“This is SWA 34. He’s all over the place. Snaking through valleys and only 200 feet up.”
Deputy Director Collins motioned to turn off the speaker phone and then spoke to the staff.
“Can a 737 stay with a crop duster under these conditions? Victor, you’re a pilot. What’s possible here?”
Victor thought for a minute.
“It depends on the pilot. If the 737 pilot is ex-military and used to fly fighters and the terrorist isn’t that good, he probably can. The 737 can handle it. All the passengers will probably be sick, but the plane can handle it. Airlines try to do all their maneuvers slowly for the comfort of the passengers, but the planes are strong. They are designed to one negative G and 3.5 positive G’s with a 50% safety margin. The other problem is trying to fly a 737 through unfamiliar valleys at night. The crop duster can turn a lot quicker than a 737. If he has to stay close, it will be difficult. It depends on how tight the valleys are. A lot depends on the skill of the two pilots. If the pilot in the crop duster is very good he can fly low and turn fast. If the pilot in the 737 is good enough he might be able to follow close enough to not lose him. But he would have to fly very aggressively. If the crop dusting pilots are good, even a good airline pilot would not be able to follow. All this also depends on the crop dusters flying as fast as they can. That’s the natural tendency when you are being chased. But even with the crop dusters flying as fast as they can and the 737’s flying as slow as they can the 737’s are faster. The 737’s will have to climb out of the valley and circle from time to time to try to not overshoot the crop dusters. If the crop dusters get smart and slow down instead of flying as fast as they can it will be impossible to follow them.”
“What happens if the plane goes into negative G’s? That’s not a subject I am familiar with. Will the planes crash?”
“A negative G comes when the plane descends so fast the wings actually push the plane down instead of holding it up, said Victor. “If you weren’t wearing a seatbelt you would float up and get pinned to the ceiling as if the plane was upside down. If the plane turns fast and banks you could experience being pushed down in your seat at up to 3.5 times the force of gravity. So a 200 pound man would weigh 700 pounds for a few seconds and would be pinned in his seat. If the plane starts turning fast without fully banking, you would get thrown back and forth across the plane just like if you were in a car that was weaving back and forth. The bigger problem with the planes turning too quickly without banking is the same side force that throws a person back and forth in the cabin acts on the pylons that hold the engines to the wings. They can handle the 3.5 G load straight up or down, but can’t handle much side load. So if the plane can bank quickly enough the load is straight up, if it turns too quickly and gets too much side load on the pylons, it would be bad.”
“Define bad.”
“The engines would shear off the wings and the plane would crash.”
“That’s bad.”
“Do we have any other choices to track these planes?”
“Only the Airlines. Nothing else is close enough.”
Deputy Director Collins motioned to open the speaker phone back up.
“SWA and JetBlue pilots. Do what you can. We know the risk you are taking, but we are out of options. If you lose those planes, they will probably spray part of LA before we can find them again.”
“This is SWA 34. I have family in LA. I’m not losing mine.”
“This is SWA 65. I used to fly F-15’s. This is a piece of cake.”
“Ah.., this is JetBlue 523. I don’t have military experience, but so far my plane is not being evasive. He is dark, but not very low and flying pretty straight. I’m good so far.”
Aarif thought, I can fly pretty well. There is no way an airliner can follow me through these valleys at night with my lights off. I’m going down low. Aarif was soon flying down valleys toward LA with the tops of the mountains, hundreds of feet above him. The only bad thing about this valley is I can’t turn and see if he is still behind me he thinks. I’ll get to the end of this long valley, drop over the peak and hit the next one on my route. By then I am sure to have lost him.
The copilot of SWA 65 was clutching his seat arms and turning white. He said to the pilot,
”Are you sure about this? We don’t have much room in this valley for a plane this size.”
The pilot, concentrating on the valley ahead replied, “Just turn off those alarms. I’m still above the valley. I have family in LA. There is no way I’m losing this plane. This 737 can handle twice what I’m doing. We haven’t hit a negative G yet. As long as the passengers are belted in, they can handle what we are doing, even if I pull a negative G.”
“They are being slammed back in forth in their seats already. If they aren’t sick yet, a negative G will do them in.”
“Better airsick than a nerve agent. Most of them probably have families in LA also.”
Aarif was approaching the end of the valley and climbing toward a peak. If I dive off this peak into the next valley I should be able to lose him in the dark. Then there are 3 different valleys I have a choice of, all of them narrower that this one with more twists. There is no way he is going to stay with me. Aarif shot over the peak and pushed down hard to dive for the valley floor, then took the left fork of the valley a half mile later. He immediately had to start banking back and forth to keep away from the valley walls.’
Chapter 43
“Where are we on the laptop?”
“I’ve been talking to the decontamination helicopter and they should have taken off about two minutes ago.”
“Call them again. I want an ETA on the laptop.”
