

Aztlan

by

J. D Parker

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, and incidents are the product of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form whatsoever. Copyright by J D Parker. For information contact aztlanbooks@gmail.com or see aztlanbooks.com

This is book one of the Aztlan Series

# Prologue

The key to terrorism is fear. By killing and injuring innocent people the fear begins. The real terror comes when other innocent people are afraid it will spread to them. This is when people are willing to change their behavior. They are willing to give up freedoms to try to feel safe. They are willing to stop helping others that can't defend themselves because the price becomes too high. This is when terrorists win. Some people aren't willing to give up their freedoms. They fight back.

# Chapter 1

### Gaza Strip June 1990

"Kamal, come on. Everyone is going to the square to play soccer" a young voice shouted through the open window.

"Mom, I'm going to play soccer."

"Kamal, take Rahil with you so he can get out of the house."

"Mom! He's too little to play with us and I can't watch him and play soccer too. Do you really want him roaming the marketplace? It's dangerous."

"Not any more dangerous than anyplace else here, take him and keep an eye on him while you play."

I can't believe I'm stuck with him again.

"Come on, Rahil. Let's go." Kamal said reluctantly.

The Gaza Strip was the only home Kamal and his family had ever known. It was a wretched place filled with out of work men with vacant looks in their eyes who struggled to feed their families on a daily basis. Many of the businesses were boarded up and those in the market square that were open were often out of food. As the group of barefoot boys ran, they had to jump over open sewers overflowing with waste and dodge piles of rotting garbage. Their soccer field was a dirt and gravel area on the side of the market place square. Kamal and his friends got ready to play their daily soccer game with a worn out soccer ball and boxes to outline the goals.

"Can I play soccer with you and your friends?" begged Rahil.

"Shut up, Rahil. Just sit there and watch. Maybe when you grow up you can play. You're just a little boy."

"Raji lets his brother play. He's my age."

"Yeah, but he's good. Just sit there and watch. Maybe you'll learn something."

"Kamal, let him play. He's not that bad. We could use another player."

"Shut up. He's my brother and he's not playing."

Rahil started sobbing, watched them play for a few minutes and then slowly wandered over to the marketplace. A few minutes later the boys heard a bomb go off several miles away. They started cheering and dancing.

"That was in the Israeli quarter!" they shouted happily.

From the market place one of the men yelled, "Boys, take shelter. They might send an air strike."

As the boys ran for shelter they saw a rocket hit the marketplace. They dove behind some sandbags as several more rockets landed in the surrounding neighborhood. After the barrage stopped, one of Kamal's friends yelled out,

"That last one was near our houses."

As the boys jumped up and ran for their houses, Kamal was torn between sprinting home and looking for his brother. He headed for the marketplace as he watched his friends disappear around the corner.

He saw the smoking ruins of a shop ahead, ran for it and in front of the shop he discovered several people leaning over a small body. Kamal pushed through the crowd only to see his brother lying on the ground in a pool of blood. He gathered his brother in his arms and realized he was not breathing. A man gently put his hand on Kamal's shoulder and said,

"It's too late, son. He took a bad hit from a piece of the rocket because he was standing in the open when it hit. He didn't take cover like everyone else. There is nothing you can do now. I don't know where his mother is. He shouldn't have been here by himself."

Kamal started crying hysterically, picked up his little brother and ran for home. He rounded the corner and looked ahead to see his house in flames. Screaming he dropped his brother and tried to get in the house but was pushed back by the searing flames. One of his neighbors grabbed him.

"You can't go in, it's too late. The house took a direct hit. Everyone was in there except for you and your little brother."

Several of the neighbors gathered around and kept Kamal from entering the burning house. As the house collapsed into a pile of debris shooting sparks against the surrounding structures, Kamal sat on the ground beside his little brother's body sobbing, his eyes glued to the flaming ruins. The neighbors asked each other if there was any other family. One of the men said,

"I remember them talking about an uncle that teaches in the special camps out in the desert. I will send word of what happened and let Kamal stay with us until we hear back."

# Chapter 2

"Kamal, your uncle is here to see you," said the neighbor as he ushered a man into the room.

Kamal's uncle entered and found the twelve-year old boy sitting on the floor in the corner watching him with wary eyes. Kamal had brown hair covering his forehead and his arms and legs were coated with streaks of soot from prowling through the remains of his house. He was wearing only shorts and an old T shirt. Kamal looked up at a man with a long graying beard dressed in a flowing robe and turban.

"You're my uncle?"

"I am your mother's brother. I have been very busy teaching young men like you and have not been able to come here to see your family. It is dangerous for me to be here now. There is a price on my head."

"Do you teach in the camps in the desert?"

"That's what I do."

"Did you come to take me there? Why did you come here if it was dangerous?"

"Because you are family. Would you like to go back to the desert with me?"

The boy's eyes were burning. "Will you teach me to avenge my family's deaths?"

"Yes."

"Then I'm coming."

"Kamal, thank these people for taking care of you. Do you have anything you need to take with you?"

"All I have is the clothes I am wearing. Everything else was destroyed by the rockets."

Kamal stood up and turned to his neighbor.

"Thank you." he stated without feeling.

His uncle turned to the neighbor and stared deep into his eyes.

"We will be leaving now. It would be good if you didn't speak of this to anyone."

The neighbor initially tried to return the stare but quickly backed away.

"I support what you are doing and won't tell anyone that you were here."

Kamal was guided out the door by his uncle. They walked for several blocks through the depressing town as Kamal noticed everyone pointing at his uncle and talking in hushed voices.

The boy was curious. "Do they know what you do?"

His uncle cast a furtive glance over his shoulder. "We need to get out of here. There are always people around that would turn me in for a small amount of money."

"Then they are traitors to our people." Kamal spat out with fire in his eyes.

"There are always traitors. You must always watch for them."

They approached an old dusty car covered with dents.

There was urgency in the uncle's voice. "There is my car. Get in. Hurry. We need to get to a safe house."

"How do we get through the checkpoint in your car?"

"We don't. This car stays in town. We have a building near the border with a tunnel. We will go through tonight."

Several hours later Kamal huddled with his uncle in a dark tunnel with dust in his eyes and dirt falling on them as the walls vibrated when trucks passed overhead.

"Is the tunnel safe?" asked a wide eyed Kamal.

"It's safe. Only move when you hear the trucks. Their noise hides the noise we make so no one discovers the tunnel. Crawl that way."

Kamal crawled through the darkness feeling his way with his hands stretched out in front of him, pushing through spider webs that scraped across his face and landed in his hair. It seemed like hours spent in the darkness, trembling as he waited and only moving when the trucks were overhead as they were constantly pelted by dirt from the top of the tunnel. He heard scurrying feet and cringed as he felt small furry bodies brushing against his legs as he crawled. Kamal finally saw a light ahead and spotted small red eyes peering at him as he crawled into a dank basement. He stood shivering while his uncle emerged behind him with his robes dirty and dust falling from his hair and beard. His uncle stood up and brushed off his robes.

"We're safe now, Kamal. We have a car waiting and will be at the camp by dawn."

Several hours later Kamal looked out the car window at dusty brown tents scattered on the desert floor. There was nothing green or living within sight. The air was already shimmering from the heat of the sun baking the desolate rocks. He heard shots on the other side of a hill. His uncle said,

"Kamal, we have a school and a mosque here. You will learn and train with the other boys."

"Will you teach me how to fight the Great Satan and avenge my family?"

"We start today."

The boy's eyes lit up. "What will I learn to do? Will I become a suicide bomber?"

"Is that what you would like to be?"

"Yes, I want to avenge my family."

"You will get your wish. There is one of the staff. He will get you set up and acquainted with how we operate. I need to see the Imam."

Kamal was taken inside a large tent with a dirt floor where he saw a number of bedrolls stacked in the corner.

"Here is a bedroll. You will sleep in this tent with all the other boys your age. Keep all your personal items in that locker. We will provide you with anything else you will need. The tent through that opening is where the food is served. The outhouses are behind the tent. It's not as nice as you are used to. Is it?"

Kamal looked over the tent that was to be his new home, smelled the dust and odor of too many bodies living in a small area, turned to the staff member and said,

"This is my new home where I will learn to avenge my family. When do I start training?"

"Today. It will be difficult. It's not like living in the city."

"Don't worry about me. I can handle it."

That's what they all say the first day, he thought. We'll see how you do after a few days.

Later that day Kamal's uncle was talking to the other staff and being questioned by the Imam.

"Do you know anything about the boy?"

"I never saw him until yesterday. He lost all his family to an Israeli air strike."

"We need to test him and see what he can handle. We usually have more information on what a boy is like before we agree to take him in. Bring in Hasam."

The men watched Hasam swagger into the tent. He was one of the bigger, older and more experienced boys. The Imam told him,

"Hasam, we have a new 12 year old boy. His family was killed in an air strike. I want to know what he is made of. Find out what he can handle. You can scare him, but don't injure him. I know he has been through a lot, but he is of no use to us if he's not strong and willing to fight."

"Yes Imam, I have done this before. I will take care of it tomorrow after class." Hasam said as be bowed in respect to the Imam.

As Kamal attended class he tried to concentrate to learn as much as he could. He quickly became acquainted with several boys his age. He noticed a large, older boy watching him.

One of the boys said, "That's Hasam. Watch out for him. He likes to pick on the younger boys."

"Are we allowed to defend ourselves when he does?"

"Of course. We're sent here to learn to fight. But he's big, mean and unpredictable. Be careful."

After class Kamal walked over to the table at the front of the class, grabbed a knife and hid it under his clothes when no one was looking.

The next day after class Kamal was walking to the tents with a couple of other boys his age when he was shoved violently to the ground from behind. He rolled over and saw Hasam standing over him.

"Get up little boy. I need to teach you a lesson. I saw how you were looking at me earlier."

Kamal slowly got up while facing Hasam. The other boys crowded around to see what would happen. Hasam smiled, came up close to Kamal and suddenly threw a punch. He was shocked when it landed in the air as Kamal ducked and punched Hasam as hard as he could in his side. A surprised Hasam fell on his back as all the younger boys started pointing and laughing at him. He jumped to his feet and circled around Kamal more wary this time.

