“Jacques, how are we doing on Marta? Any problems that won’t be fixed in two days?”
“Nope, I should be ready,” he replied as he handed out a brief status report.
Subway terminal operational and fully tested.
Painting still being done on interior hallways.
Problems with turnstiles fixed.
Roads are paved and ready. Lanes painted yesterday.
Planting of trees and shrubs will be finished Sunday.
Exterior of stadium completed, statues in place.
Perimeter security completed and tested.
Problems with security cameras that will be corrected today.
“Do you need anything?” Marco asked, “people, equipment, anything?”
“A couple more weeks would be nice, but we will get it done in time.” Jacques answered confidently. What a great move that was when we replaced Bruno with Sergi and Jacques, I thought.
“Okay, who wants to go next?” Marco asked. “That’s a tough act to follow.”
“I’ll give it a try,” Sean Schafer of Clark Construction volunteered. “We’re in pretty good shape too. Yesterday we tested both dome roofs and everything worked to perfection. With no wind, the roofs close in 20-25 minutes. That should give us plenty of time to head off most rainstorms. As you know, the plan is to keep the roofs open throughout the tournament unless rain is in the forecast.”
“Tim, how is Hunt doing?”
“Seating is in place and we should be finished painting by tomorrow. It takes 12 hours to dry so we need to be finished by Sunday. Scoreboard and sound systems have been tested and most of the glitches have been resolved. We’ll be ready.”
“How are you doing with the restaurants?” Ken asked.
“We are training staff as we speak. Yesterday we provided lunch and dinner for 100 employees and we are doing the same thing today for the players. Everyone is welcome to a free meal, but don’t count on perfect service. It’s difficult to train staff. The good news is that we didn’t have any major problems with the restaurant equipment. We will be ready for the Champions dinner Sunday.”
“Is the Museum ready?” I asked. “It would be nice to give the past champions a sneak preview of the remodeled Tenniseum Museum before dinner.”
“It’s ready, and all the exhibits are in place. We have a special show for the champions that are here. Each one will have a dedicated video tape that we will project on the screen when they enter.” I nodded my appreciation.
“Okay, then, let’s talk about security; Marco?”
“I wish I could be as upbeat as the rest of you have been. We have done everything we can think of, but you can never be sure that it will be enough. Security is a moving target and the challenge is to stay one step ahead of the terrorists. Everyone, please keep your eyes and ears open. Let me know if you notice anything out of the ordinary” he pleaded as he sat down. I could tell the pressure was starting to get to him.
“I have one thing I would like to add,” I said as Marco finished. “The CIA has specific information that terrorists are planning something to disrupt the tournament. They don’t know when or what, but they feel the terrorists will try something before the two weeks are over. Stay vigilant.”
Ken and I spent two hours walking around the grounds, trying not to get in the way. “Can you believe that there will be 60,000 people here Monday?” Ken commented in disbelief as we watched 50 workers laying sod around Susan Lenglen Stadium.
“We’ve come a long way since the French brought us this project 20 months ago,” I mused. “Let’s hope we have thought of everything.”
Saturday afternoon the French police did a complete security review of Roland Garros. Every inch of the stadium was covered. German shepherds trained to detect the slightest hint of plastic explosives sniffed every nook and cranny. Every locker was opened and the contents checked thoroughly. Players taking advantage of last minute practice time were asked to open their tennis bags and submit to a personal search. To the chagrin of one player, the police found marijuana and suspicious prescription pills, but nothing that was a security danger to others. Presumably the player returned these items to the person that had mysteriously placed them in his tennis bag.
Stadium security personnel reported at 4 PM and the security system at every gate was checked and double-checked. Construction workers were used to try and smuggle in guns, knives and other weapons. Plain-clothes police tried to smuggle in plastic explosives. Marco and I watched as the weaknesses in our security system were put to the test.
Security at each entrance was patterned after the security imposed at large airports. The emphasis was on people, not luggage, although purses, handbags, computers and shoes were screened. The basic components of the system ware X-ray machines and trace detection systems similar to those used in the most airports, designed to detect the microscopic particle emissions that are a byproduct of many Type B explosives such as Semtex and C-4.
The primary detection systems were augmented by a new “sniffer system” that can detect explosive particles and illegal drugs on people that have handled these materials in the past few days. Each entrance to the stadium was equipped with an aerosol-based field test kit called Expray that would allow for a fast analysis of suspect materials.
Security officials recognized the limits of trace detection systems, and the ability of terrorists to adapt and develop new ways to beat the system. The job is difficult when common devices such as an Eveready battery can be used to detonate a 11 ounce bomb used to bring down United Airlines Flight 629, and enough Semtex to collapse the Statue of Liberty can be molded into a children’s toy, painted red, white and blue as a cruel joke. Today’s trace detection and sniffer systems would detect the explosives hidden in Richard Reid’s shoe, but might not be good enough to detect the next generation of terrorist bombs and chemical threats. The challenge was to stay one step ahead and continue working on new technologies including EDS and quadruple resonance.
Security checks were successful over 95% of the time, which wasn’t good enough. One in twenty potential security threats went undetected. Two sniffer machines failed to identify enough C-4, which if strategically placed, was sufficient to bring down center court. A coke can filled with E-Coli went undetected.
Machines were recalibrated and security personnel were chastised. New rules were established to prohibit containers of any kind, including soft drinks and water, from being brought into the stadium. Limits on the size of handbags and carry-ons were reduced. We also decided to do use a limited version of profiling, and perform body searches on young men and women fitting the profile. It wasn’t enough, but we had to do something. A 5% failure rate wasn’t acceptable.
Electricians were called in Saturday evening to fix a small problem in the electrical systems impacting the sound systems in both stadium courts. The speakers attached to the roof developed static and for some reason this was causing a flickering of the overhead lights. Four men worked late into the night before the problem was corrected. The Clark supervisor was delighted when he came in Sunday morning and the problem was fixed.
Agbu was also delighted. The plastic explosives were in place and the ignition mechanism was armed.