“I can’t raise them, sir. Their radio just suddenly cut out.”
“How can their radio cut out? Is there a problem?”
“I don’t know. We have no communication and they didn’t show up on radar yet.”
“This is unbelievable. Do we have any of the jets close to that area?”
“Not yet. Do you want to divert a fighter?”
“No. What other assets to we have close?”
“Nothing close. The closest thing on radar is another commercial flight at 35,000 feet.”
“Ask him if he sees anything or can pick up the transponder from the helicopter.”
After a couple minutes the airliner replied.
“I just talked to him and he sees a bright fire on the ground where the helicopter was supposed to be.”
“What! Ask him if he can descend low enough to see what it is.”
Several minutes passed.
“I’m putting the pilot on the speaker.”
“I see a fire and wreckage. It looks like a helicopter crashed from a low altitude. The whole copter is engulfed in flames. I don’t think anyone made it.”
“They definitely had the laptop and the antidote in the copter?”
“Affirmative. I was talking to them just after they took off.”
“We needed that laptop. It has their plans, identities, what they are using, and maybe the antidote formula. We just lost everything.”
Larry returned to the room. “Director, I overheard your conversation. What about the flash drive? Was it on the helicopter?”
“What flash drive? What are you talking about? Jason, you didn’t tell us about a flash drive.”
Everyone stared at Larry as he responded,
“We were worried that there was a virus in the laptop, so Sarah downloaded the files onto a flash drive. After we got in OK, we didn’t need it. We did this before Jason was in the room. Do you know if she kept it or was it on the chopper?”
“Fowles, did they say anything about getting the flash drive from the girl?”
“We were monitoring all the conversations. Let me see what the girl said to the decontamination team. Rewind track 4.”
“OK, I got it. It’s playing now.”
“It loo
ks like you’re clean. We have been over you three times and the detector is showing negative. Do you still want that?””
“Yeah. That’s my flash drive.”
“No problem,” said the crewman. “It’s plastic so there is no problem cleaning it. Here you go. There are clean clothes you can wear over there.”
“I can’t believe it. The girl has the laptop information on a flash drive. Where are the kids now?”
“Ah… We aren’t really sure. We just gave them clothes and food and told them to head east away from the decontaminated area.”
“Do they have a radio?”
“No. We didn’t have one to spare.”
“So there is no way to contact the kids and they have a flashdrive with all the information we need? How soon can we get something in the area?”
“Probably more than an hour. All our available assets besides the decontamination helicopter were diverted to the LA area. We have nothing even close.”
“How could that helicopter have crashed?”
“Maybe it didn’t. It might have been shot down. We are under attack right now. They had to have people on the ground in that area to help with the planes.”
“So the kids have a flashdrive and they are possibly being chased by the terrorists? See what we can get on the ground and track those kids. What about a SEAL team from Camp Pendleton?”
“I’ll contact Pendleton,” said Jason. “I have been keeping the NSS up to date. They’ve been very cooperative with more assets.”
“Jason, stay on top to this. You should have known about that flashdrive.”
“I’ll make sure nothing else slips by. I’m going to my office for a couple minutes to check on anything else I might have missed.”
Deputy Director Collins looked at him questioningly as he walked out of the room. I wonder why he needs to go to his office. Then she was interrupted by Victor.
Jason got to his office, shut and locked the door and pulled out his personal cell phone.
“Joseph, where are the kids? That girl made a copy of the files on a flash drive and she still has it.”
“What! No one told us about a flash drive. We took out the helicopter and went back to set up the pilot extraction. The kids are gone.”
“Everything’s changed. We need that flash drive.”
Joseph replied, “Don’t worry. I’ve got it covered. And don’t worry about the kids. I have plans for them. They are going to see Allah very soon.”
“Don’t let your personal feelings get in the way of the plan. I would like to take care of those kids as much as you, but that’s not what’s important now. Get the flash drive.”
Joseph thought, the flash drive is with the girl. It’s the same mission. I just get to have my way with the girl when I find her and the drive. She will be begging to die before I’m done with her.
“I know the priorities. Can you get us information on the location of the kids?”
“I’ll text you. We have a locator in the dunebuggy.”
“It looks like we have something from the locator, sir. We tracked them to the top of a hill. They seem to be stationary.”
“How soon can we get a helicopter to them?”
“It will be a couple hours. Everything except the decontamination helicopter that was shot down was transferred to the LA basin.”
“We need that flash drive. Keep something high above them. I want eyes on them at all times.”
“We don’t have anything unless we divert a fighter.”
“Where are the SEALS?”
“They should be leaving by helicopter soon, but it’s over an hour just for the flight. We need a heavy transport with Hummer’s so they have transportation when they land. Their ETA is two hours from now.”
Jason texted Joseph. “We have a location. They’re on top of a hill about 10 miles directly east of you. Do you still have all your men?”