"Now you're really going to learn a lesson, you little street rat."

Hasam pressed his attack as Kamal easily evaded his thrusts. His anger grew at each miss until he finally charged directly at Kamal to try to wrap his large arms around him. Kamal dodged him again and kicked him as he flew past. As Hasam got ready for another rush he saw one of his friends sneak behind Kamal. As he rushed this time his friend shoved Kamal toward him from behind. Kamal, off balance, was thrust into Hasam who immediately grabbed him in a bear hug. Kamal felt himself being pulled off the ground with his arms pinned to his side. Hasam held him tight for a minute, sneered at him and said,

"Now you learn your lesson."

Kamal let his body go limp and pulled his head back. As Hasam lowered him to the ground, he let his legs bend until he felt the ground under his feet and Hasam start to lessen the pressure on his arms. He suddenly snapped his head forward as hard as he could while driving up with his feet. He caught Hasam on his nose with the front of his forehead. Hasam's nose was shattered and he screamed with pain as blood started shooting out of it. Kamal pulled back his leg and kicked Hasam as hard as he could in his crotch. As he fell to his knees retching, Kamal clenched his hands together and crashed them down on the back of Hasam's neck, forcing him to the ground. Kamal spun around beside the prone body, jumped high into the air and landed on his back with his knees, driving his chest into the ground and knocking the wind out of Hasam as he pulled out his knife.

The Imam was interrupted during a meeting.

"You need to come out here. We have a situation with Hasam and the new boy, Kamal."

The Imam strode into the classroom and saw Hasam lying on the ground on his stomach with Kamal sitting on his back, pulling his head back by the hair and holding a sharp knife to his throat, toying with him. There was a small amount of blood trickling down his throat and a large amount flowing from his nose. No one could see through his beard to notice the smile form on the Imam's face.

"What happened?"

"I wasn't here when it started. When I got here Kamal said if we come closer, he will slit his throat."

The Imam slowly walked over and sat by Kamal. He looked deep into his eyes and said,

"Your problem is with the wrong person. I asked Hasam to find out what you are made of. So if you have a problem with what he did, your problem is with me. So that knife should be at my throat instead of his."

He then took a long knife from his robes, pointed the sharp end at himself and held it out to Kamal,

"Release Hasam, put down that toy knife and take this real one."

Kamal returned the Imam's stare, dropped his knife on the ground and got off Hasam. Hasam crawled away from Kamal, jumped up and ran over to the other boys, rubbing the blood from his throat and nose. Kamal took the long knife from the Imam, turned it so the handle was facing the Imam, grabbed it carefully by the razor sharp blade and held it out without saying anything, never breaking contact with the Imam's eyes. The Imam smiled in satisfaction.

"We need to talk. Come to my tent with your uncle. You can keep the knife."

Back in the tent the Imam sat cross legged in his tent observing Kamal and his uncle.

"I have to say I'm impressed. Hasam has several years and much weight on you. I have never seen him lose a fight."

"He has a weakness."

"What's that?"

"He's afraid to get hurt or die."

"Are you?"

"It doesn't matter either way to me."

The Imam looked at him for a long time as Kamal never broke and returned his stare. After several minutes the Imam said,

"I need to talk to your uncle. Wait outside."

After Kamal left, the Imam asked his uncle,

"I might have special plans for him. Has he formally entered into adult membership in the Muslim faith?"

"Do you mean has he been circumcised yet? I don't think so. Usually it's done right at puberty. He just turned 12, and not all boys are circumcised anymore."

"Let's find out. I'm interested to see his reaction. Have him come back in."

Kamal was brought back into the tent. His uncle asked,

"Kamal, have you been circumcised?"

"No uncle, I have not."

The Imam spoke to Kamal, his voice was grave.

"Kamal, boys are often circumcised at about puberty to initiate them into manhood in the Muslim faith. This is done with great fanfare with all the family present. It shows the boys commitment to the faith and that he is now a man. Some families no longer practice this ritual. They say it is not required or necessary."

"I would like to do this to demonstrate my commitment to my faith," stated Kamal emphatically.

The Imam looked into his eyes solemnly,

"We are low on supplies and out of local anesthetic. We can do it next week when the new supplies come."

"I don't need any anesthetic."

"It's quite painful. It's only until next week."

The boy's eyes were determined. "I don't want to wait a week. Can we do it tonight?"

"This is a significant step into manhood. We usually do it with your family around. Since you only now have your uncle, we are now your family. Shall we do it tonight with all your peers present?"

"Yes, I would like that."

"You are excused. We will make the preparations for tonight."

After Kamal left the Imam said to his uncle,

"I want to see his reaction tonight, especially in front of all his peers. I might have special plans for him. Have the doctor come to my tent."

When the doctor arrived, the Imam told him,

"You are going to circumcise the new boy tonight. I told him we were low on supplies and there would be no anesthetic. He chose to proceed instead of waiting until next week when new supplies arrive."

"But Imam, we have plenty of local anesthetic. He doesn't need to go through this without anesthetic. It's difficult to do safely if he moves around from the pain."

"I want to see his reaction to the pain with everyone watching. I will have several of the men hold him so he doesn't move. We will do it tonight in the main hall after dinner with everyone there. Oh and doctor, take your time and do it slow."

"You are going to do it in front of all his peers? Many of them have not been circumcised. It's not always done anymore to Muslim boys."

"We're doing it to him. I want to know what he's made of."

Later that evening after dinner the Imam stood to make an announcement and the room went quiet.

"The new boy, Kamal has decided to show his commitment to Islam and be formally inducted into manhood by being circumcised. We shall do this now. Unfortunately, we are out of local anesthetic, but Kamal has elected to proceed without it. All of you are his new family and are free to observe him taking this great step. Kamal, come, we are ready."

Kamal proudly walked to the front of the tent while the boys gathered around whispering among themselves. Several men were standing there and the doctor was holding some towels and a scalpel. Kamal calmly removed his clothes and sat down in a chair on a towel as the boys gathered close. The Imam said,

"Kamal, it is important you don't move while the operation is done. You don't want the doctor to cut anyplace he shouldn't. These men will hold you to make sure you don't move."

Kamal looked up at the Imam calmly.

"They can hold me if you prefer, but it is not necessary. I will not move."

The Imam motioned for them to proceed. Two large men got on either side of Kamal and held him tightly as the doctor moved into position.

The Imam said to Kamal,

"Most boys don't like to watch this. There will be a lot of blood and he is cutting on an important part of your body."

Kamal looked back up at the Imam.

"I prefer to watch," he said and looked down at what the doctor was doing.

As the doctor slowly performed the operation, the Imam watched Kamal's feet and face. He heard a noise and watched several of the boys rush from the tent holding their hands over their mouths and retching. The doctor eventually wrapped a bandage around Kasam's penis, stood up and said,

"It is finished."

The men released Kamal, he stood up, calmly put on his clothes and turned to the doctor.

"Thank you doctor."

He then turned to his uncle and the Imam and respectfully said,

"Thank you for allowing me to do this and sharing this experience with me."

The Imam nodded to him, looked at his uncle and the other men and retired to his tent. The men all followed the Imam. When they were seated in his tent he asked the two that were holding Kamal,

"Was it necessary to hold him?"

One of them said in amazement.

"I couldn't believe it. He never flinched. I was holding him tight, but he never moved a muscle, and he watched the entire thing."

The other man said,

"Maybe he is one of those people that doesn't feel pain."

The Imam stated,

"Did you watch his feet and face during the operation?"

They all looked at each other startled and his uncle replied,

"I think we were all watching the actual operation. Why would you look at his feet and face?"

The Imam explained,

"Years ago I had to have an operation on my ear. There is no local anesthetic that will work in an ear. The surgeon had me remove my shoes and he watched my feet as he operated. When my toes started curling, he slowed down. It is an involuntary reaction when your body experiences intense pain."

Kamal's uncle asked,

"What did Kamal's feet do?"

"They were curled up like knots and his forehead was sweating. He felt the pain. He just chose not to react to it. I need to think now. We will talk in the morning."

The following morning Kamal and his uncle were sitting across from the Imam in his tent. The Imam asked Kamal,

"How are you feeling? Are you in pain?"

"It is nothing," said Kamal. "I am ready to resume my training."

The Imam looked at Kamal for a couple minutes without saying anything. Then he said,

"Kamal, I am sending you to America."

Kamal's face lit up,

"Not all the boys get to go to America. Some of them set off their bombs in lesser countries. It is a great honor to be sent to America when I am older," he said.

"You don't understand. I am sending you to America now. You are not going to be a bomber."

"What! I want to avenge my family. I want to strike a blow at America. They supplied the rockets that the Israelis used to kill my family."

"Kamal, we have a more valuable place for you. We have hundreds of boys that want to be suicide bombers. We need people that will fit in America. We want you to grow up in America and be one of those people. You have light skin and brown hair. We are giving you a new identity from someone who was born in America. From now on you will be known as Joseph. You need to learn to think and act like they do, but hold true to your beliefs. We want you to be above suspicion. Then when the time is right, you can be extremely valuable to our cause."

Kamal bowed his head, "I will do whatever you ask, Imam. I will not fail."

The Imam thought, yes, I think you will be one of the few that make it.

After Kamal left, his uncle asked the Imam,

"Do you think he can make it? Our success rate with boys that young is not very good. Once they are exposed to life in America, they lose sight of our cause. It is difficult to be immersed in a sea of bad influences as a teenager and not succumb."

"I know of a good family that will take him. If anyone can make it, he will."

# Chapter 3

### Stepnagorsk Institute for Microbiology 1990

Stepnagorsk was one of the premier biological weapons sites in the former Soviet Union. They spent billions of rubles over many years on research and development. When this site was eventually inspected after the Cold War, many of the secrets they spent years developing had disappeared along with the scientists who had discovered them.

In 1990, several of the scientists were sitting around the conference table, drinking vodka and discussing the decline of the Soviet Union. As the night wore on, the drinking got heavy and they started getting bold in what they were willing to say.

"I don't see it lasting another year."

