responded immediately, “Yes, Senator.”
“Patch me through to Duncan.”
A few minutes later, the intercom next to the senator buzzed. “Yes,” the senator answered. Duncan was on the line. “Have you taken care of that problem yet, Colonel?”
“No, sir. My two operatives are still on it. Seems Mr. Calvin Varner has disappeared. They are checking the area now and hope to have a lead soon. We have found his girlfriend and have her under surveillance as we speak.”
“Colonel, I don’t have to tell you the serious consequences we may encounter if this fails. I’m airborne and will give you our ETA in about an hour from now. Mark the time and have the scrambler on. Our destination is the strip. Be there when we arrive!”
“Yes, sir. How many are in your party?”
“There’ll be myself, Emory, and Michael.” Then as an afterthought, the senator said, “Out,” to end the conversation.
The colonel reached over and pushed his intercom button. “Get me Stewart and Maps on the scrambler and make it pronto.”
Within a few minutes, Stew answered, “Colonel, Stewart here.”
The colonel asked, “Were you able to locate the targets?”
Stew answered, “Yes, sir. We were able to find out they had left early this afternoon.… No, sir. At this time, we have no idea where they were headed.… Yes, sir. From what we found out, it’s a man by the name of Marion ‘Tork’ Albertson. We ran a make on him. He was a Special Forces officer during the Iraqi War. He is a fully qualified gunship pilot, who they decorated during four special assignments behind enemy lines. We have ordered his records from the records archives and should have them soon, sir.
“We believe they are moving south to investigate what happened to Mr. Varner at the strip. So we might be seeing them early in the morning if they are headed that direction. You should have security on alert and put out some perimeter personnel sensors around both the compound and the detention center. That’s the area they saw Varner in when we started following him. Also, sir, we have completed our investigation in Frisco and are en route home now. We just fueled in Modesto and should reach home plate as planned. Colonel, next time, we go by air. We wasted a lot of time on this trip, sir.”
“Roger. Keep me informed of any unusual incidents that may occur on your return. By the way, what was Mr. Albertson’s military rank when he was released from active duty?”
“He mustered out as a captain, sir.”
The colonel called out to the orderly. “Check with communications and see if we have Stewart and Maps on satellite tracking.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Also let me know when you get the ETA on the Falcon.”
“Yes, sir.”
The colonel rose from his chair, stretched, yawned, and looked at the surveillance monitor and then to the distant mountains. For a short time, he watched the waves of heat rising off the desert floor. In deep thought, his mind started to wander as he looked out. The soaring temperatures had shot up to 120 degrees. The night would be just as cold.
Soon some of the country’s born and bred marauders and wheeler-dealers will feel the heat of labor. They will then appreciate what the American people have been going through. Thoughts of the past and the foreseen future came to mind.
The doors will soon be closed and America can start rebuilding her economy, giving back the people their jobs, their factories, and their dignity. Made in America will mean in America and not when they assemble it here and make it elsewhere. Yes, the colonel thought, now is the time. Yes, now is most definitely the time.
Colonel Duncan called the main control center in the compound and gave the man on duty an order. “Get me security immediately. Have him come directly to my office?”
“Yes, sir.”
Within minutes, the chief of Security entered the colonel’s office.
“Yes, sir?”
“I want proximity sensors set up around the compound and the detention center. We may have guests coming, and we wouldn’t want them to get lost, would we? Also make sure the VIP quarters are ready for guests. The senator and his party will be here soon, expecting three in all. Oh yes, we have two guests that will be coming by way of our sensors. Make them comfortable in the detention center until we can interrogate them.”
“Yes, sir. We have surveillance systems in operation now, ground sweep radar and sensors at a hundred yards.”
“That’s fine. However, we are dealing with a Special Forces intruder. I would feel better if you had another sensor line out at least another a hundred yards.… Okay, thanks.”
The security officer picked up the phone, barked a few orders into it, and reassured the colonel the sensors would be in put in place.
Chapter 4
Arrival
Bakersfield, California
May 28
Late evening
Tork and Cal had stopped in Bakersfield for food and fuel and to make a plan. Problem? Yes. Tork did not know any more now than he knew when Cal called him. He had no idea what was going on or why two men were after Cal. None of it made any sense. Cal had no idea either. He just made a bad turn because of car trouble. Now two armed men were after him.
While Tork was not sure what was going on, he did know only the military, drug dealers, crooks, and police carry guns and go looking for people. Both of them thought Cal had mistakenly stumbled into a drug drop off. The new asphalt and the long run it made convinced Cal it was being used as an airstrip for small planes. It made sense to him; it was drug runners trying to shut Cal up.
Tork said, “When we find the new road you spoke of, we’ll park off the road out of sight. I brought a tarp to throw over the Jeep once we’ve hid it. We’ll pack in and follow the road for about ten meters so we have time to duck if any vehicles are roaming around. Also, they may have sensors monitoring the road. Any vehicles passing may set them off. That may have been how they spotted you the first time.”
Cal was uptight with enthusiasm and ready to go. They ticked him off about the chase and he wanted to get even for the licks Tork had taken for him.
“I’m ready. Let’s go get them. I don’t care how bad they are. Let’s go.”
Tork and Cal finished by fueling the Jeep, and Tork picked up a few specialty items that Cal couldn’t figure out why.
“What are you doing, Tork?
“Oh, just a little insurance policy,” replied Tork.
Chapter 5
Command Concern
Orinda, California
May 28
Diana Richmond had just returned home from shopping at the Pleasant Hills Mall. It had been a fruitful shopping spree, and she was looking forward to sharing her booty with her mother. She had planned to go with Marion this morning, but he had called saying Cal was in trouble again and he and Cal would be going to Southern California for a few days. He said he would call when he returned or sometime tonight if he got the chance to.
“Mom, I’m home!”
“Oh, hi, darling. Thought I heard you come in.”
“Hi, Mom. Come and see what I have bought Marion.”
Cheryl Richmond knew how much Tork hated the name Marion. Nevertheless, he loved Diana, so she was the only one that could call him Marion.
“Where is Tork today, Di?”
“He and Cal went to the desert for a