Chapter 44

Tiani, Jane, and Maria all decided they should be between my legs with their heads on my stomach some time during the night. Lisa was on my right shoulder, and Tina was on my left. Our entourage's three tiny girls were lying on their back, one between my legs and the other two beside each of my legs.

This was amusing, but also confusing. How am I going to get out of this one? I lifted Tina from my left shoulder and put her next to Lisa. Then I moved Jane from my left side to next to Maria. Lisa hugged me when I swung out to sit up, and softly said, "Be safe today. I'll be with you, so be safe."

I smiled at her as she smiled back, before snuggling with her bedmates.

Today was going to be a ball buster, so I quickly showered and dressed. Dewey and Steve were on the suite's patio watching the sunrise. I told them that I had to be on the move early today. Steve asked if he could be my backup once again. "You know that I need you right here, Steve. I'll be back later and let you know what happened. Relax, my friend, it's under control."

Dewey and Steve both watched me closely as I left the suite. I took the Suburban to the airport and joined the group that was ready for the raid. I was dressed in BDUs with an equipment vest that was filled with extra ammo. I had my collapsible MP5 on one shoulder, and my fifty-caliber on the other. I knew these people and I knew what they were capable of.

Desmond, the Deputy assigned to watch me, said, "I've been told to keep you out of danger. You're loaded for bear this morning, so tell me what I can protect you from."

"I'll stay out of your way, but I need to be ready in case you need me. Let's get this done."

We flew to Hilo on a loaded down Beechcraft 1900 where four Suburbans were waiting. We drove up the mountain while conversing on cell phones with the men watching the A-frame. We were told nothing had moved overnight and nothing looked like it was going to move this morning.

I was thinking we might be wrong, when my cell phone rang. "Johnson."

"We just received a call for the delivery to be completed at the public dock on Wahiawa Island near Honolulu. We have the delivery truck getting ready for them. I'm for letting the men from the A-frame get to our island so they're here. There may be more people involved. Take the house down after the people picking up the explosives leave."

I had to think a minute before agreeing with that plan. "We'll do it that way. We'll be watching. We don't know whether they have an airplane or whether they'll take a boat. This may be important."

Steve was in the suite when I called him. I told him, "Get Lisa, and two 172s, and then get to the big island as fast as you can. If we see the bad guys get on boats, you will need to watch them and see where they land. If they go to Hilo International or somewhere near, you need to know where they take off from and where they land."

Lisa called me while on the way to airport. "Thank you, Chuck. At least I get to watch to make sure we're doing the job right. I love you, Baby, and will be watching."

I asked her, "So how many are with you?"

There was a long pause before she answered, "'Ah, Brandy is in the right seat. I also have Jane and Etta. I should have rented a bigger plane, but this was slow enough to follow a boat."

"You girls be careful. We don't know what kind of arsenal these people have yet, so don't be obvious. Remember you're not in a fighter/bomber and don't have any weapons."

"I gotcha, Big Daddy. I'll be careful and I'll take care of this part of your harem."

Just what I needed, a comedian flying cover with more of my beloved women. She shouldn't give up her day job for her comedy act.

I took most of the people I had with me back to the airport to go back to Honolulu. I figured eight men could handle whoever was left at the A-frame.

I decided to wait to see how the people from the A-frame went to Honolulu to accept delivery. While we waited to see what direction they were taking from the big island to our island, I began trying to put together a bigger task force that could take down the people we were after. With the Strike Team, the extra Deputies, and the additional Agents, we would be at over thirty men. That should be enough. I didn't want the local law in on this yet to keep it out of the press or to possibly compromise the operation.

While sitting in our Beechcraft 1900 ready to leave, we finally heard from our observers here at Hilo International that the men were here at the airport and were boarding a King Air that was owned by a private firm. The FBI was instantly investigating that firm. The pilot had filed a flight plan to land at the CS&S airport, so we were all going to be ready. Our aircraft was taxing for takeoff as soon as we knew the suspected terrorists were boarding so that we could beat them to Honolulu.

The FBI leader directed the Deputy Marshal people to spread out between the airport and the dock area where the transfer was to be made. I wondered why the delivery was supposed to be at the dock area if they were flying to Honolulu.

We were able to watch the King Air carrying the suspected terrorists land and park in a visitor tie down area. A Ford Expedition and a fairly new Ford van drove up to the King Air. We watched as six men got out of the twin Beechcraft and put long bags that looked like gun cases into both the van and SUV. That gave us a clue as to what kind of fire power they had.

