Chapter 19
Posted: July 21, 2007 - 10:47:29 pm


Mike was seated in his chair staring at the situation screen at the front of the room. Looking over at Charlie, he asked, "What's going on with the surveillance on the locations where we believe the rail guns are held?"

"Nothing," Charlie answered with a shrug of his shoulders.

"I'm tired of waiting," Mike said leaning forward.

"We can't move until we have a better indication that some sort of crime has occurred," Jim said knowing that Mike would skin anyone alive who jeopardized their ability to prosecute the terrorists. He wished that they could ship them off to Gitmo, but the President had closed it down the year before.

Mike picked up the telephone and dialed a number. When the party on the other end answered, he said, "Hello, I am Mike Bowman from the Department of Homeland Security. I'd like to speak to the Fire Chief."

It only took a minute before the Fire Chief answered, "Hello, I'm Chief Hanson."

"Hello, Chief Hanson. I'm Mike Bowman from the Department of Homeland Security. We would like you to come down to our office for a security briefing."

"When?"

"I want you here yesterday, but I'll settle for now," Mike answered. He gave the address and hung up.

Jim looked at Mike and asked, "The Fire Chief?"

"That is a place of business. As such, the Fire Chief has a legal obligation to occasionally inspect for fire code violations. You know what I mean. They have to make sure that all of the fire exit signs light up and that the fire extinguishers are operational. I'm pretty sure that none of the businesses in that area have been inspected lately," Mike answered with a smile.

"So if the Fire Chief knows what to look for when he's inspecting a couple of businesses and he happens to see a rail gun then that gives us a reason to bust them," Jim said with a smile.

Charlie laughed and said, "That's why you're the boss."

Two hours later, Fire Chief Hanson left the Internet Café knowing more about the kinds of weapons that terrorists used than he ever wanted to know. It had been suggested that he personally attend to the inspection of every business in a two block area starting at nine o'clock the following morning. The wallet of the Fire Chief had a card with a cell phone number on it that he was to call in case any place that he inspected had anything suspicious looking in it.

When the Fire Chief left the building, Mike turned to Charlie and said, "Charlie, get a strike team of local law enforcement types assembled tomorrow morning at nine in the parking lot of a donut shop at least twelve blocks from the target business."

"Yes, sir," Charlie said reaching for the phone.

"I'll be there," Mike said. Turning to Jim, Mike said, "I want aerial photographs of every building in the area. See if you can find the architectural drawings as well."

"Yes sir."

Mike picked up the telephone and called Sanjay.

Mike entered the house to find Kim Sung standing in the middle of the living room with her arms crossed against her chest. So far their relationship had been pretty peaceful. He ignored her and she left him alone. Based on the way she was looking at him, he had a feeling that was about to change.

She said, "You are too tense. It is not good for a man to be so tense. Get undressed and lie down on the massage table. Kim Sung will fix you."

"What? I'm supposed to get undressed with you standing here?" Mike asked.

"I'm an old woman. You have nothing I haven't seen before," Kim answered.

Somehow the tone of voice that she had used when answering his question made him feel about three feet tall. He said, "You can't be serious."

"Very serious. You get undressed now. I not tell you again," Kim said shaking a finger at him.

Mike wondered if the authoritative manner possessed by the little woman could be bottled and sold over the counter. People would pay big money to be able to give orders like her. Deciding that he didn't want to know what would happen if he didn't do as she commanded; he undressed and stretched out on the massage table.

Kim Sung walked over to the table and said, "On your back. We start with your front so that your back relaxes before I ever get to it."

Embarrassed, Mike turned over so that he was face up. Kim stepped up and started massaging his scalp. Her fingers were firm and her touch confident. Mike sighed at the sensations. Kim Sung said, "Very tense. Not good for man to be so tense."

About ten minutes into the massage, Mike fell asleep. He woke long enough to turn over on his stomach. He woke almost two hours after the massage had begun to a tickling sensation running up and down his back. Kim Sung was running her fingers up and down his back with a feather light touch. When she told him to turn over, Mike rolled over without questioning her.