"And then we will be out in the cold. Biological weapons will be the last priority once the Soviet Union folds."

"We haven't been paid for over year as it is. When we leave here, no one can know what we did or where we came from. We need to blend in with all the other scientists."

"I wish we could leave with something for all our years of work. We have developed some amazing weapons. Especially the one we didn't tell the Kremlin about."

"Did you ever think what might have happened if we had? Would anything have changed?"

"Everything would have changed. We wouldn't have lost the Cold War. However, I think the world would have been a much worse place if they had that power."

"I have thought about what could happen with that weapon in the wrong hands. I think we should destroy all the records. We have already destroyed all of the chemicals. No one should have that kind of power. It's the greatest weapon ever conceived."

"Let's do it before we change our minds. Let's do it right now."

"I'm in. What about the rest of you? Let's do it right now, before

we change our minds."

All the scientists looked at each other and raised their glasses in a toast. They set their drinks on the table and staggered over to their desks. Each of them grabbed several notebooks and carried them outside. One of the scientists grabbed a bottle of vodka and poured it over the pile of books and lit it. They all stood in a circle around the burning pile and watched years of work go up in flames. Boris thought, I'm glad I kept that copy of my notes. I don't know when I will ever use them, but I can't live with seeing years of my research wasted.

# Chapter 4

### San Diego California 1993

Joseph ran into his house shouting to his parents that they have just won their soccer tournament and he scored the winning goal. As he rushed into the living room he stopped short when he saw a man he hadn't laid eyes upon for years sitting on the couch talking to his adopted father. His father looked up at Joseph and said,

"Joseph, do you remember Rushdi? He is an old acquaintance of mine."

Rushdi held out his hand to Joseph. As Joseph shook his hand he said to Rushdi,

"I am sorry for running in here shouting, it was very rude of me."

"Oh, no. That is just what we want you to be. A 15 year old rude American."

Joseph finally remembered who Rushdi was, gasped and blurted out,

"I'm sorry, you are one of the Imam's," as he knelt down in front of him.

His father said to Joseph,

"You will be going with Rushdi for a couple of days for more training."

Rushdi looked down at Joseph kneeling in front of him and said,

"Get up. You need to act like an American at all times, even in my presence."

"But you are an Imam," blurted out Joseph, "I have to show you respect."

"You show respect by doing what I ask of you. Now get ready to go. We will be gone for a couple days."

When Rushdi and Joseph arrived at one of the safe houses in Riverside, California, they found several dirty, rough looking men sitting around a table in the living room talking. Lying on the floor was another man, tied up and gagged. Rushdi introduced Joseph to the men.

"This is Joseph. We have been training him for three years now and he is ready for another step."

One of the men studied Joseph and laughed.

"He is still just a boy. Don't send a boy to do a man's job."

Joseph stared at the man on the floor as he asked Rushdi,

"What did he do?"

Rashid pointed at the incapacitated man and replied,

"He was caught trying to pass information about our cell to the United States. What do you think we should do to him?"

"Kill him," Joseph said without hesitation.

The men all laughed at his comment. The first one said,

"Send the little boy home. We will do the dirty work you need a man for," as he laid a knife on the table.

Joseph peered at Rushdi and asked,

"May I?"

Rushdi nodded at Joseph and watched him walk over to the table and pick up the knife as the men laughed. Joseph quickly knelt on the man lying on the floor, grabbed him by the hair and pulled back hard exposing his neck. Without hesitation he drew the knife across the man's exposed throat, cutting deep and sending blood spurting over the pants and shoes of the men at the table. They yelled and jumped back to escape the gory onslaught. Joseph stood up, calmly looked at them and said,

"Thanks for the knife" and then stuck it into the table they were sitting at as he stared them down.

The men at the table stared back at Joseph and started muttering to themselves. The first one said,

"You fool. You got blood all over my clothes."

"Sorry for being so careless. I guess that's what happens when a boy has to do a man's work," Joseph said sarcastically as he stared fearlessly into the man's eyes until the man finally broke and looked away.

Rushdi smiled, looked at Joseph and said, "Come on into the other room. We have things to discuss." He turned to the men and said,

"Clean up this mess and get rid of the body."

"Why don't you make him clean it up?" demanded the first man.

Rushdi stared at him and said,

"Because I told you to do it. Is there a problem?"

The man looked back with his eyes down and said,

"No, there is no problem."

In the other room Rushdi sat down to talk with Joseph.

"We have plans for you, Joseph. You have several more years left before you can go to college. You must keep up your grades to be able to get into a good school. We will pay all the costs. Graduating from a good school will gain you acceptance in the United States. We are still looking at several options on where we want you to go. You have proven tonight you will not hesitate to carry out your assignments. Be patient. I know you want to do more now, but the more you are the typical American teenager at this time, the more valuable you will be in the future. We have big plans for you. Assignments you can't even envision."

# Chapter 5

### Mexico 2010

All the lieutenants were sitting around the conference table at their weekly staff meeting, reporting in. Manuel said,

"Last item on the agenda, are we still having problems with any of our dealers?"

Juan replied,

"The Russian. I have given him every opportunity and he keeps failing. I think he is using more of the drugs than he is selling. He owes us over $100,000 now and I don't see an end."

"We have to make an example of him and cut our losses. Eliminate him and make sure all our other dealers know why. At least we can use him for a bad example to keep the others in line."

"I'll contact a crew and have them take care of it this week."

Two days later in San Bernardino, California the hit crew had the grandparents tied up and were waiting for their grandson, the drug dealer, to come home. The grandfather was pleading with the hit crew.

"You don't have to do this. If you let him keep dealing, he can eventually pay your boss back. If you kill him, you will have nothing."

"He's had his chances. Your grandson's a drug addict. He is supposed to make others addicts, not become one himself. He's no use to us if he keeps using drugs. He has had every chance to quit. We've given up on him. It's time to use him for a bad example for others."

The grandparents looked at each other and the grandmother said to her husband, Boris,

"Do what you have to. I can't bear them killing him. He's all we have left"

The grandfather turned to the head of the hit team and said,

"I have something to trade for his life."

The head of the hit team laughed and replied,

"What could you possibly have that my boss would want?"

"I used to work in the old Soviet Union with biological weapons. I brought out some work we did that everyone, including the United States, thought was destroyed. I'll trade it for my grandson's life."

He looked at him in disbelief.

"You have some biological weapons here?"

"Of course not! But I can make them. We discovered the most lethal weapon ever conceived. But what makes it unique is we made an antidote. Once you take the antidote and are immune, you are immune forever. It is the perfect weapon and no one has it. I know how to make it and the antidote. I'll trade this for my grandson's life. Your boss can control the ultimate weapon of mass destruction."

The team leader thought. I'm probably an idiot for even thinking this, but if one of my team members ever says anything to the boss and I didn't report this, it would be hard to explain. I guess it won't hurt to check this out.

"Let me see what you have."

"Untie me and I will get it. Remember though, you need me to understand this. I spent years working on this as a top scientist for the Soviet Union."

He retrieved his old notebook and handed it to the team leader.

The team leader looked it over for a minute.

"I can't understand this. What's it written in? The letters don't even look right."

"It's written in Russian. The letters are Cyrillic."

The team leader frowned. He then made a phone call to his boss in Mexico.

Jorge, one of Manuel's top lieutenants, answered the phone.

"Jorge, we are at the Russian's house. The grandfather wants to trade for his grandson's life."

"What could he possibly trade?"

"He claims to have been a biological weapons scientist for the old Soviet Union. He showed me an old notebook that he says has the formula for an extremely lethal biological weapon that has an antidote. I know Manuel's fascination with these things so I thought I should mention it."

"Have you killed the grandson yet?"

"No, we have the grandparents tied up and are still waiting for him to come home."

"What does the notebook look like?"

"It's old and handwritten in a language I don't recognize. The letters don't look right either. He says they are Cyrillic."

"Let me check with Manuel. Don't do anything until I call you back."

A couple minutes later, Jorge called him back.

"Manuel has a contact that can read Russian. Take pictures of a couple pages with your phone and send them to me."

Jorge printed the pages and took them to where Manuel and his father Jefe were having lunch with an old man from the local village. The old man took the pages, put on his reading glasses and studied them for several minutes as his face turned white. He then looked up at Manuel and asked,

"Can I get some more pages?"

Manuel looked over at Jorge, and Jorge nodded and left the room.

Manuel asked, "What do you think?"

"There was a rumor that the Stepnagorsk Scientific and Technical Institute developed a super weapon that they never told the Kremlin about and then they destroyed all the records and the scientists disappeared. If this is actually a notebook that is 20 years old from that Institute, there is the possibility that this is a formula for one of the greatest weapons ever made."

"What's so great about this weapon?"

"It's a nerve agent that kills within a couple minutes. It can be sprayed as a liquid that then evaporates when exposed to the air. When the liquid or gas touches bare skin or is breathed in, it is absorbed and travels through the bloodstream. It is so toxic that one breath or being exposed to a tiny area of skin is all that it takes. Once the liquid evaporates and the gas dissipates, the area is safe. But all this is not what makes it so great. They have an antidote. As soon as you are exposed you take a muscle shot and it makes you immune forever. It is similar to a disease like smallpox. Once you are immune you are immune forever, but if you aren't immune, as soon as you are exposed you die."

Jorge walked back in with several pages and handed them to the old man. He studied them for several minutes, looked up at Manuel and said,

"I think you might want to bring in this man and his notebook."

Manuel turned to Jorge.

"Bring him, his notebook, and his wife and grandson here. Send out the word that they just disappeared. None of the other dealers will know what happened so it will have the same effect as if we killed them for their failures. That should keep the other dealers in line. If this formula works, it could be very helpful. If not, we can kill them here."

"How do you want me to bring them in?"

Manuel thought for a minute and said,

"We have a load going out tonight on the secure transport. Bring them back when it returns. It doesn't matter if they know about it. They will never leave here."