The aircraft re-started and began heading toward the runway when the two vehicles left. I called Bear and asked if he could find out where the King Air that was leaving had filed for. Bear told me he would call me right back. He called back a minute later and told me, "Kapaa Island." The airports there are a little over a hundred miles from here. He advised the tower he would be returning in an hour.

Uh oh, that means there are probably more people joining the ones who are here now. We had better keep the men who we planned to quietly capture away from cell phones. I called the FBI leader and advised what had just happened and what we might expect. His reply was, "I'm going to jam the cell phone companies with a national security black out. I'm going to send a satellite phone out to you, but you can use one of the men's handheld radios until it gets there. I'll shut the cell towers down when we begin to take the first group at the docks. If you need to warn anyone, do it now."

I called Steve and Lisa to advise them of what was going to happen. Lisa said she would be fine as she was most of the way back and had the radio. Then she said, "I figured this was going to get screwy, so I brought the encrypted sat phone with me. I called the numbers from that King Air in to our handler. I already have today's password and phrase."

"Good, I'm supposed to have a sat phone delivered here soon. I hope these guys being brought here by that King Air are the last of those coming so I don't have to wait to see how many more are on their way."

Lisa advised, "Steve said he was flying cover for the men taking the A-frame and from his view, he hadn't seen any resistance. It was at that time that a man came up to us in an obvious cop car and handed me a satellite phone. He told me, "The number for the team commander and the Agent in Charge are both listed on the card taped to the phone. I just heard over the radio that the SUV and van have arrived at the dock."

I wish I could have been there but what I was doing was necessary and I probably shouldn't be in the middle of what could become a gun battle. I was about to use my cell phone again when it beeped and the bars disappeared. The take down was in progress.

The FBI Agent and Deputy Marshal with me both had radios and had them to their ear. I told them, "Turn it up so I can hear too."

One Agent at the docks had apparently been assigned to give a running commentary of what was happening. I finally realized the combined Agents and Deputies had captured all the men from the SUV and the van. I radioed the men on site at the docks just for fun, and told them to put the crates into the van, and then find out where they were supposed to go next. The Agent in charge commented, "This is an extraordinary interrogation condition, isn't it?"

One of the men with me went to the inflight kitchen and was able to get some sandwiches and bottled water. We were eating when the suspected terrorist King Air returned and parked in the exact same tie-down area. I saw a fuel truck approaching the bird this time.

Another Ford Expedition drove up to the aircraft as six men exited and got into the SUV. I made a radio call to all within hearing distance to announce the arrival of more men. I needed to wait to see if the King Air took off again, but the pilot got out and walked toward operations. His job must be done or he's in between flights.

As soon as I saw him enter operations, I advised the men to follow the SUV and to immediately take them when they parked.

It was twice as difficult to sit there and wait for reports to come in. I felt as if I should be with the men doing the confrontational work.

The radio squawked, and a voice said, "The target is the University's Sports Dome. That's where the president is going to give his speech."

I used the radio and told the pursuers to capture the men in the second SUV as soon as they parked. We had a confirmed target, and only needed to clean up loose ends. I heard when the men capturing the SUV said the passengers gave up without a fight, although they had AK-47s, but no rounds in them. All their ammo was still in bandoleers.

Thank goodness these men weren't better trained. I was shown plans of the stadium with red 'Xs' at several locations when I met everyone at the Federal Building. Five kilos of C-4 at each location would have brought the building down, but there was still another hundred kilos that was going to be planted elsewhere.

The men from the island of Hawaii arrived with a single captive, but they also had several floor plans of buildings. Just to send shivers down my spine, one of the targeted buildings was the main resort where we were staying.

The FBI leader asked me, "What do you think? Should I turn the cell phones back on?"

I nodded, but said, "Have the pilot of that King Air taken into custody to interrogate for a while. It might take a day or two in order for us to get what we need from him."

The leader used his hand held radio and told Agents at the operations center to bring the pilot to the Federal Building.

I was watching my cell phone and saw the bars appear again. That was an effective way to hold up any detrimental warning conversations.