She resumed running her fingers up and down his body. Mike closed his eyes enjoying the sensation. The next thing he knew, a hand was wrapped around his cock jacking him off while the other hand was tickling his balls. He hadn't even been aware that he had an erection. His come exploded out from his cock.

The next thing he knew, a warm moist towel was being used to wipe up his ejaculate. In a satisfied voice, Kim Sung said, "Now you not so tense. Relax. When you are ready, go take a shower."

Embarrassed about what had just happened, Mike said, "You shouldn't have done that."

"I'm old woman. Nothing happen here that I haven't seen happen thousands of times," Kim Sung said in a matter of fact voice. She looked down at him and added, "I go in kitchen now and prepare supper."

Sanjay took a sip of his coffee. Over the lip of the foam cup he saw Mike walk into the donut shop. He raised a hand to get Mike's attention while setting down the cup of coffee. He said, "I already got you a cup of coffee, Mike."

Mike walked over to the table where Sanjay was seated. Sliding into the seat, he said, "I'm glad you could come."

"Is this one for Dale?" Sanjay asked.

"I hope so," Mike answered. He moved his wrist as though to check his watch, but remembered at the last moment that he wasn't wearing it. He looked at the bandaged hand wondering how much longer he was going to have to wear the bandages.

With his typical head bobble, Sanjay said, "That is good. I have been waiting for this day for a long time."

"Same here," Mike said. He wondered when they would be in a position to roll up all of the terrorists. He added, "We're going to have to wait a little while longer. We'll be getting a telephone call to let us know that we can move in."

"That's okay. I like donuts and coffee. Sometimes I think I should have been a cop," Sanjay said with a grin.

Mike laughed and said, "We'll see how you feel about that if we're here until five this afternoon."

Sanjay smiled at hearing Mike laugh. It had been a long time since he had seen the man even crack a smile. He asked, "How is Kim Sung working out?"

That was the million dollar question. After the massage the previous evening, Kim Sung had been the ever efficient housekeeper giving no hint of embarrassment about what had happened earlier. He said, "She has this tone of voice she uses when..."

"Ah, she's used the voice on you," Sanjay said bobbling his head.

"Yes," Mike said.

"My wife taught her that voice. I would have warned you, but my wife told me not to do that. She used the voice on me," Sanjay said lifting his hands up and out in a gesture of surrender.

The first call from Fire Chief Hanson came in around eleven. He had found the materials used to create IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices) in the work bay of a gas station. Mike had told him to continue his inspections since they were after bigger fish. Chief Hanson was not happy to learn that he was likely to discover something even worse than IEDs.

After hanging up, Mike called the local police for another strike force to assemble. He was going to send them against the gas station to take care of the IEDs. He warned them to bring a Bomb Disposal group with them. That little piece of information created a minor uproar at the police station.

The second telephone call came in about one o'clock. The Fire Chief had found two vans with suspicious looking equipment inside of them. This was the one that Mike had been waiting for all morning. Smiling, he told the Chief Hanson, "Continue searching businesses in the area."

"You've got to be kidding. I nearly pissed myself when I saw what was in those vans," the Fire Chief said. He knew enough to believe that there was a good chance that radioactive material was in the area.

"We're after the whole ball of wax, Chief Hanson. Continue with your inspections," Mike said.

After hanging up, Mike turned to Sanjay and said, "We've got them now."

"Let's go," Sanjay said.

"Not yet. We still have to get the warrants," Mike said while looking through the contact list on his cell phone. Finding the number, he said, "Let me call in the information and then we'll brief the assault force."

Ten minutes later, Mike was out in the parking lot of the donut store surrounded by the SWAT teams from three local cities. Only one member of the three teams was a woman. Smiling, he opened the trunk of his car and said, "Lady and Gentlemen, please empty your guns of all ammunition. I've got some special rounds for you to use."

The members of the SWAT team gave Mike a disgusted look. They knew their business and didn't need anyone telling them what kind of ammunition to use. Most of them actually loaded their own ammunition to achieve a higher velocity.

