Chapter 10
Harry figured they had about 45 minutes before landing in Minneapolis. He used the time to make sure he had committed all of the information in the packet to memory. Concentrating kept his anxiety down. When he felt the jet engines reduce power, he relaxed a little. Soon the sergeant came back to collect the brief case and make sure he had his seat belt on. He told Harry they would be on the ground in a few minutes. The countryside below was in full fall colors. Fall was always Angie's favorite time of the year; Harry always figured it was the artist in her.
Harry watched the ground come up at him and soon a screech of the jet's tires touching the pavement announced their arrival. The plane left the runway and continued to taxi away from the airport terminal. Harry realized they were probably going to the military portion of the airport. They taxied up to a large hangar with an open door. The jet engines were shut down, but there was no move to open the cabin door. Looking out the window, Harry could see a tug maneuvering on his side of the airplane. Soon the airplane began moving slowly forward into the hangar. When it stopped, Harry expected to disembark; however, the sergeant came back and told him it would be a few minutes yet.
Harry wasn't particularly good at waiting but decided to try and be patient. After what seemed hours, but was probably only 10 minutes, the door opened and Harry stood. The sergeant said, "Sorry, Sir. It'll be a few more minutes."
Harry sat back down and mumbled something about the military. He heard the sergeant talking to someone about the security sweep being complete. Soon the sergeant returned with a naval uniform complete with hat and shoes. He handed the uniform to Harry and asked him to change before departing the airplane. Why they wanted him in uniform made no sense, but Harry wanted off the airplane and did as he was told. The uniform even fit. Theodore had not lost his attention to detail since retiring to his intelligence work.
Harry exited the small gangway and was met by a Navy chief who appeared to be all business. He was greeted with a salute and, "Sir, welcome aboard the Naval Special Ops temporary operation site."
Harry returned a salute and nodded a reply. The chief asked him to follow. They walked around the aft section of the airplane where a limo with darkened windows was waiting with the door open. Harry noticed the hangar door had been closed. They weren't taking any chances of anyone recognizing him. He sat in the rear seat and the door was closed. He could hear the groaning of the large hangar door as it was raised. The limo moved forward and began winding around the small roads which connected the military portion of the airport to Fort Snelling. Fort Snelling was as much a museum as an operational military site. They proceeded to the edge of the compound and the limo entered a nondescript World War II era building. The door was closed behind them and the limo door opened by a young sailor. The chief said simply, "This way."
They proceeded to an office area where another sailor stood guard. Harry was asked to look into an iris scanner for identification. A door opened and Harry found himself in a small office with a single desk and an additional door. A guard opened the second door, and Harry found himself in a small waiting area in front of an elevator. The chief inserted an ID card into the slot and the elevator door opened. He motioned Harry into the elevator, which was only big enough for one person. Harry's claustrophobia surged when the door closed and he felt the elevator descending. It seemed a long time before the elevator stopped and the door finally opened. When the door was fully open, he had entered a different world.
Harry faced two Marine guards armed with automatic weapons. Ahead of him was a single door which could have led to a bank vault. A guard next to the iris scanner motioned Harry forward. Harry stared into the scanner until a green light came on. Both guards then saluted Harry. Harry crisply returned the salute, and the second guard began working with the keyboard to open the door. A single chime announced the release of the locking system. The guard pulled the door open and motioned Harry through. Harry entered a high-tech center about the size of a high school gymnasium. The door closed behind him and Harry just stood scanning the multitude of computers and displays. Theodore would have enjoyed it. Computers were just a necessary evil to Harry. Nobody seemed to notice him.
Then Harry heard his name called with a slight musical nuance and recognized José. His old friend, spry as ever, approached from across the room. He had been the youngest member of their team and still seemed a bit shy of middle-age. His hair remained dark and he sported a jaunty mustache that seemed to clash with the naval uniform he was wearing. Harry's face broke into a smile as he offered his hand. José took his hand and extended it immediately into a hug by pulling Harry's head down to his height with his left arm. Before Harry could say anything, he was being led across the room to a small office. Inside the office were crammed a commander and two petty officers, all wearing the insignia of the Navy SEALs.
