Chapter 81

While Preacher and Masters went over to observe the monitors showing what the drone over the camp saw, I got another cup of coffee and waited for the chirp of the cell. It wasn't long in coming and again I answered it before the first chirp quit. It was General Brown and his news was a relief to me, at least in part.

"Harry, that experimental radar is still at Bragg and under close guard. I personally had the techs and the Commander on duty check it and they all said it hadn't been moved. They opened it up and it's the real thing. I don't know what you have there, but it isn't the XV11. I know things are moving fast, but you do need to bring me up to speed, Harry."

I spent the next ten minutes bringing him up to date. I could tell he was on speaker phone because of the echo in the background. I figured he was in the President's office, so I told him of my plans to take out JJ and the vehicles. Then the President himself came on the line wanting to know if we could capture JJ and his people.

"Sir, I wouldn't even try. He won't surrender and will kill anyone who tries to capture him. I won't put my men at risk for some hair-brained scheme like that. I suggest you read his jacket if you haven't already. I am sure the Director has briefed you on what his reaction would be to that move. If you don't think I am handling this correctly, then you need to have someone else take it over in the next hour. From what I can see, they are getting ready to move out."

"Mr. Hanson, you have full control and you do what you think needs to be done. I wasn't trying to second guess you, but I wondered what the chances were. Both General Brown and the Director are telling me to keep my nose out of it. I am going to follow their advice and let you run the show, which you seem to be doing very well. By the way, your prisoner rolled himself out of the chopper about five hundred feet in the air and is dead. Too bad, because I was looking forward to having his superiors question Captain Johnston. We will hang up now that we are up to date and leave it in your very capable hands, Mr. Hanson. Good luck to you, sir."

I was standing with a stupid look on my face, with a dead phone at my ear when Preacher yelled at me to look at this. It took me a few seconds to snap my thinking processes back into the present. I went to the monitors and got there just in time to see the vehicles disappear into the pines.

"Well Harry, now it's just a waiting game for the next ten minutes or so till we see which way he turns at the split."

"Preacher, I am getting that feeling again. Can you have one of the drones see if they can get a count on the vehicles under those pines? Have them use the thermal scan and see if you can count the vehicles. Since it's overcast, it might just work. There's something wrong with this picture and I haven't figured it out yet. He knows we are watching him in real time, so why did he leave in the middle of the day, and with heavily armored trucks? Something has happened to change his timetable. The defenses of Hubba's camp aren't finished and he would never not finish a job unless there was a hell of an important reason. I don't like this one little bit. What happened to the other two teams the Director ordered? Why haven't they gotten here yet?"

"Sir, there are five vehicles under cover, just sitting there waiting on something. They have their engines running so we are able to get a good clear count."

"Preacher, have the radio room try to reach the incoming teams. I have a feeling he was warned about them and is laying in ambush. That's why the heat seekers. The teams always travel on old Hueys and those throw off a heat signature that the heat seekers couldn't miss."

I watched as Preacher gave the orders and the two incoming teams answered immediately, saying they were thirty out. I immediately told the radioman to tell them to turn north for the next twenty minutes before swinging around to approach our landing area. I listened as the order was acknowledged by the lead pilot. This should put them completely out of range of those missiles. I felt relieved that I had figured it out, but I was still worried about why he was just waiting like he had no cares.

"Sir, we are picking up a slow mover headed for the camp. From the signature it's a helicopter, but not one of ours. Who do you think it might be? Maybe it's a news chopper or something."

"That whole area has been ordered off limits and they won't last five minutes when they get in range of those missiles. I don't know how to warn them or if they would even listen if we did. You can bet JJ is monitoring the open channels."

I called down to the radio operator to see if they had heard any chatter on the open channels and he said it had been quiet all morning. We all just stood and waited to see who it was and what JJ would do when they got in range. They would have to be really close for him to get a good lock under all those trees. I noticed the drone operator had taken the drone high to try to get a look at the incoming craft. We finally spotted it and it was still just a speck in the distance when JJ fired the first missile. We watched as the smoke trail went up and seemed to hesitate then flew directly toward the incoming craft. We still couldn't see who it was, and unless the pilot was very good, they were goners. I could tell the missile had locked on.

"Oh hell Harry, it's locked on. They don't stand a chance now. I wish we could have warned them or something."

We all just stood and watched. The pilot must have seen the missile and tried to get away, but it hit at the back and the craft exploded in midair into a ball of flame. We watched in silence as it plummeted to the ground and burned. We could see the smoke rising from the crash, and I wondered how many people he had just killed for no reason. Dammit, I was thinking, why did they disregard the no fly zone that had been ordered by the government two days ago?

"Fly the drone over the crash and snap some stills. We might get lucky and find out whose craft it was. That son of a bitch is going to pay if I have to go after him myself. Now all of you can see just how crazy he is."

There wasn't a word said as we watched the drone fly over the pine trees getting closer to the site of the smoke we could all see plainly now. When the drone came over the burning debris, we couldn't see anything for the flames and smoke. I still had the operator snap a couple of stills and fly the drone out a little further in a circle. There! The tail boom was hanging from one of the trees and it had State Trooper marked on the length of the boom in plain sight. Charlie, you son of a bitch! This is going to cost you your job, I was thinking as I dialed the Governor's private line. I had to admit I was madder than hell and maybe I was too harsh at the time, but he had just cost two men their lives for no reason I could think of.