The Russian drug dealer arrived back at his house in San Bernardino and found his grandparents tied up on chairs in the living room. He immediately bolted for the door but was tackled by one of the hit team. They tied him up, loaded him and his grandparents in the back of a cargo van and then went back and trashed the house. They drove to a house in Newport Beach with a private boat house. After dark they loaded the drug dealer and his grandparents into a large powered catamaran and headed into the ocean. Four hours later they were several miles off the coast of San Diego. The boat slowed to a crawl in an area a couple miles from where fishing boats were trawling at the same speed. After a half hour the conning tower of a World War Two era diesel electric submarine broke the surface of the ocean between the two pontoons of the catamaran. The hatch opened and the drug dealer and his grandparents were forced to climb down into the submarine. Packages were carried up through the conning tower and were loaded onto the catamaran for several minutes. As soon as the hatch was closed the submarine slipped silently beneath the sea as the catamaran headed back to Newport Beach. The submarine headed south toward Mexico running silently on electric power. After four hours of silent running it was miles inside Mexican waters where it surfaced inside a similar catamaran, started its diesel engine and headed for a private dock with a warehouse over it in Ensenada, Mexico. The captain said to his first mate,

"Another successful trip. This was the best investment Jefe ever made. When it's running on the batteries this old submarine is quieter than the new nuclear submarines the US uses. It only can run a few hours at a time on these old batteries, but that is plenty of time to get from the waters off San Diego to Mexican waters."

After surfacing inside the warehouse the prisoners were transferred to a van for the trip to a small airstrip for a flight farther into Mexico.

Manuel came into the room where the drug dealing grandson and his grandparents were waiting with Jorge. He addressed the grandfather.

"This is the deal. Your grandson has been a major disappointment and owes me a lot of money. If your weapon is what you say, you have purchased his life, yours and your wife's. None of you will ever leave here, but you will live a life of luxury. We have other compounds besides this one, or you might stay here. If this weapon is not what you say, I will personally kill all of you. I looked at the material you need to make this weapon and it seems fairly simple. It looks like it could be made with our Meth cooking equipment."

The Russian said,

"It's not that hard to make the nerve agent. You just have to be very careful. One wrong move and if you are not immune, you die. The antidote is a lot harder to make."

"Are you immune from your previous work?"

"I am, but my grandson and wife are not."

"Good. I am sending you to make this at one of our Meth labs many kilometers from here. You will make the weapon and the antidote and then test them on your wife and grandson. If it works as you say, you will do more extensive testing on some workers and prisoners I have. If the antidote works as good as you say, it won't be problem to test it on your family."

"The antidote works. My family will be fine."

# Chapter 6

### Meth Lab – Deep inside Mexico

Several of Manuel's workers were watching the Russian anxiously. Carlos turned to the others,

"I can't believe we got stuck with this. Do you think he knows what he's doing?"

"I'm not sure," another worker replied, "but if we stay with his wife and grandson we have a good chance. He acts like he loves his wife and his worthless grandson."

After two weeks the Russian said they were ready and they all assembled in the dining hall. He said to the workers,

"I know you don't trust me. Here are several hypodermic needles prepared with the antidote. You need to take it when you are exposed. They are all the same. My wife and grandson need them also. Pick whichever one you want and I will inject you. Then we will expose my family and the prisoners to the nerve agent."

Carlos said to the Russian,

"Just remember, if this doesn't work I still have my gun. I will have time to shoot you before I die, and Manuel and Jefe are watching this on live video. If you are trying to pull something, you won't get far."

The workers pulled three needles at random from the pile and the Russian injected each of them. Then Carlos handed him two more and he injected his wife and grandson. There were three prisoners tied up that had no idea what was happening. One had his shirt off and was tied with his arms apart exposing his chest. The next was in another area tied to a wall and the third was tied up in a storeroom with no ventilation. The Russian opened a sealed container and poured a clear liquid into a garden sprayer. He proceeded to spray some on his wife and son, then walked over to the first prisoner and sprayed his chest. He then walked to the second prisoner and dropped a tiny amount on his exposed wrist. With the third prisoner, he walked into the room and sprayed a small amount on the ground and closed the door. He then walked over to the workers, and before they knew what he was doing, he sprayed some in their direction. They panicked and started to run as one of them pulled out a gun. They heard a voice they recognized as Manuel's boom from the speaker.

"Don't shoot him. This is a test. I told him to spray you."

They all looked at the Russian with hate in their eyes. Then they noticed the first prisoner. He started convulsing and throwing himself against his restraints. His eyes rolled up in their sockets and he slumped down. They looked over at the second prisoner that just had a drop and he was doing the same thing. Then they looked at the video of the prisoner in the storage room. At first nothing happened, and then within another minute he showed the same symptoms and then quit breathing. They all started watching the wife and grandson who still seemed fine. After several minutes, all the workers were still fine also. The Russian just sat there smiling and watching. He looked at the video feed that was going back to Manuel and said,

"I told you it works, just like I said. Your workers and my wife and grandson will be immune for the rest of their lives."

Manuel's voice came over the video feed.

"You have done well so far, Russian. Stay there several days and make more antidote and nerve agent. Then we will do more testing."

Manuel turned off the video feed and said to Jorge,

"Call everyone together for a staff meeting. I have a plan that is going to require a lot of work."

Later that day around the conference table when Manuel was gathered with all his top advisers he stood to address them.

"The Russian's test seems to be a complete success. This opens the way to implement the Aztlan plan and puts us years ahead of schedule. His nerve agent seems better than anything else I have ever dreamed of. We should be successful executing our plan in one stage instead of several times. We will still prepare for multiple stages, but might not need them. We must move steadily and cautiously from this point on. Juan, you are in charge of the American team. Take whoever you need and spend whatever you have to. You need to find four crop dusting planes we can steal at night without being caught and fly to a staging area near Los Angeles. The staging area has to be private and remote enough to land planes, refuel them and load them with nerve agent to fly to LA. You will probably have to buy a ranch out in the desert. Use one of the U.S. holding companies. Make sure no one finds out who you are and who you represent. When this is complete it will all be blamed on Middle East terrorists. Jorge, I have located the four pilots we need through the requests we constantly get to smuggle people into the US. They are all Middle Eastern and are on the terrorist watch list, which makes them perfect for our plan. You need to bring them into the US when Juan is ready through the secure transport. They cannot know how the transport works in case they get captured after they spray the nerve agent. You will have to drug them so all they know is they woke up in America. They cannot know who we are. Everyone, tell me any flaws in this. Don't hold back. We need to find any weakness now."

"Why don't we just buy the crop dusting planes? It seems like the risk of detection goes up if we steal them."

"We have inquired about buying planes, but with the security alerts the government is notified when crop dusting planes are sold. They won't be that difficult to steal. We will do it the same night as the attack."

He looked around the room at everybody's eyes and stopped at Juan.

"Juan, do you have questions?"

"No, Jefe, I think the plan is good. However it still seems we are killing off the very people that purchase our drugs. From what I understand this could kill millions of people."

"Many millions, but there will still be plenty left after this is complete. Besides, we have made enough money for several lifetimes. Now it is about power. This plan is what my father and his fathers have always dreamed of and now it is possible. Isn't that right, Father?" he asked as he looked over at his father who was sitting at the table.

His father replied reverently, "The Aztlan plan has always been the dream. This is what I have worked toward all my life, and now it can actually happen. The land of Aztlan will rise again with us as the chosen ones for its leaders. I only wish your grandfather was still on earth to see it."

"Do we have a terrorist to implement the plan?"

"Yes, I have been talking to some contacts in the terrorist camps. They have a sleeper that has been in America since he was 12 years old. He looks and acts like an American. From what I have heard he will be perfect. I will be going to America on the secure transport to meet him and make my final decision if he is the one."

"Do the terrorists know the overall plan?"

"No, and they never will. All they know is we are supplying the means for them to kill millions of Americans and take the credit. We are also paying them."

Later that day Juan met with Luis.

"I have been doing some research on the Internet. I think the best place for a staging ground to prepare the planes is east of Barstow, California. That area quickly turns to open desert where we will be isolated enough. We will start looking for property there. The planes are more of a problem. They have crop dusting in that area, but stealing four planes in one area could be a problem. I think if we go further out and steal two planes from two different areas far enough from Barstow, it will make the chances of being detected before it is too late reasonably small. There are two areas I am looking at in particular. One is in the Imperial Valley near the Mexican border and the other is in the San Joaquin Valley. We will try these places first."

# Chapter 7

### Barstow, California

Juan was in a real estate office talking with several realtors.

"I represent a retired businessman who always dreamed of owning a ranch in the desert. It must have a house, a large barn, be secluded as he is very private and it must have a private airstrip. He will be flying to this ranch in a private plane from time to time, and he wants to land directly at his property. Do you have any properties that meet these requirements?"

"We actually have several, but all the airstrips are dirt. Is that a problem?"

"Dirt airstrips are fine. Do any of them already have tanks for refueling? That would be a plus."

"Three of them do. One of the properties in particular seems to fit your requirements, however it is far from town. There are not any other houses close so it is quite isolated. It's called the Jensen Ranch. There is only one house within several miles, but it is usually unoccupied. The owners have died and it is just used occasionally in the winter by his son. He keeps quads in the barn to ride in the desert when the weather is cool. It used to be a part of the ranch but was sold off several years ago. Would you like to see this property?"

"Absolutely. Can we see it now?"

After inspecting the property, Juan found it perfect for their needs. He told the realtor,

"This seems excellent. If you can get the fueling tanks checked and filled, I will give you full price."

He raised his eyebrows. "I'm sure that would be acceptable. What about financing?"

"I'll pay cash. As I said, I represent a wealthy businessman. Set up a short escrow and as soon as the tanks are taken care of we can close. What about that house over the hill? You said it used to be part of the ranch?" Juan asked.

"Mr. Jensen sold the house several years ago with the surrounding five acres to a friend. He and his wife lived there for several years and they both died a year ago. His son owns it now but he only comes in the winter like I said."

"I'd like to buy that house also. My boss likes his privacy. Tell him to name his price."

"I'll call Mr. Brown, but I just talked to him a month ago. It's not a matter of money with him. He's a quite successful attorney. He told me he wants to keep it for awhile because of the memories and his kids like to go there and ride quads. If I get a different reply I will call you immediately."