José introduced Harry to the lieutenant commander and both of the petty officers. The commander was all business and started the meeting by saying, "I understand you want to be involved. But activating former team members is not proper protocol. Because this operation is stateside, a decision was reached to support your efforts, but with the understanding that we will not acknowledge your presence nor provide any detectable assistance. The two of you will be on your own. Do you accept these conditions?"
Both Harry and José responded with simple, "Yes."
The commander softened somewhat saying, "We help our own. However, rules are pretty specific about our operating stateside. The supplies and equipment have all been selected to be non-traceable. Theodore was pretty specific about what you would need, but our timetable was short. Everything is functional although not necessarily ideal." The commander handed Harry a packet and continued, "You have about 25 minutes to review the packet and then you are scheduled for a fishing excursion to scout the site before darkness sets in." He nodded toward one of the petty officers and said, "Jim helped prepare this report and he'll stay to help you work through it. When you're done there will be a taxi waiting for you at one of the alternate entrances. You will change into casual clothes before departing here. Any questions?"
"No, Sir. Just a thanks for going out on a limb to help."
"From what I hear, we all owe you a great deal. We'll do our best to keep an eye on the situation even though we're pretty limited here stateside. If things go badly, it'll have to be the FBI. Good luck."
They got to work immediately on the security system report. There was almost nothing official, but Theodore had compiled an extensive list of equipment providers’ sales records. From this they had created a probable design. The system relied heavily on infrared cameras and motion detectors. There were no external alarms, which meant their security personnel were probably fully armed. Building design blueprints were not consistent with the amount of fill material removed and concrete poured: which meant there was almost certainly an underground extension. Harry was impressed with the young Navy SEAL; he had an extensive knowledge of building structure and design. He sketched a probable design of the hidden access areas. The blueprints showed the elevator going from the lower floor to the second floor. Yet, the elevator which had been ordered for the project was capable of moving through five standard floors. If they assumed three hidden levels, the amount of excavation and concrete worked out pretty well.
The ventilation system was again very oversized and a large duct system seemed to end for no reason next to the elevator shaft. They assumed these ducts provided airflow for the lower levels. Although they were not able to identify any possible stairway site, they assumed one was there. Harry asked, "How could they extend the building three stories without the building inspector noticing?"
The young man explained, "They did file a soils report showing poor soil structure which seems inconsistent with the local geology. The structural engineer involved with the project had designed these huge footings. It would no
t have been hard to have extended the footing trench and created a false bottom for the authorized building. Once the footings were poured, a gradual excavation would not have been easy to spot. One of the neighbors did file a complaint about the number of trucks."
Harry asked, "Any information on this structural engineer?"
"Theodore highlighted that information. Seems he originated in Egypt and finished his studies here under a scholarship given by the Institute for Advancement of Arab Science."
The discussion moved on to the security system itself. The building permit drawings showed only a very simple system, but Theodore had traced specific purchases and contracts. Highly advanced sensors and monitors had been purchased by several of the company's associated with Dr. Ahmad. There was, of course, no way of knowing which units had been installed in this particular project. The system appeared to be fairly dependent upon infrared detectors. The discussion got very technical about infrared shielding and the effectiveness of the equipment on hand. José was now in his element and he led this portion.
The second petty officer returned carrying a duffel. He said they had to get moving. He pulled casual outdoor clothing from the duffel and told Harry to get dressed for a fishing trip. While they dressed, he explained a small fishing boat had been equipped with cameras and electronic detection devices. They were to work their way along the shore fishing and do their final surveillance under the guise of a fishing trip. They left the secure room by a different tunnel and ended up in the rear of one of the museum buildings. Casually, they were merged into the flow of visitors and taken to a car. The vehicle was an older station wagon showing the signs of too many years exposed to road salt. They drove through afternoon rush-hour traffic into the sun.