Ignoring the looks he was given, Mike reached into the trunk and held up a bullet. In a calm voice, he said, "This ammunition is known as a cop killer because it will penetrate a Kevlar vest. I want you to load your weapons with it because I expect that the individuals who we are going after will be wearing Kevlar vests."

"Shit," the captain of one of the teams said at the idea of going up against individuals wearing Kevlar vests.

Sanjay chuckled at the comment knowing that the reaction of the SWAT teams was only going to get worse. Mike grinned and said, "The first team is going into a gas station. We've had a tip that they are in the process of making Improvised Explosive Devices. They may already have one ready, so if anyone moves in a manner that suggests they are going to explode such a device you should be ready to kill them. If they go for a phone, fire on them. Once you start firing, don't stop until everyone is dead. Do you understand me?"

"You're giving us shoot to kill orders?"

"I'm telling you that they may have one or more live bombs inside a gas station. They could be on top of the petroleum storage tanks for all we know. The last thing I want is to lose you in a great fireball," Mike answered.

Members of the other two teams nudged members of the first team and made comments about how they were glad not to be going into the gas station. Holding up aerial photographs of the gas station, Sanjay said, "If the first team and the Bomb Squad will come with me, I will brief you on the layout of the gas station. You can plan on how you will take it."

Mike said, "Team two will be entering a tire store. We've had a tip that in the back bay of the tire store are two vans that contain rail guns. It is believed that somewhere inside that facility is radioactive material. If anyone grabs something the size of a soda can, you are to open fire. We know that there should be six people inside. All six of them are suspects."

"Radioactive materials? Shit."

"That's right," Mike said. He looked over at the third team for a moment. Holding up his bandaged left hand, he said, "Team three is going to be guarding the back of Team two. I lost use of this hand when my team entered a facility like this in Iraq. The bastards had constructed a tunnel out and came up behind us. I lost a third of my team that day. I don't want that to happen here. Watch the buildings as well. They may have support in them."

Mike had just finished speaking when his cell phone rang. It was Chief Hanson. The man said, "I just got out of a place that is filled with guns. The place overlooks the tire store."

"Is it next to the tire store or across the street from it?" Mike asked wondering if the Chief had inspected the building from which they were watching the tire store.

"Next to it."

"Thank you, Chief Hanson," Mike said.

"I'm sorry, but I'm done for the day," Chief Hanson said.

"I just have one more place for you to go," Mike said with a smile.

"No."

"Across the street from the tire store is an office building. Room 312 overlooks the tire store. We've got a team in there. You might want to go there and watch the action," Mike said. He felt that the Chief had done enough to deserve to watch the outcome of his efforts.

"Okay," Chief Hanson said thinking that it would be a story to tell the wife and children for the next couple of days. Thinking about it, he decided that it would be a story to tell his grandchildren in a few years.

After hanging up, Mike reached into the trunk of his car and pulled out a grenade launcher. He asked, "Does anyone know how to use one of these?"

"Shit."

Mike stood in an alley a block away from the tire factory. A dozen steps away, Sanjay was poking around in some bushes. He stepped back and said, "This looks odd."

"What is it?"

"There's a three foot by three foot piece of plywood on the ground in the middle of these bushes," Sanjay answered.

The alley didn't offer much in the way of cover. Mike looked over at a huge dumpster and said, "Help me move that away from the wall."

Together, the two men pushed the dumpster three feet from the wall. Mike and Sanjay got behind the dumpster so that Mike was able to watch the bushes. Sanjay pulled out his gun and said, "I've been practicing, but I've never had to fire it at a person."

"Just stay back here and watch my back. I know you'll do okay if things don't work out right," Mike said with a wink.

"Your confidence in me is undeserved," Sanjay said swallowing heavily. He looked around and asked, "Would you tell me again why we are here and not watching it from the other building?"

"We didn't have enough men to cover this area," Mike said. He secretly hoped that one or two of the terrorists would head in their direction. The desire to take out a couple of them was almost overwhelming. He thumbed his headset and said, "Rear guard number eleven and twelve in position."