“We have three jeeps and six men,” said Joseph. “No problem. Those kids are as good as dead and we’ll have the flash drive.”
“They better be, Joseph. Our sponsors don’t know about this yet. I would hate to be you if they find out.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve got it covered. Can you keep sending updates on their location if they move?”
“I’ll figure something out. Get after them.”
Chapter 44
Aarif was trying to stay as low as he could in the valley. As he watched the walls of the valley flash by his wingtips, he realized it was only a matter of time until he clipped a wall. He reluctantly climbed higher until he was still in the valley, but below the tops of the surrounding mountains. I can still lose him if he is behind me he thinks. These valleys are still tight and I can go different ways at several places. Unless he is right behind me, he will never be able to follow.
Captain Davis realized how close he was to the walls of the valley and also climbed higher. I am still seeing him most of the time he thought. As long as he doesn’t get any lower, I should be fine. I wonder how the passengers are doing.
“Sam, how are things in the passenger compartment?” he asked his co-pilot.
Sam, still white as a sheet, looked over at Captain Davis.
“I just talked to one of the flight attendants. No one is injured, but the cabin’s a mess and a lot of passengers are sick.”
“Why don’t you make an announcement?”
“Should we tell them what’s going on?” asked Sam.
“Why not? It will be out soon anyway. They can’t keep what we did a secret.”
The co-pilot though for a minute and keyed the microphone.
“This is your co-pilot. The Los Angeles area is under attack by terrorists in crop dusting planes spraying a nerve agent. We have been assisting Homeland Security and the FAA by following one of the planes until an interceptor from the Air Force arrives. We have been above the plane at all times in case he sprays any nerve gas, to keep all of you out of danger. We will be following this plane until the jet fighter arrives. Please stay in your seats with your seat belts securely fastened. The plane will continue to go through some maneuvers that could hurt you if you are not securely in your seat. We will update you as soon as we have more information.”
Chapter 45
Cody was looking out over the valley when he spotted the terrorists.
Cody ran up to group. “Time to go. The terrorists are coming. They have three jeeps and are coming right at us. I just spotted them and they’re close. Let’s go.”
The kids threw everything into the dune buggy and took off down the hill to some trails winding through the brush.
Sarah turned to Cody shaking.
“Cody, I’m scared. Do you think John can lose them? If they catch us, they’ll kill us.”
“We know this area pretty well. We ride here a lot. The problem is there are three jeeps. It’s hard to lose all three if they know what they are doing. I can’t believe they found us. It is almost like they knew where we were.”
Cody turned to his brother. “John, why don’t you head south to the area with the jumps and ravines? There are a lot of scrub trees there and it will be harder for them to follow us.”
“Good idea, Cody. I don’t like getting surprised though as we come around corners. All we have is moonlight. We usually do this with the headlights on.”
“It they find us, I think a collision will be the least of our worries.”
“John, Cody brought some guns,” said Sarah.
“Cody, you brought some guns?”
“Yeah. I brought the modified AK-47’s. But I’m having trouble visualizing getting into a firefight with three jeeps of terrorists. It sounds good in a video game, but these are real bullets. We only get one life.”
“We might not have a choice, Cody. I don’t think they are very happy with us. It they are willing to spray Los Angeles with nerve gas, tak
ing out a few teenagers won’t add much. How did you get in the safe?”
“Ah.. I have the combination.” Cody reluctantly admitted.
“You have the combination? I don’t even have it. How did you get it?”
“It’s a long story. Probably not a good time to get into it.”
“We’ll talk about this later. Get the guns loaded and ready.”
Chapter 46
The entire staff was watching the radar tracks on the large overhead screen.
“Why does Flight 34 keep dropping out and then reappearing? The other two flights are visible all the time.”
“He is going down into the valleys below radar coverage to follow his plane. The other two crop dusters don’t seem to have as competent of pilots and are staying out of the valleys.”
Victor walked back into the control room and everyone looked up.
“Are the fighters getting close?”
“Not close enough.”
“Will the crop dusters still be over the mountains when they are shot down?”
“It will be close, but we think so. At least the first two and maybe the third. The problem is the fourth plane. We have no idea where he is.”
“Will the fighters have any missiles left after the first three planes are shot down?”
“They will have both missiles and rounds in their guns. The problem is they will be out of fuel. They had to burn too much to get there in time. We set up refueling at both Burbank and Ontario Airports, but they still have to land, refuel and take off again. If we don’t have the fourth plane in the next couple minutes, we will have a half hour window until the first fighter is back up.”
“So do we have any information yet on what the nerve agent is?”
“We are still analyzing what the kids recorded and uploaded to YouTube, but we need that information that was on the laptop. All we know now is that they have an antidote and they are spraying high which means that it is potent and they are trying to get it to spread as far as possible.”