When I identified myself to the Governor again, he was all jovial but I cut that off quick, telling him what had just happened. He sounded shocked and wanted to know why one of his choppers was in a no fly zone. I told him my thoughts and ordered Charlie relieved of duty pending federal charges. He was shocked to say the least, but he wholly agreed with me saying it would be handled immediately. I gave him my cell number and told him this was a Homeland Security Operation, and I would brook no more interference. I also told him the Special Teams were to stand down until further notice. He was mad as hell about the two men by the time we were through conversing. He told me that as of now I was in charge of the State Troopers, until he found another Commander. I recommended Butch and the Governor said he would call him in immediately and put him in charge, until I was able to personally meet with him at his office. We hung up with his promise that it wouldn't happen again, and that the Attorney General would also be looking into charges for the careless loss of the two men's lives. As I folded the phone, I was hoping it wasn't either of the men I had saved that night so long ago at the mine. They both had kids and both seemed to like their jobs. Oh yes, JJ Jackson would pay if I could arrange it. I finally came back to the present to see everyone staring at me like I had two heads or something.

"What?"

"Harry Hanson, for somebody who just moved out here you have a hell of a lot of power. We just listened to you chew the Governor's ass and relieve the Commander of the State police. How could you possibly know how many men were in that chopper?"

"Preacher, all the State Trooper air units are manned by two men, one pilot and one Fluor operator. They are all two-seaters, crammed with equipment so there isn't room for more than two. They are all good men who have helped me before. The loss of their lives was a waste, ordered by a Commander that wants to make a name for himself and his Urban SWAT Teams. I know him personally and like him but this little act was total suicide, any way you look at it. I guarantee you if I have any say, his career is over. Now, bring that drone back over the camp and recheck the count on those vehicles and see if they are still there. I also want to know where the extra vehicle came from, so someone review the tapes and see if you can see if it came out of that cave and who got in it. When the other two teams get in, I want them in the briefing room immediately. I also want another Whisper on site as soon as it can get here. We now have the men, let's see if we can put JJ and his people out of commission if they pull out tonight or if they are already moving."

I walked back and got another coffee, watching as the men jumped to and started following my orders. Masters and Preacher were going over the tapes frame by frame, trying to see who had gotten into the extra truck and where it had come from. The drone operator was bringing the drone back over the camp and circling it above the trees where the vehicles were. I noticed he was widening his circles and he looked puzzled as he did.

"Sir, there is no trace of the trucks that were under the trees. I will move it north and see if they are heading that way."

I watched as he took the drone along the path we thought JJ would take to return to his camp. He had gone about three miles when he started getting excited.

"Sir, I have five vehicles headed straight north about at thirty miles an hour. Four are almost bumper to bumper and one is lagging behind about five hundred feet. So far they seem to be following the path we thought they would. They should get to the split in about a half hour and then we will see which way they go, the gorge or the outer route that we already scouted."

"Good job soldier, keep with them and don't let them out of your sight. Get the other drone ready to go up and let me know immediately of any changes to their course. Preacher, did you and Masters find out anything from the tapes?"

"Harry, we can't tell for sure but it looks like JJ is in the extra vehicle. We didn't have a good picture of its occupants, but one looks just like him getting into the front passenger side. The driver is definitely one of the men who came with him. His face is in plain view for about three seconds as he looked around before he got in. It matches one of the pictures we took earlier. I think JJ is using the other four trucks as bait to see if they are attacked. He will lay back and make his escape if they are. How do you propose to handle this one?"

"We will wait and see which route they take, and if they take the outer route, I will have one of the Whispers take several shoulder fired missiles to Anderson and his team. They can take him out, even if he stays in the trees when the others cross the clearing. They can spread out in the trees, and I am sure one of his team will get a clear shot. JJ will stop while the others cross and they can take him out then. The Whisper will take the others out like we planned. It all depends on which route they take. If he knows another route, we might have a problem. But, with the other two teams here we can hopscotch them by chopper so they will be ahead of them. If any of you have a better idea, speak up now."

I didn't get any comments, so I went out of the room, checking with the radio operator to see if the other two teams had landed yet. I was informed they were five out and would be sent directly to briefing as soon as they dropped their gear and I thanked him. I asked if there were any problems at the cabins last night and was told everything was quiet. I told him to let me know when the two teams were in the briefing room. I went to the Intel room to call the Director to check out a couple of things. I also wanted to have a private conversation with General Brown, to see if I could get Masters promoted so he could command his team while they were here. As far as I was concerned, he deserved it. But, knowing the Army, it would take some pull from someone up there in the ranks to make it happen. I figured I was owed and I would call in a favor if I had to in order to accomplish my goals.

The two teams coming in were Seals so I would let Preacher be my go between with them. So far he had done a hell of a job, and seemed to be known and respected by all the men on this temporary base. I got on the cell and made my call, not knowing what kind of hoops I might have to jump through to get it done. I got the Director first and told him what I wanted and what I wanted checked out. He said it would be done by someone he trusted on his staff. I then called General Brown and told him what I was trying to do and why. To my surprise, he said he thought he could swing it without a problem. He would let me know within the hour after he talked to the President and Master's Commander at Bragg. He said it was probably overdue since as I well knew, the Army was slow in promoting its men and hadn't changed. I hung up with a smile at his last words about making rank.