Chapter 8

In the morning, we were up early enough. I brushed my teeth and shaved. Then I started downstairs to make breakfast while Ashley got up and did her morning girl things. I was no more than halfway down the stairs when the alarm system went off, scaring the shit out of me. It was the internal house system, and what a racket it made. I had forgotten to turn it off before leaving the bedroom and had set it off.

“It’s only stupid me,” I shouted, worried what Ashley and especially Ed would think. I quickly went to the den and cut the system off. There would definitely need to be a change. I didn’t want to alert any visitors that I knew they were here.

When I got back to the stairs, Ashley was there with a worried look on her face. Ed was right behind her with his pistol.

“What happened?” she asked, frightened.

“I forgot to turn the system off before heading downstairs. At least we know it works, but I’m going to have to turn that siren off. I don’t want anyone to know that we’re aware that they’re here. Good grief, the other night, I forgot to turn it on, and now I forgot to turn it off. What next?”

“We’ll get the alarm system straight, Bill. It’ll just takes a little time,” Ed said.

“I don’t know how much time we have,” I told them. Ashley looked more scared and Ed looked determined at those words.

“Let’s finish getting up. We have a lot to do today,” I told them. I went to the kitchen and started breakfast as I had intended, while Ed and Ashley went to finish their morning business.

After breakfast, Ed and I went into the den to do some work. Ed played with the alarm system while I fired up the computer. I down loaded some fairly detailed satellite pictures of the plant area. I even got one that had coordinates indicated on it.

I plotted the coordinates of several places in the plant. Then I looked for an area 450 to 500 meters from the plant where Ed could park and set up the mortar. I soon found one. It appeared to be a paved area just off the highway, but out of sight of the highway. It also offered a quick get away. I also located a position from which he could set off the explosives.

I started plotting distances and angles based on the coordinates. By the time I was done, Ed had the alarm system straightened out, and we went upstairs to test it out. I set the system from the remote in the bedroom, just as I would do at night. Then we called Ashley, who was still in the kitchen. She set it off by coming out to see what we wanted. The system signaled intruder just like my original system had, and that was fine with me. We told Ashley that everything was OK and turned off the system until tonight.

The next job on the list was to get the mortar out and test it with the Russian ammunition. I drove my pickup down to the wood shop and parked it in front. Ed and I got the mortar from the vault and I sat it in the mount in the truck bed.

“I would never have guessed that was what those pieces of metal were for,” Ed said, after he saw the setup, “they look just like a random pattern welded on the truck bed.”

“Of course not,” I said, “how many people do you know that have an ‘leGrW 36’ to mount in their truck bed. The ribs on the bottom of the tray fit in these groves. A sandbag in the tray will hold it in place. The whole thing travels in its box and sets up in about three minutes. The bombs are in a separate box, and I have a compass in the truck to line up on the firing azimuth. OK, let’s get some ammo out and try a few shots,” I told him.

“What about the sound? If someone is watching, the explosions will alert them,” Ed said.

“Practice rounds,” I answered. “I have one case of practice rounds. Then we’ll fire one round of HE with a depleted charge to test the range. I’ll replace most of the explosive charge with modeling clay,” I told Ed. We moved the truck further from the wood shop and set up.

“I have this calculated for 450 meters,” I said as I showed Ed the printout of the satellite photo and my calculations. He went over all of them.

“OK, that looks right. How do we measure 450 meters?” he asked.

“Simple,” I said as I pulled out a 50 meter tape, “the old fashion way.” We used the tape to measure out 450 meters and I placed a stake every 50 meters. A large, white, empty cardboard box was used as a target.

We got the mortar set up and cross leveled it. We then adjusted the elevation to forty-five degrees, and I got out a practice round. We checked the alignment with the stakes we had set.

“Now, Ed,” I said, “this baby is trigger fired. I’ll drop the round down the tube. You pull the trigger, while I check for the impact.”

The first round was over. We elevate the tube to fifty degrees and fired a second round. It was slightly under. We changed the elevation to forty-eight degrees and fired a third round. In my field glasses I saw it hit the box.

I then prepared a live round by removing most of the explosive charge and replacing it with modeling clay to keep the weight the same. I then reassembled it and got ready to fire it. I dropped the round down the tube and Ed pulled the trigger. A couple of seconds later there was a satisfying bang just in front of the box. Close enough for government work.