"I want to close on the Jensen Ranch in the meantime. It we can get the house fine, like I said money is no object. If not we can live with it. It's still the best property for our needs."

# Chapter 8

### San Diego, California

Manuel was sitting in a restaurant waiting for his contact. He watched an Arab businessman with a neatly trimmed goatee, dressed in a nice Western suit walk in alone. He walked over to Manuel and sat down.

"I thought I was meeting my new employee?"

"You are. He is already in the restaurant. You wanted someone that would blend in. I thought it would be interesting if you could spot him."

Manuel looked around the restaurant and saw several men in their mid 20's to mid 30's, but only two of them looked like they weren't Americans.

"I see two possibilities. The man over there with the black shirt and one over there with the gray suit and red tie."

"Wrong on both accounts. Keep trying."

Manuel looked some more and didn't see anyone out of place. After several minutes he grew frustrated. He glared back at his contact who smiled at Manuel and nodded his head. Manuel looked up and saw a clean cut man in his mid twenties approach the table and sit down. He was wearing shorts, sandals and a short sleeve golf shirt. He was clean shaven and had sunglasses propped up on top of his head. He smiled at Manuel and holding out his hand said,

"Hi, I'm Joseph."

Manuel shook his hand while staring at him in disbelief and said to his contact,

"He's an American."

"Exactly. He has been here since he was 12, has grown up in San Diego and graduated from UCLA. He is totally above suspicion. Let's get something to eat and then go someplace private to talk."

He motioned over a waiter. Joseph ordered first.

"I'll have a lite beer and a bacon cheeseburger."

Manuel looked at him in surprise while his contact remarked,

"Sounds like a great American lunch. I'll have the same."

"Make it three," said Manuel slowly as he stared at Joseph.

Later at a private bench by the beach he said to Joseph and the contact,

"After talking to you I would swear you lived here your entire life and you look like a typical California adult. You have done well. You could blend in anyplace."

"Let's go over the plan," said Joseph. "It sounds like I passed your first test."

"You passed."

"So what are we going to do? I understand you a have a lethal nerve agent."

"I have the greatest weapon ever made. This will be a much greater terrorist attack than 911. You are going to spray a nerve agent over Southern California with four crop dusting planes at dawn on July fourth."

Joseph was taken aback. "Four cropdusting planes? How far along are we?"

"We have a compound in Barstow, California, a place called Jensen's ranch. We have the nerve agent and antidote ready to take to the compound from another location in the desert. The planes we want have been located and the four pilots are ready to be brought across the border."

"Are you going to have trouble getting them across the border?"

"That's what we do. Not a problem."

"What do you want me to do?"

"You will run the operation."

"And you are paying us $20 million and letting us take the credit. Why?"

"That is not your concern. Do you have a problem with my terms?"

Joseph stared at Manuel for a minute and then replied, "No problem."

# Chapter 9

### New York City June 2011

Ellen saw the light blinking on the answering machine, pushed the review button and realized nobody had checked the messages today. After deleting several junk calls she heard a message from a doctor to her mother confirming that unfortunately this week's tests were the same as expected. She thought for a minute and got Sarah.

"Sarah, you need to hear this."

Sarah joined Ellen in the kitchen and Ellen replayed the message. Sarah looked at Ellen puzzled and said,

"Play it again."

"What do you think?" asked Ellen after they listened.

Sarah thought for a minute and replied, "There is something going on they aren't telling us. I'm not going to lay in bed all night thinking about this. Let's go talk to them."

Ellen and Sarah went over to their parents' room and saw them sitting up in bed reading. They both looked up when Ellen and Sarah came in.

"Hi, girls, what's up?" asked Ruth. "You look serious."

"We need to talk," said Ellen. "You forgot to clear the messages from the answering machine, so I did. There was a strange message to you from a doctor I never heard of about some tests. You have been sick for a couple weeks Mom, and Dad has been acting weird. We're part of this family too and we think we have a right to know what's going on. Why are the last tests the same as expected?"

Ruth looked over at Robert and started crying. Robert scooted over in bed and put his arm around his wife as she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"Go ahead and tell them, Robert. I can't do it."

"Tell us what, Dad? What's going on?"

Gravely Robert began, "Ellen, Sarah, your mom has cancer. She has been having radiation treatments but they haven't worked. The tests keep coming back the same."

"They can fix it can't they," cried Sarah. "We have the best doctors in the world here."

"We've been to several of the best doctors in the world. They have been trying the latest and best technology there is. We have even tried some experimental treatments."

"What are you saying, Dad? Nothing is working? What kind of cancer do you have, Mom? I thought they could kill off cancer."

"I have pancreatic cancer," said Ruth solemnly. "If you don't find it in the early stages it is impossible to cure. Mine was advanced when they found it. We tried anyway, but nothing is working. The doctors said nothing would work but we tried anyway."

Ellen and Sarah looked at their mom too stunned to reply. Then they looked at each other and started crying.

"What does this mean, Mom? What happens now?"

Ruth held out her arms and both girls rushed over to her and crawled into bed. Robert moved over and the girls got on each side of their mom as she put her arms around them. After a couple of minutes Ruth said in a choked voice,

"The doctors have told me there is nothing else we can do to treat it. As it gets to the later stages, I will take painkillers to have a good quality of life until the very end, but there is nothing I can do or take to cure it. There is an experimental procedure they are trying in California. The possibility of it helping is very slim. We just found out about it yesterday. We are thinking of going to Southern California this summer for several months to try it."

Both girls were crying as their mom had her arms over their shoulders.

"I can't believe this," said Ellen. "When are we going to California?"

Ruth didn't answer for a minute.

"When, Mom?" asked Sarah.

"We don't know. We aren't sure we are going."

"What! Of course we are going. Why wouldn't we?"

"The chances of it working are very low. If I only have six months left, I'm not sure I want to spend it in California undergoing experimental treatments as opposed to spending it with the three of you at home in New York."

"But there is a chance if you do the treatments in California?"

"There is a chance, but a very small one. I haven't decided yet."

The girls sat sobbing beside their mother for several minutes. Finally Sarah asked,

"Is this why you want to go to Lake Powell?"

"Yes, Sarah. Our lives are going to be changing. I have been thinking about what is important. I want the two of you to get to know about life outside of New York City. I feel I owe you this. I want to decide what we are going to do for the next six months on this trip."

"Mom, we'll make it work."

Later that night Ellen and Sarah were talking in Ellen's room and reading about pancreatic cancer on the Internet.

"I just can't believe this," said Ellen. "Mom can't be dying. This sounds really bad. No one has ever survived this."

Ellen looked over and saw Sarah crying. She sat next to her on the bed and put her arm around her as they cried together.

# Chapter 10

### Newport Beach June 2011

The Brown family had just finished enjoying a barbecue dinner on their patio and had gotten into the Jacuzzi. They tried to spend one night a week together with just the family, enjoying each other's company without distractions.

"John and Cody, we need to talk to you about something."

John and Cody looked at each other and were instantly alert. Cody spoke first,

"Dad, not another one of those talks! I think you've covered that subject way more than you needed to already. We get it."

"No, this is different, but you need to pay attention. Do you remember my best friend Robert and his family in New York City?"

John jumped in. "No way. Don't tell me we are going there again. That weekend was like a trip to hell and back."

"John, it wasn't that bad."

Cody exclaimed, "Yes it was! Don't you remember how they treated us?"

"Well, we aren't going there."

"Whew," both boys chorused. "That's good."

"However, they are coming here," replied their dad.

"What!" yelped John. "Why would they come here? They hate us."

"John, they don't hate you," interrupted his mother.

"Yeah they do, Mom" interjected Cody, "and why are they coming here?"

"They are going with us on the houseboat on Lake Powell the first week of July."

"What!" yelled both boys. "No way," exclaimed John. "They hate stuff like that. They like museums and Broadway shows and shopping. They would hate Lake Powell on a houseboat."

"First of all," his dad replied, "it's not up for discussion. We are going. Second, I've been talking to Robert and the girls have changed since you last saw them. Ellen doesn't do ballet anymore. She is into that Irish clogging dancing and is quite good. Sarah has quit dancing and is now playing soccer. I think they will be quite different than what you remember."

Both boys just stared at their dad numb. "Who else is going?" asked Cody finally.

"Just the two families," said his dad.

John and Cody leaned back and stared into space.

"It won't be that bad," said their mother. "At least we will be on the houseboat having fun."

John and Cody looked at their mom without saying anything for a minute then John said, "Mom, those girls can suck the fun out of anything. I'm going swimming," he said and rolled over the side of the Jacuzzi into the pool.

Cody stared at his mom without knowing what to say and jumped in after John.

When the boys were gone, Nancy said, "Do you have any idea what's going on? This is so unexpected and out of character for them to want to come on the houseboat."

"I really don't know what's happening. Robert was evasive when we talked, but I think this is coming from Ruth. I never thought she would want to do something like go on the houseboat. She's more of the 5 star hotel type, but she's the one pushing for this."

"I guess we will find out more when they get here. I think it's great we're getting together. I just don't understand their willingness to go on a houseboat for a week. It just doesn't seem like their type of trip."

"Well, Robert always liked stuff like that growing up."

"But after he married Ruth he seemed to change completely and follow their lifestyle."

"I think after his first wife died he just needed a complete change."

"Well, he sure got one by moving to New York City."

"I think he still loves outdoor activities like the lake, he just hasn't done them for a long time."

"I understand him still liking them. It's Ruth and the girls. They have never done stuff like this. I don't picture them liking sun, wind and activities like wakeboarding and wave runners."

"I guess we'll know more when they get here."

John and Cody were talking on the other side of the pool.

"Dude, what do you think?" asked John.

"This totally sucks. We gotta find a way out of this."

"Do you think they actually could have changed?"

Cody thought for a minute and replied, "No way, don't you remember how they acted a year ago?"

"I remember. What are we going to do? I can't spend a week with just the Prada sisters. Could we get some of our friends to go?"

"That would be better than just the four of us. Let's ask Mom and Dad."

They swam back to the Jacuzzi and jumped in.

"So who's all going on this trip?"

"Just the two families, four adults and four teenagers."

