' Chamber

Jesse Jamison paused in a significant sigh as he began his speech. "Mr. Speaker. It is imperative that we understand the nature of the beast which is the enemy of the United States of America. This hideous monster seeks our very destruction. It is impossible to understand why Americans cater to this satanic monster. We have people who will sell their soul for the very coins that only in America could they earn.

"To the south of us less than 50 miles from the United States of America, the Devils own Fidel Castro and his pathetic brother connive with Al Qaeda to bring about the destruction of the Western world. How can we as concerned citizen's stand idly by and let this go on. We must act now, in order to assure our freedoms. We must take strong measures against those who would take our freedoms from us. We cannot tarry in this task. We must act.

"It is bad enough to see the heart of America being ripped out as our young men and women are being destroyed in Iraq. We can not allow the abomination that is 50 miles south of Florida to continue its attacks upon good freedom loving people of Miami. We must support these patriots in their efforts to defend America.

"Let there be no doubt that the battle that we fight to our south is as dangerous and as important as those we fight in the Middle East. Let us stand up and support our freedom loving brothers in a fight against the evil dictators who oppress the freedom of all men. Our brothers ask not for American lives. They ask only for American understanding.

"All our friends are watching us today. They will know whether or not we support freedom, by the simple vote that we make today. One little exception to a very poorly written bill will allow the people of Cuba to continue their trek for freedom and prosperity. The simple exclusion to the Brady Bill for Cuba's freedom fighters is all they ask. How could we say no to people who aspire to support and expand the American way of life.

"Mr. Speaker, this would be the most inexpensive blow for freedom that the United States has struck in the last 200 years. Any less would be a violation of our oath to support America. I think you in advance for your consideration of this bill."

As Jesse left the podium he could see the Cubans setting in the visitors' gallery with huge smiles on the face. He knew he had made them happy. Could he justify this to his soul? Did it matter? Could money buy his peace of mind? Would the cute Cuban girl that they had waiting for him make up for one more step toward hell? For just a moment, Jesse wondered at what he had become? Then he heard the aphrodisiac of applause, and all thoughts of regret left his mind. He could not leave this. He could not leave this power. He could not leave this feeling. The thrill was worth what ever it cost. After all, a soul was only a soul, and it was now too late to buy his back anyway.

Jeff's Island (Island west of Key Largo FL), same time

Roberto and Jenna sat in office chairs looking wide eyed at the giant monitor while Bia multitasked. "Is that really Cuba?"

"Yes, Roberto, it is a live picture of your homeland. Do you want a closer look?"

"Oh yes sir, can you do that?" answered Jenna.

"Certainly, it is no problem for my complex programs. Watch as we see the sugar cane fields." The screen quickly zoomed in until it showed flowing fields of sugar cane almost ready to burn for harvest.

"Mr. Bai is very, very smart, Jenna," whispered the eight year old boy

"That's very observant of you, young man."

"Thank you, sir."

"You two must make you parents very proud. Not only are you smart, but you are also respectful. That is a rare combination these days."

Jenna looked around her. "Thank you, we try our best to be good. May I ask a question?"

"Of course you may, my dear girl."

"What do you look like? Are you hiding from us for some reason?"

"No, I'm not hiding from you. Would you really like to see me?"

"Oh, yes!" the answered together.

"Tell me, what is your favorite TV show?"

"Star Trek."

"I like that show too."

The children turned to see a man that resembled Lenard Nemoy standing behind them. "Live long and prosper, my children. It is so good to see your quest for knowledge. Feel free to ask any questions you want."

"How long will the spy satellite remain over Cuba?"

Bai raised an eyebrow in a Spock-like gesture. "Who said anything about satellites?"

"How else would you be able to see Cuba from here?"

"Well, with your current technologies, I can see how you can draw that conclusion, but I can see almost any place in the world without a satellite."

"How can you do that?

The Nemoy avatar smiled. "Ah, young curious minds are a joy to behold. Think of looking at a mirror. If you look at an angle, you can see another par of the room. If we were able to change the angle of the room, we would be able to change the view of the room.