Ashley had been watching us from the door of the wood shop and gave a little squeal at the explosion. She came down to join us, a few seconds later.

“Do those things blow up?” she wanted to know.

“Yes, that’s what they’re designed to do,” I told her.

“How come the first three didn’t?” she asked, puzzled.

“They were practice rounds, and I removed most of the explosive from the last round. The real thing is much noisier, but we don’t want anyone to know what we’re doing,” I told her.

“OK, Ed. Let’s pack this up,” I said next. “I still need to prepare the charges I’m going to plant inside there. We also need to load magazines and check the guns I’m going to take. Then we’ll have lunch and take a short nap. Tonight will be a long night, and it will be a while before we get any more rest, so a nap now will help.”

We returned to the wood shop and Ed and I loaded eight of the mortar bombs into a box to carry them and put it in the cab of the truck, in the back under a blanket. Then I got out the remote detonators and I tested them with the transmitter. They all worked. When I turned off the transmitter, I removed the battery and placed it in a separate box. I made sure all of the detonators were off and then started preparing the charges using C-4 and Semtex. These went into a canvas bag that I would carry.

When everything was done, we carried the transmitter to the truck and I put it on a bracket there. I put the box with the battery in it in a well beside the back seat, and I made sure that Ed knew where it was. When everything was done, Ed helped me carry the guns and magazines which we had loaded up to the house, along with the other items I would be using. I would only be carrying a part of this load for each job, but felt the need for different tools for each location. I drove the truck up last.

Ashley had lunch ready when we got to the house and we all ate, then went upstairs for our nap. About 4:30 I got everybody up. Ashley made dinner while Ed and I went out to change the license plates on the trucks, and I loaded my stuff in Ed’s truck. We put the regular license plates under the driver’s seats along with the tools to change them. We would change them back on the way to Ed’s house. We also checked to be sure that the cell phones were working. I also put an extra set of clothes for Ashley and me in the back of my truck.

We returned to the house and had dinner with Ashley. Then we all changed clothes. I got into my black working clothes and gave an extra set to Ed. They weren’t a real good fit on him but he said he could get by with them. For Ashley we had to pin things up to fit her smaller frame. By 6:00 we were ready to go. I put the whole alert system on stand by. We loaded the trucks and headed out. When we were clear of the alarm system, I stopped, went to my truck and switched the system from standby to active. If anyone came by now, we would know it.

As usual, late afternoon traffic was ridiculous. Even at that, we got close to the plant area before I wanted to. I called Ed on the cellphone and we pulled off of the highway and parked at a restaurant. I let Ed and Ashley go in and order some food to take out and plenty of coffee. When they got back, we drove to an empty church parking lot and parked to eat some of the food, then we waited until well after dark to move out again.

We didn’t have any trouble locating the firing area or getting in there. It was an old road repair equipment site. We used the compass and the GPS to get the truck in position and lined up. I helped Ed set up the mortar in the truck bed, then I kissed Ashley long and hard and took off for the plant. She was a little scared, but I reassured her that everything would be all right.

Getting back on the highway was easy, as traffic was back to its normal level now that most of the workers had gotten home, but it’s always busy around the city. I got off at the plant exit and turned in that direction. I pulled off at a trail that I had noticed on the Satellite pictures. It was about two hundred plus yards before the plant and on an outside curve where they couldn’t see me. I pulled way down the trail so as not to be visible from the road.

Collecting my explosives, the Uzi, my silenced pistol, a 9 mm automatic and several hand grenades, I got everything in position on my Kevlar assault vest. I checked that my wire cutters were in their pocket on the vest. I had the bag of explosives over my shoulder. When I set out for the back of the plant, I had already put in the ear bud and attached the throat mike and then plugged them into the cellphone, then I did a quick commo check with Ed.

“Ed, can you read me OK?” I asked when he answered.

“Roger, Bill. I read you five by five,” Ed answered.

I made my way through the brush and trees using my night vision glasses. When I was close enough, I raised the glasses and put them on my forehead, after turning them off, and went the last distance by eye. The lights around the plant would have burned the night vision glasses out. I worked my way around to where we had found the drainage pipe under the trail before. It was darker here than the rest of the plant was, so I moved the night vision glasses down, turned them back on, and studied the fence and the ditch under it. It hadn’t been repaired.