I waited at the Federal Building for the pilot to be brought in and then watched and listened to his interrogation for a few minutes. He was asking to call the aircraft corporate owner and to get him an attorney. He was politely told he was being held for national security reasons as a suspected terrorist, and he was therefore subject to the extraordinary detention procedures put in place after 9/11. The man may have thought this was unconstitutional, but he began realizing that since he was under suspicion as a suspected assassin to the President of the United States his legal opinions were not likely to get much attention. He didn't say a word from that point forward.

I watched as the group of men who had come to take delivery of the explosives came into the jail's entrance. Each one was fingerprinted, photographed, and a DNA sample gathered. They were ushered into an interrogation room one by one, while the remaining men were separated and cuffed to an anchored chair. The second group was brought in by Deputy Marshals, put through the same documentation process, and placed in a separate area. These men were cuffed and chained at the waist and ankles. The likelihood of them escaping was very small. I looked up the FBI leader and suggested they use the chains the Marshal Service used to secure their prisoners. He liked the idea and sent for enough chain sets to lock up all his prisoners.

I advised the man the only thing different he needed to do was to put their hands in the forward position instead of behind them when they were in their cells. They could use the bathroom, but couldn't run or make a sudden move toward a jail keeper this way.

One of the FBI Agents asked, "These guys are going to need a shower. How do we handle that?"

"Easy, tell them to sit on a stool so they can be stripped. You will release one ankle at a time to remove the pants and any underwear and one wrist at a time for shirtsleeves. When the prisoner is bare, he can wash himself and then reverse the process for him to dress. Don't take a chance. We have them in custody and the stricter we are, the likelier they will be to give us more information."

"Make sure the guards talk about Guantanamo. The more they hear that, the likelier they will give up what they were going to do."

I used my cell phone to call Lisa and find out where she was. Lisa said, "I'm being a good girl. The four of us are back at the resort. Steve isn't back yet, but he might be hanging out at the airport. Oh, you wouldn't know this. The architect for the house came by with plans for the changes. She apologized for taking an extra day to get everything planned. They looked good to me, so I authorized them. I figured you'd want to get them to the job site right away."

"You did right. The changes were fairly simple. Did she say anything about the bunker?"

Lisa said, "The architect left a bunch of URLs for the company she thinks will do the best job. She has prices for the various models and sizes. She mentioned that all the pricing includes installation. You'll have to look at them."

"I'll do that when I get back. The only loose end is to find the place on Kapaa where these men were staying. We also need to find out their immigration status and how they got here. I'm sure there will be another hundred questions by tomorrow morning. I'm going to say goodbye to these people and get out of here.

I called Sam Nightfox when I sat in the Suburban to go back to the resort. "Nightfox here."

"At least it's sort of during the business hours, Sam. We don't have the location of the second place that housed people, but we'll find that out by tomorrow. There isn't a heavy population density on Kapaa Island. Strangers will stand out. These people were going to hit POTUS at the University Dome. They have a dozen other heavily populated targets, but I think we have all the explosives. Make sure you coordinate with the Secret Service so they know what's going on and can take some extra precautions."

Sam said, "Good job. I've already heard from the Deputy Marshal in charge of that station. He said you directed and observed the way you were supposed to. Keep this up and you can better enjoy a desk job."

I started to say something but all I could hear was Nightfox laughing as he hung up.

I filled everyone back at the resort in on what had been happening. Knowing that we still had to find the location on Kapaa Island, I suggested to Steve, Lisa, Etta, Missy, and Mercy, "Instead of waiting for tomorrow, how about flying up there and sweeping the island the same way we did it on the big island."

Steve nodded and said, "Let's roll. We still have a lot of daylight left. Let's check it out. You drive and I'll call to get the two 172s ready."

It took us about forty-five minutes to get to Kapaa. I started on the western side and Steve began at the eastern end. We had only been on the first pass, when Steve radioed, "I think we have the location. It's on the water without a dock. There is about a fifty foot boat anchored in front of the small house. We can see one man on the boat and one man working in the yard. Want to make a pass?"

"If you're sure, Steve. I don't want to alarm them with extra air traffic. Let me get a team on the way. The strike force can probably be here within an hour."

I called the Federal Building and advised them I had a fix on the housing in Kapaa. I requested the Strike Team to be on the way to the airport for transportation to the island. I also asked for Coast Guard coverage at the location where the boat was anchored. I was told they would have both Coast Guard and Navy patrol boats on the way.

I called Bear using the satellite phone, and asked him which airport the pilot filed for on Kapaa this morning. Bear said, "Lihue. That's a nice airport, good runways and easy to get in and out."