Chapter 2

Mike responded, "Thanks Rob, we are starting to move back now and will close the doors when we are clear. There is a glass port so we can still watch to see if they start coming this way. We don't have a radio right now but I can grab a couple from the storage unit at the end of the north hallway."

Rob shot back, "If there is any chance that the outlaws have radios try to get a unit with a secure band to keep them from listening to our conversation. When you get it just click the send button three times without saying anything. That will be enough to allow us to pick up your frequency and make contact. The first thing I will send to you will be some nonsense information to try to determine if they have the capability to listen in. Do not respond until I give you an all clear. We won't broadcast to you until we have them all spotted."

While the tension was building on the Kedah, Ellie use her sub-vocal voice to reach Junie aboard the Behemoth Bounty, asking if Molly had made it to the bridge yet. "Let her know that we have made contact with her mother. Fill Molly in so she will know what's going on and why she has to wait."

Several minutes went by and just as Molly Strumson announced her presence on the bridge of the Behemoth Bounty there were three clicks picked up at a very high frequency. Tonto said, "I've got it, Rob, and you are patched in."

During that contact the rest of the family were busy spotting the six remaining rogue sponsors in the amphitheater. When all were accounted for Rob's voice broadcast his line of dis-information, "We've opened a port at the peak of the amphitheater ceiling and are ready to flood the structure with R-7-apx gas, they'll all be dead in a few seconds."

After the broadcast they waited for a few seconds to see if there would be a burst of fire toward the top of the theater or if any of the men made a mad dash for the doors. There was no movement of any kind.

"Mike," Rob said, "we are sure that those mad men are not monitoring this frequency or they would have reacted to the first broadcast. We've also locked all of the exits except your pathway in. All six are inside. There is one in the wings to the right of the stage. He has no protection and is hidden only by the stage curtains, we guess that he doesn't think you'll be coming after them or if anyone does come in they will be unarmed. He is packing an automatic rifle and a pistol. There is another on the lighting catwalk above the stage, it appears that he only has a single sidearm. Two men are together at the very top of the seats directly above the entrance you'll have to use to get inside. They are working together and are heavily armed with several automatic rifles, at least three pistols and something that looks like the long range flame throwers that are so effective against the Sa'arm. We can't be sure because we only can see what seems to be the nozzle. If it is a flamethrower the tank must out of sight between the rows of seats. Our guess is that one of those two is the ringleader. One has a walkie-talkie and has been trying to raise the other two guys that you've taken out. He is cursing at them each time he calls. I would guess that he believes they are goofing off and it hasn't yet occurred to him that they might be unable to respond.

"The final two are below your position. One is sitting on the toilet in the small bathroom off the left side of the auditorium floor and the other is laying on the floor between the first and second rows of seats. He hasn't moved and we can't tell if he is hiding, is asleep, knocked out or dead. Even without him they have your entry point well covered. If you try to rush the stage the guys above you will hit you and wipe you out. If you try to make an attack on the two at the top of the arena you'll be completely exposed to the folks on the stage. Do you know any more about this facility than we can tell from the computer layouts and what we see on the cameras?"

Governor Farris answered, "Yes, I think we may have a solution. We were scheduled to have a special show in this building day after tomorrow and we needed some tri-video coverage that wasn't available in the original design. Last week we added two camera positions above the very top row of seats. That information must not have made it into the plans on the computer. Each is just a port in the wall, four feet by three feet to accommodate the big lenses. Access is from the storage area on the third floor. One port is above the stairway on the left and the other is above the stairway on the right. The rogues must be about equidistant between the two tri-vid ports.

"It's going to take a few minutes for some of us to back out of here and get into position at the ports. If you have access to the right computers you could cause a distraction that will keep them on edge. The stage is motorized and can rotate 360 degrees to allow scenes to be rapidly changed. Can you set that in motion?"

Rob looked to Tonto for guidance and quickly received a reply. Using Rob's voice Tonto said, "Yes, I've logged into the computer system, which allows us complete control of the stage, lighting, curtains and sound system."

Rob spoke directly to Mike, "Get your troops moving toward the tri-video ports, we'll handle the distractions."

Rob and Jason conferred briefly with Tonto then music broke out in the auditorium. Tchaikovsky's 1812 Overture filled the theater, strong and blustery. The two men at the top of the seating area ducked behind the seats and began peeking around the edges looking for the source of the sound. In perfect time with the music the stage began jerking erratically back and forth but making slow headway to the clockwise. Three shots rang out from the smaller of the two men in the top row before his buddy backhanded him hard. The slugs went harmlessly into the stage.