I watched the area for fifteen minutes and no patrols came by. They appeared to be mainly out by the road at the front of the plant and along the sides. I was ready to call Ed when I noticed the movement in the shadows of one of the buildings. I readjusted the night vision glasses and checked out the shadows on the back of the buildings. There they were, two of them, one on either side of the ditch sitting beside some boxes. If one of them hadn’t moved and I hadn’t noticed, I would never have known that they were there, and I would have been the late Bill. I called Ed.

“Ed, fire one round. I’ll spot for you,” I told him.

“One round on the way,” he replied. A few seconds later the round impacted. It was just inside the fence. There was a big ‘BOOM’ and part of the fence disappeared and several of the lights went out. Seconds later a siren started, and there was confusion and panic visible.

“Drop one degree and fire for effect, three rounds,” I told him.

“Drop one degree and fire three rounds,” Ed repeated.

Several seconds later the rounds started impacting. As they did, I rose up and fired on both targets with the Uzi. The impacting mortar rounds covered the sound. The spread looked good as obviously Ed had traversed the mortar between rounds.

“Ed in two minutes give me the last four rounds. Wait about twenty to thirty seconds between rounds, Then move out to your alternate position,” I told him.

“Roger. In two minutes, the last four rounds spread out,” Ed replied.

I quickly moved up the ditch and worked my way under the fence. I had gotten out of the ditch and was half way to the second fence when the last barrage started to impact. The lights in the plant area were all out by now, and I had readjusted the night vision glasses on my face again, and worked my way to the inside fenced area. I already had my silenced pistol out.

As I approached the fenced area, I saw a dog rising up from the ground in there. As he started to growl, I shot him in the head. He went down and stayed down. I got to the fence just as the second round impacted. There was real panic at the front of the plant by now. I cut just enough of the fence to slip through and was inside as the last round impacted. It must have hit something as there was a much louder ‘BOOM’ than the others had made and a bright flash of light. The panic was general now, and people were running around all over the plant but not here.

I started placing charges. These people were really sloppy, as I found doors open all over and just slipped in and planted charges. When I got to the main building, all of the doors were open and everyone was up by the second gate looking at the fires and panic around the front of the plant. They were milling around like a herd of cattle.

I quickly checked out the main building. The emergency lights provided enough light to use the night vision glasses in there. I discovered it was a huge meth lab! I planted my charges as inconspicuously as possible, and was out of the building before the guards started herding everyone back inside. It seems the fun was over out front.

I moved back through the gap in the fence and used some wire to close it as much as possible in a short time. I did notice that the lights were still out in all of the buildings, including those in the second fenced in area. Everything was dark. I returned to the ditch and exited the plant, then I made my way back through the scrub and trees to Ed’s truck.

I was most of the way back when I heard the first sirens. It was the police and fire department coming to investigate and put out the fires. There would be fun there tonight.

I called Ed again on the cell phone.

“Are you guys OK,” I asked.

“Yes, we moved before the last round impacted,” Ed told me. “We’re at the second area. When can I put the battery in the transmitter?”

“Wait until I tell you. I’ve never trusted those transmitters. I’ll have a little wait here until the fire department and police are all at the plant. What about the mortar?” I asked him.

“OK, we’re fine here. I disassembled it and put in the box when we got here,” Ed assured me.

After another ten minutes or so the sirens had stopped and I checked the road. It appeared to be clear. I started the truck and pulled up to the road with the lights off. It was a good thing they were off, as a police car came speeding past just as I neared the road. He went past me doing seventy at least, so I doubted that he saw me in the dark.

I pulled out after a short wait and used the night vision glasses to drive, with my lights off, until I had passed another facility a good ways down the road. Then I turned the lights on and proceeded to the interstate. I got on the interstate just after 10:00 PM, and called Ed again.

“Ed, I’m on the interstate. Traffic looks pretty light heading north. I’ll call you when I get close to the estate,” I told him.

“OK, Bill. We’re just sitting here drinking coffee. It’s nice and lonely here. Even if we have to get out to pee no one will see us.”

“Listen, Ed. After you set off the charges, go south at least twenty miles. Stop in one of the big truck stops. Use the john and then dump the trash from the ammunition in their dumpster. Try to be inconspicuous about it, and change plates, also. Then head north. Take side roads if there are traffic jams or police check points,” I advised him.