"If we look at the air around the earth, we see layers of atmosphere. At some point there are boundaries to those layers. Now if I can get the right combination of conditions, guess what happens?"

Jenna excitedly said, "The boundaries become mirrors?"

"Almost," replied Bai.

Roberto was not about to let his little sister get ahead of him. "The boundaries bounce waves back to the ground like a shortwave radio?"

"Exactly!"

"Wait!" cried Jenna. "The sky is fixed, and we are in one place. How do you change the angle of the sky?'

"Jenna, that's a very good question. If we change..." Suddenly Bai froze. "Children we must talk about this later. Please help me get everyone to the conference room and then come back. We will continue this then."

Bai announced over the intercom, "Please meet in the conference room. I believe I have found the girl"

Everyone gathered around the large wood conference table and rested in the posh office chairs. A hologram filled the space above the table. Bai's voice filled the room. "This is Max Reynolds. Mr. Reynolds has Bachelor of Police Science from Clemson, a Master of Science in Criminal Physiology from Duke, is working on a doctor in physiology at Duke. He has done this after six years as a Navy Seal. In between his Bachelor and Masters, he received a medical release from the Secret Service Presidential Protection detail. His credentials are stellar.

"He was also seen with a girl matching the description of Con..."

"Bai!" yelled Maria.

"I mean of our current subject. The last we heard of Max Reynolds is when he purchased gasoline with a credit card two days ago. The fuel outlet was two blocks from the official residence of Congressman Jessie Jameson.

"Our good Congressman is very friendly with Mimi's Cuban community, and receives considerable assistance from the group we believe took our subject. It's very curious, too curious to be an accident. This may still turn out to be nothing, but it's the closest thing we have to a lead we have."

Fidel rose from his seat. "We must hurry and get my..."

"Hold on here," interrupted Paul. "We need to evaluate this information carefully. We're dealing with a US Congressman here. I know how close you are to this Fidel, but you need to try to step back into your professionalism. If you can't do that, you're going to be of no help to the girl.

"Bai, what do you have on the location? Is there a security system? If so, how hard would it be to defeat it?"

Max Reynolds' hologram was replaced by architectural drawings of a very expensive mansion. Several red, blue and green were flashing through the drawing, and orange lights flashed outside the building.

Bai continued, "This is the layout of the home from the security company's computer. The orange lights are outdoor passive infrared motion sensors. There are two solid circles being monitored. One is inside the other. Think of each sensor as a hand with fingers spread. Each finger represents an infrared beam. If you cross the beam, it is disrupted, and an alarm is set off.

"The good news is that the security company worked on the cheap and did not overlap the sensors. Each sensor's range ends adjacent to the nest."

"So," broke in KT, "There are no gaps. How do we get past them?"

"Young lady, do not interrupt the great and powerful BAI! Have patience, child and wisdom will be brought to you. Wither or not you are capable of absorbing that wisdom is another matter.

"Roberto, my young friend, please hold out your left hand level with the table. Now, with your right hand, point at your sister. Move that finger between the fingers of you left hand without touching them."

As the young boy complied, canned applause filled the room. "Our young hero has just demonstrated how to defeat a passive infrared motion sensor. This and a pair of enhanced glasses will allow you to get close enough to drive a sensing blocker in the ground and make the sensor useless.

"The red lights show the perimeter defenses. These are basic low technology home entry systems. There is a continuous conductor loop that will cause an alarm if broken. To defeat the system, simply provide an alternate conductor path around the entry point.

"The blue lights represent laser beams that will sound an alarm if broken. The same glasses that we will use to defeat the PIR sensors will also monitor these beams once I set them for you. You should be able to get past them with little trouble.

"The green lights are the real problems. They represent ultrasonic motion sensors. Here a wave of inaudible sound is generated and monitored almost like Doppler radar. If there is a shift in the normal monitored state, an alarm will sound. They are so sensitive that if not set properly, the air conditioner's air movement can set them off.

"I suggest you enter through the basement and turn off the alarm system before you proceed. After you turn off the system, you have fifteen minutes before the security company will make a call to verify the system was turned off. You must have the girl out in that time or have enough control of the occupants to gain their cooperation in pacifying the security company.