Chapter 324

"The Toyota has stopped at the end of the turn lane short of the entrance to the gym, Chopper 1 reporting."

I hoped that none of the new guys at the gym had itchy trigger fingers and would wait until something started before responding.

"The Toyota is making a u-turn pulling back on to RT 301 north. The vans are less than 200 yards behind it," Chopper 1.

They were 6 miles away if they stayed on RT 301 and did not take the RT 50 at the split. A nervous waiting game was afoot. I called the guys together for last minute instructions.

"If they turn into the lane stay behind the cars, if they ram the cars get away from them - don't get crushed between them," I said.

Then they took their positions again. I stayed with Andy at the last car before my Suburban.

"They are a mile from Morton Airport lane. They have pulled off to the side of the road; we are well back using binoculars to look at them. We should be just a tiny speck to them," Chopper 1.

"The vans are moving again and at high speed, two persons are staying with the car," Chopper1

"They are turning onto Morton Lane," Chopper 1.

"Stay with the car Chopper 1," I said into the radio.

While I was talking on the radio a dump truck pulled up behind my Suburban and stopped inches from it waiting for directions.

The three vans made the turn so fast I thought they were going to roll over. I could hear the engines screaming as they picked up speed. The front van must have had several people in it. At least two guns came out the passenger window and started firing.

The vans moved to the centerline and slammed into the parked security cars spinning them out of the way. All of us had moved away from the cars and onto the edge of the drainage ditch that ran along the road just in time. The vans were jammed together, one pushing the other.

The shooting had stopped in the first and second van. They were riddled with bullet holes from us but they were still moving ahead at least 40 miles an hour.

The driver of the dump truck jumped out and dove into the drainage ditch beside the road just as the vans slammed into the Suburban and shoved it back into the dump truck.

Then there was a massive explosion from all three vans. The blast destroyed all the vehicles including the dump truck in a huge ball of fire. The air blast blew Andy, Melvin and me into the drainage ditch milliseconds before fire and steel blew over top of us. Red hot shards of the vehicles were falling on and around us.

We crawled down the ditch towards the terminal building. As soon as we were away from the heat we climbed out of the ditch and back on road. At nearly the same time Chris and Horace came out of the other ditch. Luckily both ditches were dry.

All of us were bruised and had small cuts that were bleeding. I was amazed that all of us still had our weapons but glad because they needed to be accounted for during the investigation.

I still had my radio mike clipped to my shoulder. I keyed the mike, "Call 911, roll the fire department, warn them of the possibility of explosives on Morton Lane," I said into the mike.

"Chopper 1 stay with the car. Call the 911 center with location updates," I said.

I called Eric, "You can come pick up what's left of the vans; they are blown up on Morton Lane."

"Carson, bring us some first aid kits; you will see us before the gate in the road," I said into the radio again.

Since it was going to be a media fiasco I called Hanna Page, "Terrorist attack at Morton Field."

"We heard the explosion and can see the smoke. I have left C-ville - I'm on my way," she replied. Hanna had been flexible to my needs - why not give her a scoop.

What a mess, I thought, another KCC Suburban junked, four of Marcy's cars junked, four new hires with workman's comp claims the first day on the job. The road to Morton Field closed for who knows how long.