"Why don't we take more people? It's always fun with more people for everybody there."

"Did you have anyone in mind?"

John thought anyone else in the world would be an improvement. He said, "I could think of a lot actually, but our cousins in Las Vegas are who came to mind first."

"I know this is not what you want to hear, but this trip is going to be just the eight of us. We have other trips planned this summer, but this trip is just the eight of us. Later on this summer you can both take friends and we are going with your cousins from Vegas also, but this trip is just the eight of us."

The boys looked at each other and then back at their dad who stared them down. John said resigned, "Whatever." They both slid back over the edge and swam to the other side of the pool.

"Any ideas?" asked John. "You seem to always come up with something."

"No, but I will. There's no way I'm spending a week in hell with them."

# Chapter 11

### El Centro, California

Juan and Luis were sitting in a car observing the local airport surrounded by acres of green fields. Juan instructed Luis,

"We need to scout out a place that doesn't have security at night and where we can take off in two planes without being noticed. When they come back to the airport in the morning it will be too late. It looks like all the planes in the area are based at this local airport. We need to talk to the operators of the planes and pretend we are thinking of using their service. Let's just find some of the operators and start talking."

"It looks like there are a lot of people in that diner and it's lunchtime. Maybe this will be easier than we thought."

Juan and Luis walked into the diner and saw one large group seated at several tables eating lunch. The group looked over at Juan and Luis and saw two well dressed, clean cut Mexican men walking over to their table. They all stopped talking as they approached. Juan smiled and addressed the group,

"I apologize for disturbing your lunch. I noticed some crop dusting planes outside. I represent a wealthy businessman planning to purchase some farmland in this area. I was asked to look into crop dusting to see if it was available. If any of you gentlemen are involved in crop dusting and are interested, please join me and my friend over at that table by the door when you are finished with your lunch. Thank you for your time."

Juan nodded his head at them and he and Luis walked over to another table and sat down. They were soon joined by one of the men.

"Please sit down," said Juan, "this is my friend, Luis."

"My name is Tom. I run several planes out of this area and do about 75% of all the crop dusting around here."

"It sounds like we found the right man. I have to admit to little knowledge regarding crop dusting. We are planning on purchasing several hundred acres for vegetable farming. We were told that it will be necessary to spray these fields from time to time and crop dusting is by far the best way to accomplish this. Is this true?"

"Of course. That is the way everybody does it around here. That's what my business does."

"Again excuse my ignorance, but are the fields all sprayed at once. How high do the planes fly? Doesn't it get on other fields? I really don't know much about this."

"Let me give you the short course. The planes fly very low to spray the material only where it is supposed to go. The better planes that I use hold several hundred gallons at a time, so we can usually do all your fields at once. Of course the weather has to be right to spray. Very little wind and if there was dew it must be evaporated off."

"So you usually fly in the morning when it is calm? It is also calm at night. Do you ever fly then?"

"Of course not, it's hard enough flying low when it's light. You would kill yourself at night. The planes are fueled up when they come in each day and the tanks cleaned out. If we are scheduled for your fields the next day, we come to the airport about daybreak and if the wind is staying down, we load up your chemical, take off and can be over your fields spraying in a half hour."

"What would happen if you sprayed too high?"

"You would have chemical all over the valley. The idea of spraying low is to keep it in the right place. Is this something you will be interested in?"

"Of course. I would like to see your planes if possible. I just want to be sure we are using the top people."

"We have two planes in now. Would you like to see them?"

"It would be great if we could inspect them now. Give me your lunch bill. I'll pay them both so we can go."

Juan, Luis and Tom walked over to Tom's operation beside the diner. Tom began showing them the two planes.

"All of our planes are Air Tractors and will hold over 500 gallons of insecticide and over 200 gallons of fuel. The oldest one is three years old. We have a modern operation with excellent planes."

"And you have several other planes than these?"

"We have a total of six, so we can usually get to you within a day or two of when you call."

Juan looked back at Tom and extended his hand.

"Thank you for the tour. We will definitely need your service and will get back to you soon."

As they walked away Tom thought, wealthy businessmen, they didn't even ask the price.

Juan and Luis got in the car and Juan turned to Luis.

"We need to monitor the area around the airport for several nights to check security. The planes are ideal and he fuels them and cleans out the tanks before they leave each night, but it won't do us any good if we can't steal them without anyone noticing they are missing until morning. I want to head up to the San Joaquin Valley and find two more. Then we will split up and spend several days at each location to make sure there won't be any problems when the pilots go to steal the planes."

Juan and Luis found almost the same situation in the San Joaquin Valley.

"This is easier than I thought," said Juan to Luis. "We need to go back to Barstow and get another car and you come up here and I will go to El Centro for several days. Stay in town and just drive up here several times during the night to check things out. We don't want anyone to get suspicious. Then after several days we will switch and I will come here and you go to El Centro. We don't want to miss anything and have any surprises."

# Chapter 12

"Mom, I'm going down to the beach to go surfing."

"John, you have to be back by 10, that's when Robert's family should get here from the airport."

"Mom, I still can't believe we're going with them."

"We've been through this," she said. "We are going, and you will have fun."

"Yeah, right. Have fun with the Prada sisters. Like that's going to happen."

Mom was adamant. "You had better be back by ten or you will be a very unhappy camper"

"I already am a very unhappy camper, it can't get any worse. See you at ten."

Nancy walked into the family room just as her younger son walked around the corner wearing only his boxers and plopped onto his back on the sofa, still rubbing sleep from his eyes. Cody was only fourteen and still had the thin chest and arms of a boy, all of his body brown from the sun. He was quite athletic, spending most summer days out in the sun playing beach volleyball, soccer and surfing. He looked up at his Mom, shook the hair out of his eyes and said. "Are they still coming?"

"Cody, you know they're still coming, we've been through this several times so don't start up again. You have a couple hours before they come. If you're bored I can think of some things you can do. Why don't you start by cleaning your room and putting on some clothes?"

Cody looked at her thinking fast and jumped up. "I just remembered, I have to take Jacob's shoes back before I leave. I better go do it now."

Cody ran to his room, got dressed, grabbed Jacob's shoes and was back in less than a minute.

"Mom, I'm going to Jacobs, I'll be home by ten."

"Before you go, let's talk about this week. I know Sarah and Ellen are not your favorite people and you would rather go to the lake with someone else, but this is important to your father. He hasn't done much with his friend and he wants this to work."

"Mom, they hate us. They are going to hate this as much as we will."

"I know they have a different life style, than we do, but let me put it this way. Going to the lake with them is not an option. How you act this week is your choice. If you want to have a miserable week, that's your problem. My problem is you can make the rest of us have a miserable week because of your attitude. But believe me that is a place you do not want to go with me."

"Mom, they are going to hate this as much as we will. It won't work."

"I'll make a deal with you," she said. "See if they've changed. If they really hate what we are doing, I won't force you to spend much time with them. But you will treat them politely. You won't ignore them and you will be a good host. Believe me Cody, you can't win this fight."

"Okay, I'm good with that. I'll be polite, but don't hold your breath. I know what they were like a year ago. People don't change that much."

"We'll see. Be back at ten."

Cody walked in Jacob's front door without knocking and saw Jacob sitting at the table wearing only a pair of shorts eating cereal. Cody threw his shoes on the floor.

"Here's your shoes."

"Thanks. You came over this early just for that?"

"No. I needed to get out of the house. I have to be home by ten. My father's friends from hell are still coming."

"Oh, the Prada sisters. I still don't understand how you got stuck going to Powell with them. What's their story?"

Cody grabbed a bowl and poured himself some cereal and milk. "He was my father's best friend growing up. They did everything together like we do. After he got married and his wife was killed in a car crash, he went off the deep end. He finally moved to New York City to start a new life, and he met this woman at an AA type meeting to help people whose spouses were killed. Her husband was mugged and killed during a robbery gone bad. To make a long story short, they got married and he adopted her two loser girls.

"So what's the problem with them?" Jacob asked. "What are they like?"

"He's okay but his wife and daughters are the biggest losers ever. We went to New York City a year ago to meet them and it was the weekend from hell. First of all the girls hate me and my brother. They are stuck up, snobby socialites who think they are better than anyone else. They only wear designer clothes and spend all their time playing drama queens with their stuck up friends. We went to a Broadway show that I didn't understand, ate at restaurants that didn't even serve normal food, and went shopping in the garment district. The only tolerable part of the whole trip was the boat ride to the Statue of Liberty. They spent the entire weekend making fun of the clothes John and I wore, and texting their friends about what losers we are."

"How old are they?"

"Ellen is 16 a year younger than John, and the younger one Sara is my age."

"At least they are about you and your brother's ages. Do they do anything fun like go to the beach or play sports?"

"Never," said Cody. "The only good thing about them is they live 3,000 miles away from us so we never see them."

"Except for the next week at Lake Powell. They don't seem like the type to go on a houseboat vacation. It's hot and you spent all day in the water wake boarding, tubing and riding wave runners. What will they do?"

"That's what doesn't make any sense" said an exasperated Cody. "They don't even like being in the sun. They have this pasty white skin that makes them look like vampires. I have no idea why they are coming unless it's to make my life miserable."

"Why don't you drop them off when you go through Vegas on the way to Lake Powell and pick up your cousins David and Darren? They would probably love Vegas with the shows and shopping, you would get rid of them and get to go to the lake with your cousins."

"Tried that. My parents want it to just be the eight of us."

Jacob was thoughtful. "What if it was their idea and you were just going along with what they want?"

Cody just stared at his friend.

"How could we do that?"

Jacob started thinking. "Get John on board and make sure your parents don't figure it out. I'm sure the Prada sisters don't want to go to the lake anyway. You just have to be careful that nobody thinks it's your idea. It has to come from them. You need to get them alone to work on them."

"How are we going to get them alone? We're all going the lake together."

"Are your wave runners still out it the desert? Remember we dropped them off at your grandfather's house at the Jensen Ranch on the way home last summer so that mechanic could work on them."

"Yeah, they're still there. We have to pick them up on the way and put in new batteries."