They arrived at a small marina on Lake Minnetonka. The old red fishing boat seemed pretty normal. Everything on the boat however had at least two functions. There were infrared and standard video cameras built into the position lights and head of the trolling motor. The marine radio antenna was connected to a computerized signal analyzer which was hidden in a fish box. The depth finder doubled as a high resolution video monitor. Their instructions were brief, but José adapted quickly to the electronics. Harry listened to the last-minute instructions. When told to get going, he tried to get the motor started. The boat not only looked old - it was old. This motor had to be started with a rope pull. It sputtered once or twice but wouldn't catch. Finally José said, "You pull on the rope. Let me work the throttle and choke."
On the second pull, they had the engine running. With just a little tweaking of the mixture adjustments it sounded pretty good. They headed off down the shore toward the estate of Dr. Ahmad. The estate itself was built on a small island which was connected to the mainland by a gated, single lane bridge. Harry cut the motor to an idle about a half-mile from the estate and began setting up their fishing gear. There was a spinning rod for each of them and an assortment of plugs and spoons. He tied a 4 inch Daredevil spoon onto José's line and handed him the rod. José objected saying, "I don't know how to fish."
Harry laughed and said, "Anybody who can make things work and run like you do can learn to fish. Just flip the wire bail open and let out about 50 feet of line. Now click the bail by cranking on the handle of the reel. Good, now just hold your rod still and keep the tip up and maybe you'll get lucky and a fish will catch you." Harry then proceeded to rig up his rod and reel and began casting off to the side. The plug wobbled immediately and Harry could've actually enjoyed himself except they had work to do. José was so busy adjusting things and pressing buttons his rod was never still. The video monitor zoomed in on the bridge connecting the estate with the mainland. The bridge was obviously quite stout. Harry asked, "How much weight you think that bridge is designed for?"
José studied the image a little closer and said, "It can easily support a couple of fully loaded semis. Seems a bit overbuilt for an access to a private house."
José started fiddling with another instrument. Harry continued his casting, maintaining their cover. Finally Harry asked what was going on and José responded, "They're using a high frequency short burst radar. But I'm having trouble detecting the pattern. Fairly high tech. We've been in range for the past couple of minutes."
"So they know we're here?"
"Possibly. They haven't focused in on us yet. Wait a minute, now they have. No frequency shift but a series of pulses. Yup, they definitely have us. Now the random pulses have a pattern and they’re including us on a regular sweep."
Harry was examining the video camera image and could detect no radar unit. José explained, "They're most certainly using the new solid-state units. Not as much range but pretty good detail and no need for a radar tower. These things are small, essentially a radar unit on a chip. They're so cheap car companies are putting them in cars to help people backup. I'll need to see if we can avoid detection by using a wooden boat."
Harry asked, "Do you have enough data to determine a safe distance?"
"I think so. We may be able to approach quite a bit closer in a wooden boat but it depends on the reflection characteristics of this frequency. It'll take a bit of study."
Harry was watching the video monitor closely and said, "They have visual on us. The video camera on the roof edge has changed angle and is now pointed at us. Make it look like you’re fishing, and try and hold your rod still."
They were still a couple hundred yards away but their video camera was recording excellent detail. Harry tried to see if anyone was looking, but the windows seemed opaque and he figured it was some special type of window glass. Their depth had been averaging about 10 feet, but as they passed under the bridge it began dropping off. Harry turned towards José when he heard the rod striking the edge of the boat. José was holding on but looked confused. Something was trying to pull the rod out of his hand. Harry yelled, "Set the hook!"
