Chapter 30

I walked back outside and Bob was sitting on a milk carton, holding his head in his hands. I didn't say anything to him, just headed out front to see who else had showed up. Beau was sitting on a chair blocking the doorway as I came up behind him.

"Harry, there have to be about thirty feds from a half a dozen departments out there and they all want in. I sure don't envy you your job today. Mark told them all that you were running the investigation and they would have to talk to you. Have fun, Sheriff, better you than me."

"Gee, thanks a lot, Beau. I just may put you in charge of the public relations part of this, buddy."

"You do and you'll be looking for a new officer. I wouldn't touch this mess with a ten-foot pole."

I laughed and walked back outside to be mobbed by all the FEDS hanging around outside. I held up my hands and cleared my throat to get their undivided attention.

"Some of you know me and some don't. I am running this investigation and if you think I'm not, then leave now. I know Agent Hadley, so all of you can get together with the both of us to coordinate your movements, and what part in this you think you might play. The only people I want involved right now are the FBI and the ATF agents so the rest of you find a place to roost till I bring them up to speed. If I catch any of you inside before I ok it, you will be asked to leave and not return. Have I made myself clear?"

I waited till I saw most of them shaking their heads in agreement, then I went over to Hadley and the man standing next to him.

"Harry, this is Agent Barry Thomas from the ATF. I pulled him aside so you could brief both of us together. What the hell have we got here, Harry? I haven't seen so many agencies in one place since the trade center bombing."

"Hadley, I am going to send them all back where they came from shortly. We have a serious situation here and I don't want anyone but your teams inside the cave. The team from Nellis is disarming the booby traps but it's a lot more serious than that. I will show both of you when we go inside but until then I want to get traffic and news under control. I have State Troopers coming in for that job. Barry, if I may call you that, I have enough weapons in that cave to start world war three. You are going to go into shock when you see the stockpile down there. I suggest you start getting some semis lined up now, because you're going to need them and a couple of heavy forklifts."

"Sheriff, are there that many weapons in that little cave?"

"That cave is the size of several football fields and it is stacked to the ceiling with pallets of weapons. You name it and I think you will find it in the stacks. It's all in foreign languages and from several different countries."

"Sheriff, I got a memo about a month ago that a ship load of weapons disappeared from a storage warehouse in Florida. They were never found, and even more have been rumored to have come in from the West coast. If these are them, then you've solved one of the biggest mysteries that nobody could ever explain. My men and I are happy to work under your command and yes, we already heard about the last ATF team leader that bucked you."

I laughed and walked away headed for the crowd that was all silent watching me coming at them.

"Gentlemen, unless you're with the FBI or ATF climb back in your choppers and cars and leave. They are the only two agencies that have jurisdiction in this matter. There is nothing for your agencies, whatever they are. You have ten minutes to clear out before I call the director and tell him you're refusing to cooperate with me."

One luckless soul started to say something but the guy standing next to him pulled him to the side and after a whispered conversation they both walked away. I watched as the area around the casino cleared out and heard a voice to the side talking to me in a muted tone. I turned and there was a young State Trooper standing there trying to get my attention.

"Commander, I have ten men waiting to be assigned wherever you want to use us. I was told to tell you by the Lieutenant that he will be here in about ten minutes to assist you."

"Trooper, I want the entrances coming into town blocked off. No one gets in except residents with a valid ID for this town. Instruct your men that if any news people get in, I will hold them personally responsible. If they want to know anything, tell your men to tell them we found a large amount of unstable dynamite in an old mine. If they break the roadblocks, arrest them for trespassing on a crime scene. If that's not good enough, then charge them with something else that will keep them out. When your superior gets here, tell him to report directly to me."

"Gotcha, Sheriff, we will keep everyone out until you clear it."

I went back to Hadley and Barry to talk to them some more until Preacher finished up. Damn, I didn't want to tell Hadley about the plutonium, but I knew I had to sooner than later. I saw Mark and changed direction to talk to him to see what he thought I should do. He was on the phone talking to someone so I slowed until I saw him put the cell back in his pocket.

"Damn Harry, you sure ran everyone off quick. This place was starting to look like a helicopter parking lot. Where did all those agents come from? I heard at least four different agencies besides the two you held back."

"Mark we got a more serious problem."

I went on to tell him what was found in the cave, and he got a shocked look like someone had kicked him in the stomach.

"Harry, you know the regulations as well as I do. You can't put them to the side just to satisfy your curiosity. Do you want me to make the call or do you want to do it?"

"I want to wait till the supervisor from the State Trooper side gets here. I promised the governor to give them some of the credit on this, so we would have all the man power to handle traffic we needed. Dammit, Mark, I wanted to search all those rooms to see what was in them. I especially wanted to find the office, to get my hands on the paperwork to find out about the human side of this, and how much they were involved. If the NRC moves in then we lose everything until they go through everything. If they find any traces, they will want to burn it all to kill the trace. You know how they work, Mark. Will you give me at least an hour to check after Preacher clears the cave? I also want to get the money and stuff from the safes and pay the people who had savings there. The NRC will freeze it all and probably want to destroy it to be safe. Preacher has a counter and I will have him check ahead of me as I search."

"Harry you are walking on thin ice here but you're right in a lot of your points. Have Beau move the money and stuff to his trunk after it's checked. Once the cave is cleared, you will have one hour only to check it out, then I make the call, like it or not. Sorry, but this one is out of my hands completely and you know it. Go on and do your thing 'cause you have to get Beau cleared first."

I headed for the cave again to borrow one of Preacher's team to check the safes so Beau could move the money. I stopped by and told Hadley that they better get comfortable because it was going to be awhile. I went back to the door and stopped at Beau's side and whispered in his ear to open the safes and wait for me. I went back to the cave and Preacher was still working at the box. I stood next to him and explained what I was doing. He called one of his men over and told him to take the Geiger counter and go with me. I went back up the ramp with him by my side and noticed Bob wasn't at his post. I walked to the edge of the dock and he was on the cell again talking to someone. I knew then when we got back to the station he was in deep shit and he would explain or he would be fired on the spot by me and Mark.