"Aren't you going to need two cars? Talk your parents into letting you and John take the girls in the Explorer as far as the ranch. The four of you will be alone in the car for a couple hours so you can work on them without your parents hearing what you say."

"Jacob that's an awesome idea, I think we can do this. I need to get home. Are you sure you can't come with us to the lake? I might be able to talk Mom into letting you come."

"You know how much I want to. But with our situation I just can't. I'll be stuck here watching my little sister."

"Why can't she just come too? We have plenty of room."

"Mom won't let us. She's about ready to lose it already."

"Is the foreclosure sale still on?"

"Unless we come up with a boatload of money, which we don't have. We just hope the new owner will let us rent for a while so we don't have to move."

Cody thought of Jacob staying at home for the next week, taking care of his little sister while he went to Lake Powell. I don't understand why life is so unfair sometimes. Jacob is one of the best people I know and he gets handed this. His mom has to work all the time and he has to babysit. They don't have any money and now they are losing their house, but he's always still happy and ready to help anyone..

"I just wish I could do something to help your family."

"Thanks Cody for trying. You better get home."

# Chapter 13

Ellen was sitting in the backseat with Sarah texting her friend.

We had the worst flight ever. Dad wouldn't let us go first class so we had to go business class. I couldn't even eat the food. I don't know how people live like this. Now we are in Los Angeles and all I can see are cars. There is no one walking, everything is so spread out. People drive everyplace. I don't even know if they have a subway and everyone is brown. They walk around all day in the sun without sunscreen. I look like a ghost here.

Ruth looked into the back seat and watched her two daughters texting their friends. They seem so different from each other. A year ago they almost seemed like twins. Then Sarah's life changed after her trip to Arizona. I hope this trip works out, she thought. This is so different than how they have always lived. At home in New York we would be shopping, stopping for a salad and planning on going to a show. They have lived such a pampered, sheltered life. They never had any challenges, we just gave them everything. They have never had to adapt to anything outside their comfort zone. This whole trip is going to be such a shock for them. I am really interested in seeing how they handle it. I'm not going to be here in 6 months to help them, so they need to learn to take care of themselves. Ellen is so caught up in her world of fashion and drama. I just wish she would care more about other people. She and her friends are so self-centered. She seems so fragile. It doesn't help that she hardly eats and is so thin. I hate that look. It seems like she could just break in half. At least Sarah isn't into that super thin model look. Playing soccer has helped a lot. She is getting some sun and exercise. She eats better now and looks so much healthier.

As Ellen and Sarah were both busy texting their friends during the drive from LAX to their father's friend Russ's house in Newport Beach, they overheard their mother talking with their father about the houseboat and started listening to their conversation.

Ellen spoke up first.

"I know we agreed to this but I'm really worried about spending a whole week with them. Mom, they have absolutely no culture. They ride motorcycles and surf. Do you know what my friends would say if they could see them? And look how they dress. They don't even wear designer jeans and T-shirts. They wear board shorts and flip flops. Why don't we spend most of the week in Vegas and just go to the lake for a day?"

"Ellen, it's only a week. I'm not going to argue with you. You will go and get along with them or we will not go to Paris this year and that is final."

"Not go to Paris Mom? Dad promised. We have to go."

"No, we don't have to go and we won't if you don't get along this week."

Ellen texted Haley

You won't believe this. It's not going to work to be able to go to Vegas to shop. We are going to meet our father's white trash friends and spend the whole week on a houseboat.

What actually is a houseboat?

It's this boat that you live on for a week. But there isn't any room for servants.

Who will bring you food and clean up. What will you do all day on a houseboat?

Spend all day texting with you and the rest of my friends. I just know this week will be hell. I'll keep you posted every few minutes.

Ellen quit texting for a minute and asked her mother,

"What do we actually do all day at the lake?"

"There are lots of water sports to do in the lake. You'll have fun."

"In the water!! In the sun!! With those boys!! I'd rather die. Do you know what this will do to my skin? "

"Now Ellen, It won't be that bad. We have sunscreen, give it a try."

"I can't believe you're doing this to me." Ellen whined.

"Robert, you deal with her. I need to stop at that store and pick up a prescription."

Ellen texted back to her friend,

You won't believe this. All there is to do is water sports, out in the sun.

In the sun! What about your skin?

Ellen and Sarah's mom, Ruth, went into the store and Robert turned to the girls.

"Ellen, put down that phone. I need to talk to both of you while your mother's in the store."

"Just a minute. I'm texting Haley."

"That's it. Give me the cell phone. I've had it with your attitude." Exclaimed a frustrated Robert.

"Just a minute. I'm texting."

"No. You're done texting. Give me the phone now! I am so sick of your attitudes. Both of you. This trip is for your mom. She always wanted to see Lake Powell, so this trips for her. And if you ruin it, not going to Paris is the least of your worries."

"I'm still not sure why we aren't doing this trip with other people instead of just your friend."

"Because that's what your mom wants, and the two of you are going to ruin it with your selfish attitudes. All you care about is texting your friends about how hard your pampered life is and how important you feel you are. You never think about anyone else. I will not let you ruin this trip. If you don't change your attitudes you'll lose a lot more than your credit cards. I'll take away your phones. "

"Dad you can't. I can't live without my phone!"

"Your mom's coming. If you think I'm not serious try me. You have no idea how mad I am right now and what I'm capable of doing. So try me and see what happens!"

Ruth got back in the car and as they drove off, Sarah piped up.

"Mom. I've been thinking. Maybe this trip's not so bad. I've always wanted to see Lake Powell."

"You do. That's wonderful. I thought me and your dad were the only ones who wanted to see it. I'm so glad you want to see it too. This will be so much fun. How about you Ellen? Do you also want to see Lake Powell?"

Ellen thought for a minute.

"Sure, Mom. I can't wait. I just can't believe we are doing this."

"I'm so glad you feel that way. I was worried about both of your attitudes. Robert, aren't you glad Ellen and Sarah have such good attitudes?"

Robert turned around and glared at the girls.

"I always knew they would come around. Right girls? This will be a great trip. Won't it?"

Sarah looked at him. "Sure, Dad. I wouldn't want to be anyplace else."

They pulled into Russ's driveway in Newport Beach and the family looked at the house. Robert had all the memories flooding back of growing up near the beach, summers surfing, and Lake Powell with all their old friends. Ruth looked at the house with the wide driveway and three car garage, green lawn with lush landscaping surrounded in a cull de sac with several houses just like it. It is so different from how we live in New York. They drive everywhere they go instead of taking the subway, they shop at places like Costco and large supermarkets instead of the neighborhood store, there are no skyscrapers, all the stores are chain stores and there is fast food on almost every corner. There are no shows to see. All they have is movies. And everyone is brown, like they spend all day outdoors in the sun. This is so much different than how my daughters and I have ever lived. I don't know how we will ever fit in.

Ellen looked at the house and asked,

"Where's the doorman? Who's going to get our luggage?"

# Chapter 14

### Jensen Ranch

Joseph sat on his prayer rug reviewing the plan in his mind, looking for what might go wrong and thinking of any problems that might arise.

He heard Abdul approach from behind.

"Abdul, are you sure everything is ready? Are the planes ready? Are the pilots in place? Is the nerve gas still stable?"

"Joseph, relax. Everything is in place. The pilots are in El Centro and Visalia, waiting for it to get dark and for the airports to close so they can steal their planes. They will be here by midnight. The first two shipments of nerve agent are already in the barn. The final shipment will be here this afternoon. Uday is transporting it now. The hoses and pumps have been tested. The additional fuel is here for the planes. Be calm. Everything will go according to plan. By tomorrow morning nothing will ever be the same in America. Just sit back, relax and enjoy our triumph."

"I hate waiting until we're exposed before we take the antidote. I wish we could take it now."

"That's the one problem they could never solve. You have to wait until you are exposed for the shots to work correctly. The antidote has to react inside your body with the nerve agent. We talked about this. We don't want the nerve agent released until we are ready and there is no good contained place here. We'll just wait until we're loading the planes as we agreed. Did you ever find out anything more about our sponsors, Joseph?"

"Nothing at all. I have no idea why they are willing to give us the plan, provide the nerve agent and let us take all the credit. It just doesn't make sense to me."

"They must have an agenda. None of it makes any sense. The part I really don't understand is why they don't want certain areas sprayed."

"I don't know Abdul. But as long as they provide our materials and let us take the credit, I will keep working with them. It doesn't matter what areas we spray, it just matters that we spray areas and kill the children. That's what makes everyone take notice."

"Do you really think we can kill several million people?"

"If we spray from a couple thousand feet and we have a little wind, each plane could spray an area of a square mile each minute. We could kill almost a half million per minute. The planes should be able to spray for a half hour."

# Chapter 15

Cody had been pacing waiting impatiently for John. I can't believe he's not here yet. I have to talk to him before they get here. Come on John answer my text.

Why's Cody texting me? I'll be home it two minutes. John texted back to Cody. Chill Cody, I'll be home in two minutes.

Cody texted back, Meet me in the garage. I need to talk to you before they get here.

John stared at his phone. I can't believe Cody thinks something is so important he can't wait two minutes.

Cody saw John coming up the driveway and grabbed him before his parents saw him coming.

"OK, Cody, what's so important?"

"I had a great idea. What if we talk up Vegas and talk down Powell to the Prada sisters?"

"Why would we do that? We hate Vegas and love Powell."

"Because we want to talk Ellen and Sarah into staying in Vegas with our cousin Blake. They would love going to shows and shopping, and their dad has boatloads of money. They could party in Vegas for the week with Blake. Then we would take Darren and David to Lake Powell. We get to go to Lake Powell with our cousins instead of the wicked witches from New York."

John thought for a minute. "Why do think that could work? Mom and dad already said they just wanted it to be the two families. What if Mom and Dad figure out what we're doing?"

"You know how demanding Ellen and Sarah are. It has to be their idea and it has to come from them. If we could get them on board they might be able to pull it off. Besides, what's the downside? We're looking forward to spending a week in hell anyway. How could it get any worse?"

"Mom could always make it worse, but the risk is worth it. Like you said, we're already going to spend a week in hell. How do we get Ellen and Sarah on board?"