José didn't have any idea what Harry was talking about. He just held on. The drag on his reel was complaining as the fish stripped off line. Harry had already shifted the motor into reverse and was trying to catch up with the fish. José regained his composure somewhat and began reeling frantically. Harry said, "Take it easy. No use reeling as long as the drag is slipping. Keep your rod up."
The fish now changed directions and headed out towards open water. Harry shifted the boat motor into forward and twisted the throttle to give the engine a little more oomph. José had stood up and the sudden acceleration almost caused him to fall overboard. Harry reached out and grabbed him. Holding on until Jose regained his footing. "Sorry about that. Now start pumping your rod, and reel on the downstroke. Not so fast, nice and easy. The fish will tire out soon."
Their mission slipped a little bit while the fish was taking them away from the island. But the chase was on, and gradually they reclaimed fishing line as they closed in on the fish. Suddenly the water erupted and a beautiful muskie walked on his tail in front of the boat with José's Daredevil hanging out of his mouth. The fish thrashed wildly and suddenly the spoon slipped free and came flying back at the boat. Harry yelled, "Incoming." They both ducked as the projectile landed in the boat between them. Harry began laughing but José was somewhat stunned. Harry said, "Now that really wasn't fair. You hook a muskie on your first time fishing! I've never been able to hook one despite my many attempts. Talk about beginner's luck. Maybe the fish knew it had a better chance with you and was just teasing us."
José asked, "Why did it get off?"
Harry shrugged his shoulders and said, "That's why it's called fishing and not catching. Maybe your hook set should have been harder, or maybe softer. No way of telling. Quite a thrill seeing one of these fish, though… I suppose we had better get back to work."
Harry turned the boat around and they angled back toward the island. He wanted to return to the bridge and complete their sonar mapping of the bottom terrain but figured it would look suspicious. Instead,
he angled the boat toward the closest portion of the island and they resumed their monitoring and video recording. They were only going to miss maybe 100 yards of sonar mapping. José let his line out and Harry resumed his casting while intently watching the video monitor. He zoomed the camera into full magnification trying to detect the security cameras. A camera on the lake side of the house was hidden under the eve. No doubt but they were being tracked. Harry said, "We're on camera. Make it look like you're actually fishing." Harry pulled the brim of his hat down a little lower and made sure his face was turned away from the camera.
They completed their circle around the island and angled back to the mainland. As dusk began to settle, they continued fishing until they were around the next point and out of view. Harry told José to reel in and he accelerated the old motor. By the time they reached the marina it was getting dark. A young Navy SEAL was waiting for them and helped them remove the electronics. They left the boat tied to the dock and walked up to the parking area. Their old station wagon was the only vehicle in the lot. José noticed Harry was limping and asked, "What's up with the gimp?"
Harry replied, "I had a bit of excitement a few days ago and ended up with a few blisters. Got a ways to go before they're healed. I'll tell you about it when we get this finished up."
They loaded their gear into the station wagon and headed back to Fort Snelling. José was using some sort of electric gadget and Harry finally asked him what he was doing. José said, "Checking for bugs or tracking devices. Seems clear, but some of these new bugs put out such a narrowband signal it can be tough to detect."
Upon arrival at Fort Snelling, they entered yet another tunnel, which eventually connected them with the safe room. They no sooner entered when José and one of the young SEALs began downloading their data. The detail they were able to project went far beyond what Harry had been able to capture on the small video monitor. The commander asked about the data interruption and Harry explained, "Our work got interrupted by a fish and we needed to maintain our cover. We missed about a hundred yards of sonar survey."
This estate was a fortress with everything but the drawbridge. They discussed many ways the existing bridge could be secured. A frontal assault could be very messy and the survival of anyone held captive within could not be assured. A commando raid seemed the only alternative. They discussed logistics and available manpower but Harry wasn't really listening. He interrupted saying, "I'm going in alone. It's me they want and I'll not risk my wife or anyone else."
There was silence that was broken only after a long pause by the commander who said, "Harry, you were the best, but it's been a long time."