Read Under Suspicion - The Legend of D.B. Cooper Page 22

Special Agent in Charge O’Leary crouched low behind a crate in the blackness of the night. To his right was Agent Case and to the left was the rookie- Anderson. They were decked out in the latest military assault attire and weaponry. Their black clothing blended them perfectly into the night. Boots, pants, jackets, gloves, body armor, and helmets- the only thing not covered with black material was their eyes. Covering those was the latest in American night vision technology.

  Even their weapons were camouflaged. Case carried his sniper rifle in a loose relaxed fashion. He had been on countless raids, and knew that an Agent could get worn out simply waiting for something to happen. This was, however, the Rookie’s first drug bust and he was fidgety. He held his M-16 assault rifle tightly, ready for action.

  “Relax,” O’Leary whispered to him. “It’s going to be a while yet.”

  Anderson nodded and tried to do as he was told but, found it difficult.

  O’Leary looked out over the target area. Although there was no moon and the clouds blocked the stars, the night vision goggles gave him a good view of his surroundings. It was an eerie green, but other than that the technology was excellent. He keyed the button on his belt for the radio. The microphone attached to his throat picked up his whisper.

  “This is Lookout One,” he said softly. “Lookout Two report.”

  “We are in position and the target zone is clear,” came the reply in O’Leary’s earpiece. He took the binoculars and examined the brushy bank on the shore across the river where Lookout Two was posted. Even with the night vision goggles, he couldn’t see them. The one spotter and one sniper were well camouflaged.

  “Assault Teams One and Two report.”

  “We are ready and holding position,” came the reply. Both teams were on separate police boats, one up stream and the other down stream of the target zone. Tucked away in coves along the shore, they lay hidden from view.

  “Backup Team report.”

  “Ready and holding position,” came the reply. The backup team was hiding in several large crates next to the entrance of dock D.

  “Air One report.”

  High above Seattle, a DEA helicopter shadowed its target using a telescopic night vision scope and infra-red detection equipment.

  “We have target Kingpin in sight. We have one limousine escorted by two Lincolns, one leading and one trailing. In the limousine are Kingpin and his personal bodyguard. The two Lincoln’s have three security guards plus a driver in each. They just turned onto the West Seattle Bridge. ETA to Zone, ten minutes,” came the reply.

  Excellent, O’Leary thought. Everything was going as planned. He reviewed the sequence of events again in his mind. Target One, the boat carrying the drugs and his informant, will come up the river soon. It will turn into deck D, come to a stop, and tie up in slip 5- the only empty slip on the dock.

  By then, Target Kingpin will have arrived and made their way down to dock D with the pay off money. Kingpin is expected to be accompanied by his personal bodyguard, plus no fewer than six other security guards. At that time, the drugs will be unloaded from the boat, and put on the dock next to the money.

  The drugs will be examined by Kingpin while the money will be counted by the supplier-informant. All of this will be recorded by the four video cameras and microphones hidden in different locations on dock D. From every angle, Kingpin will be recorded buying the drugs, securing an air tight case against him for court.

  O’Leary will then give the signal to move in. Team Backup will come out of hiding and secure the only exit from the dock. O’Leary will identify themselves as Federal Agents and order them to put their hands in the air and not move. If any security guard pulled out a gun, the two snipers have been ordered to take them out.

  Kingpin’s personal guard may be a different story. He’ll be right next to Kingpin and it will be too dangerous to shoot at him from a long distance. O’Leary wanted Kingpin alive. They cannot afford a bad shot.

  Therefore the personal body guard would be the responsibility of Assault Team One, lead by Agent Rodriguez. Each police boat carried a team of four agents on its bow. Within seconds of the signal, they would reach dock D from opposite directions.

  Agent Rodriguez will lead the assault, and is ordered to neutralize the body guard with any force necessary. He knew that Angela won’t let him down. The only people left standing will be Kingpin and the supplier-informant.

  Then the acting would begin. O’Leary would come down dock D with his pistol drawn. Only it was no ordinary weapon. It was instead a radio transmitter that looked like a gun and fired only blanks. When he was in position, in clear view of Kingpin, the informant would start the show.

  The informant will pull out his own gun filled with blanks and pretend to fire at O’Leary. O’Leary will then aim and fire at the informant. The instant he fired, the gun would send a radio signal to the fake blood package under the informant’s shirt. The pack would explode and the informant, covered with fake blood, will fall backwards into the water. Just under the surface, a diver was waiting to take the informant to safety. In front of Kingpin, they would pretend to look for a body, but none would be found.

  Since the Kingpin will believe that his supplier was now dead, he won’t suspect him as an informant. The informant would then rat out Kingpin’s entire operation while safe in the Federal Witness Protection Program. This could be the bust that would make O’Leary’s career. The information received from the informant could lead to hundreds more arrests and convictions. It could shut down the largest organized crime ring on the west coast.

  O’Leary couldn’t help but smile. After tonight, he should get the recognition, promotion, and transfer he wanted. Just as long as everything went according to plan.

  He had worked it out a hundred times. The assault would consist of overwhelming numbers and fire power. The Agents were well trained, and had the latest in military weaponry and protective attire. Anything that could go wrong, he had planned for… or so he thought.