Two minutes later the sounds of a major gun battle filled the air. Sanjay started to say something, but Mike put a finger up to his mouth in the universal gesture to be quiet. Mike eased the safety off his pistol and watched the bushes. There was a huge explosion. Mike figured that someone had launched a grenade into the store filled with guns.

The gunfire had ended when the bushes started to shake. Mike smiled and took aim. Time seemed to slow down. A man carrying a pistol stepped out of the bushes and looked around. Mike lowered his pistol a little and waited to see what the man was going to do. The man raised his pistol towards Mike, but Mike was ready. With a slight squeeze of the trigger he blew the man's balls off.

Mike waited for two minutes to see if anyone else came out of the bushes. Convinced that it was safe, he stepped out from behind the dumpster and approached the man rolling in agony on the ground. Kneeling down next to him, Mike said, "You might get your virgins when you die, but you aren't going to be able to do anything with them."

Sanjay came up behind Mike and looked down at the man on the ground. With a shudder, he said, "Oh, I bet that hurts."

"Yes, I imagine it does," Mike answered.

Hearing a noise behind them, Mike turned and saw another Arab man entering the alley with an assault rifle. The man had just spotted the pair of them. With his left hand, Mike pushed Sanjay down and opened fire on the man running towards them. It took four shots before the man fell to the ground. The pain in his left hand was excruciating.

The man who Mike had originally shot tried to get up. Sanjay kicked out and hit him where the balls had been. The man fell back to the ground. Shaken, Sanjay looked over at the second man that Mike had shot and thumbed his headset. In a voice that sounded a lot calmer than he felt, Sanjay said, "Reinforcements are coming into the area. Watch your backs."

Moving over to Mike, Sanjay asked, "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Mike answered. The pain in his hand had already diminished to a level that he could ignore.

"You saved my life," Sanjay said not looking at Mike. He was watching the approaches to their position for threats. In the background was the sound of gunfire. It sounded like Sanjay's warning was just in time. Sirens sounded as hundreds of police cars headed towards the area. A minor war had begun that lasted for half an hour.

Bored, Mike and Sanjay sat in the hospital waiting for the doctor to return. The television was on with live coverage of the Republican Convention. Mike said, "Well, it looks like Anthony Archer is going to be the Republican candidate for President."

"That is good news," Sanjay said with his usual head bobble.

Mike noticed the head bobble and realized that it had stopped bothering him. He smiled and said, "I have to agree with you."

"I want to thank you for including me," Sanjay said. He really felt like he had put his life on the line for his country. It felt good despite the fear that had been involved. He had actually fired his gun when additional re-enforcements had entered the alley.

"They attacked the two of us back in the old headquarters building. It was only fair that we work together when it was time to catch them," Mike said with a smile.

"It was for Dale," Sanjay said. He added, "Maybe when we are done here we can go upstairs and tell him."

"That would be a good idea," Mike said.

The doctor returned with the x-rays and clipped them on the light box. Shaking her head, she said, "You're lucky. There is a bit of bruising, but nothing is broken. The pain you felt was from pulling the connective tissue of the two bad fingers. You're going to have to start rehabilitation of those two fingers."

"Good," Mike said looking down at his hand. The bandages were off and there were some very ugly scars, but nothing was open and bleeding.

"I'm going to leave the bandages off," the doctor said.

"Great," Mike said.

Sanjay and Mike stepped off the elevator and made their way towards Dale's room. A rather harried nurse stopped them and said, "Visiting hours are over."

Mike said, "We are here to see Dale Dawson. I'm sure that you can make an exception for us."

The nurse took a moment to look at the pair of men. Shaking her head, she said, "I'm sorry. I didn't recognize you at first. It's been a very busy night because of the gunfight with the terrorists."

"That's okay," Mike said.

"Would you come to the nurses' station with me?" the nurse asked.

"Sure," Mike said following the nurse. Sanjay fell into step beside Mike.

When they reached the nurses station, the woman said, "I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but Dale Dawson passed away early this morning."

"It is with great sorrow that we hear that news," Sanjay said looking down at the floor.

"You can say that again," Mike said.
Lazlo Zalezac
Chapter 20