"We have to get them alone for awhile. If Mom hears us bagging on Powell, she'll figure it out in a minute. Do you know how many cars we're taking to Powell?"

"We'll have to take the Explorer and the Suburban. We can't fit in the Suburban with all our stuff."

"What if we offer to take the girls in the Explorer and leave a little early? We can tell our parents they will be right behind us. Someone needs to go to the ranch to pick up the wave runners anyway. Remember we left them there last year so that mechanic could fix them. We could tell them we can meet them at the ranch. We would have a couple hours alone with them to make our case."

John was thinking that the plan had a chance. "Cody, this could work."

Cody came back excited. "We can tell both sets of parents we would like to spend some time alone with Ellen and Sarah to get to know them better. That's what they're pushing us to do anyway. We have to take two cars for everyone to fit and they'll be right behind us. I think we can talk them into it if we start with Dad first."

"How do we get the girls on board to go with us?"

"They hate us. We explain that our parents are going to do everything they can to make us get along with each other. If we are alone with them with no parents, we can totally ignore each other for a couple hours instead of listening to our parents trying to get us to make nice with each other."

"How do we get them to talk to us and stop texting their friends? That's all they ever do."

"We wait until we go over the Cajon pass. Dad said they have this cell service that works well in New York City but not out of any big city. They are going to lose their service as soon as we go over the pass. That should give us a good hour to work on them. We just have to remember to turn our cell phones off. It's just their phones that won't work out there. Ours will be fine. We can't have ours ring while we're telling them cell phones don't work."

"Cody, do you think they realize there is no cell service in the middle of Lake Powell? They're going to be cut off from their friends for a whole week. That will kill them."

"I didn't even think of that! He said excited. "Once we tell them about the shopping and shows in Vegas, we can cinch the deal by telling them there is no cell service on the lake."

"How are we going to convince them to go to Barstow with us without all the parents hearing?"

"I'll text Sarah. You text Ellen. Just tell them about having no parents for two hours so they can ignore us. They will love that."

"Cody, this might actually work. Great idea. You always come up with something."

Cody was silent for a minute and then admitted,

"It was Jacob's idea."

"Tell Jacob I owe him big time" John nodded as he and Cody sent texts to Ellen and Sarah.

"Mine went through. How about yours?"

"I'm good. Let's go try to make this happen. We need to get Dad alone. I think everyone is in the kitchen."

The boys walked into the kitchen and saw both sets of parents talking and Ellen and Sarah sitting at the table texting.

John looked Ellen over and thought, she looks just like I remembered her, always wearing designer clothes, white skin that looks like it has never been in the sun, even skinner than I remember, looks anorexic to me, and that snobby frown that looks down on everyone. He then turned to Sarah and thought. She looks way different. Her skin has some color and she isn't super skinny like she used to be and she really grew up over the last year. She looks hot. I wonder what happened to her?

Ellen and Sarah looked up and saw the boys. Ellen looked at John and thought. He is just like I remember him. His hair needs to be cut and styled, he's wearing board shorts and flip flops and a T shirt that looks like it's been lying in the sand. I'll bet he doesn't even own any designer clothes. And his skin's so brown, it's almost the same color as his hair.

Ellen looked at Cody. He hasn't changed. His hair's too long and not even styled. It looks like he got out of the shower and shook his head like a dog and walked away. He's brown like his brother and wears the same board shorts, T shirt and flip flops.

Sarah looked down at her phone and said to herself. I think Cody just sent me a text.

Cody caught Sarah's eye. I think Sarah read my text. She's looking at me funny. She just nodded her head at me. She's on board. I wonder about Ellen. Her head is buried in her I-Phone.

Nancy quit talking and noticed the boys.

"Oh great, John and Cody are back. I need one of you to help me in the kitchen and the other to help Dad in the garage."

"Cody, go help Dad, I'll help Mom."

Cody and his father walked out to the garage alone. Russ looked at Cody puzzled.

"Cody, thanks for being so helpful. Now what do you want?"

"What makes you think I want something?"

"Do you think I'm stupid? You're never this willing to help. Why don't you just present your case instead of dancing around?"

Cody thought, sometimes I hate having a lawyer for a father.

"Okay. John and I thought we could get to know Sarah and Ellen better if we take them to the ranch in the Explorer to pick up the wave runners. You would be right behind us in the Suburban. It would give us a chance to try to get to know them better without any parents around. What do you think?"

Cody's dad looked skeptically at Cody and thought for several seconds.

"I think you have an ulterior motive. But I can't figure out what it is."

"Come on, Dad. What do you think we're trying to do?"

"That's the problem. I know you. Ten minutes ago you hated them and now you want to spend two hours alone in the car with them. I just can't figure out what you are trying to pull off."

"Dad, what's the big problem. You said you wanted us to get along with them. All the parents are going to be right behind us. What could happen?"

"I'm trying to figure that out. I guess you can't get in too much trouble when we are right behind you. I'll get Mom to go along, but I'm warning you, if I end up being sorry I did this you are going to be a lot sorrier."

Cody thought, like things could get any worse.

"You won't be sorry, Dad."

Russ thought, I wonder what these kids are planning. Still they can't get in too much trouble in two hours.

Russ walked back into the kitchen and announced,

"Nancy, what do you think about letting the kids go together in the Explorer to the ranch and all the parents will follow in the Suburban?"

"You want to let the kids drive alone?"

Ruth chimed in, "Nancy, why not? It would give the kids a chance to bond together and besides, we'll be right behind them."

Sarah jumped in. "Mom, I think that's a great idea. We'll be stuck in the car with them. We have to get along."

John added, "Mom, why not? I'm a good driver. We go out to Barstow all the time. I have driven out there several times with you and Dad. You'll be right behind us. We'll meet at the ranch. We have to stop there and pick up the wave runners."

Ruth looked at her husband. "What do you think, Robert? Do you see any problems with this?"

"No, I'm on board. We'll meet them at the ranch outside Barstow. It's less than 2 hours. What could happen? Do you still have your parent's old house at the Jensen Ranch?"

"Yeah, the wave runners are in the barn."

Ellen looked up from texting. "What are you guys talking about?"

Sarah thought, Oh crap, she didn't read John's text. "Ellen, don't you think that would work?"

"I think it's a stupid idea. I don't want to spend two hours in a car alone with them."

All the kids thought. She's going to blow this. She gets a thousand texts a day and she didn't read the one important one. Now she's burying her head back in her phone.

Ruth said to Ellen. "Ellen, can't you have a conversation with us for one minute?"

"Mom, I'm texting my friends. Just wait a minute."

All the parents looked at Ellen like they would like to hit her.

Sarah piped up, "I'll be right back. I have to go to the bathroom."

Ruth said sarcastically, "Go ahead Sarah. We'll all just wait for Ellen to get done texting."

Russ and Nancy looked at each other and thought, If that was one of our kids, they wouldn't be able to sit down when we got done with them.

Sarah ran to the bathroom and immediately started texting Ellen. Ellen you idiot, if we go with our parents they will spend the entire trip trying to make us get along. If we go with just the boys, we can ignore them and spend the time texting our friends.

Ellen read Sarah's text and looked up at her parents.

"OK, I guess it will work. I'm good with this."

Russ thought, I know there is something going on but, I have no idea what is.

Russ looked at all the parents and said,

"So are we all on board? Do we want to do this?"

Nancy relented, "I guess. I'm still not convinced. But I don't see how it could go too wrong. I'm good."

Russ announced, "Load up kids. We'll be right behind you."

Russ looked at Cody. I know that kid's up to something, but I still don't know what he's trying to pull off.

Almost an hour after the kids drove away Russ and Robert were talking with each other and impatiently waiting in the driveway for their wives. Nancy and Ruth walked out of the house and locked the front door.

Russ looked at Nancy with exasperation. "Are we finally ready to go? The kids are getting way ahead of us."

"Don't blame me. I told you they shouldn't leave until we were ready to go."

"I thought we were ready. I thought we were ready for the last hour."

"We're ready now. Let's go."

As they pulled out of the driveway, Russ looked down at the fuel gauge.

"Nancy, I thought you filled up the Suburban?"

"I didn't have time when I went to the store. I told you that when I came home. Why didn't you go fill it up instead of talking with Robert in the driveway for the last hour? "

"I didn't hear you. Now we need to stop for gas."

"Russ, the kids are getting way ahead of us. I'm going to call them and tell them to wait. I told you they shouldn't leave until we were ready."

Russ pumped gas while Nancy called the kids.

"Russ. They don't answer the phone. They are probably listening to their I Pods and John has the stereo cranked up. I knew we should have made them wait."

"Nancy, they'll be fine. John's a good driver and they all have cell phones. We'll catch up in two hours. Just relax."

Russ turned the key, but the car wouldn't start.

"Russ, what's wrong now, why won't the car start?"

"I don't know, Nancy. I just filled it with gas and the mechanic just went through it."

Robert commented from the back seat. "I think it's not getting gas. I bet it's the fuel pump."

Ruth looked at Robert. "Robert, you don't even own a car. How would you know?"

"I used to own cars before I moved to New York, and it's the fuel pump."

Russ said, "Whatever it is, the car won't start. I'm calling AAA."

"Russ, AAA will take an hour just to get here. The kids will be in Barstow by then, and they still won't answer the phone."

"Nancy, they'll call when they get to Barstow. Don't worry, they'll be fine. There's a restaurant across the street. Let's get something to eat while we wait. That way we can just drive to Barstow when the car's fixed."

# Chapter 16

### ACU Headquarters New Mexico

General Moody left his office at the headquarters for the ACU and noticed several of his staff huddled in the corner whispering to each other. He followed their line of sight and spotted Tony staring pensively out the window. As he walked by they motioned him over.

"What's he doing? Is there a problem?"

"He's been sitting there for a half hour just staring out the window. I hate to disturb him."

Tony finally noticed everyone staring at him and looked over at them and gave a halfhearted smile. General Moody walked over to where Tony was sitting and sat down across the conference table from him. The rest of the staff tried to edge closer so they could hear.

"Are you alright Tony? You seem totally lost in thought. Is something bad going to happen?"

Tony slowly nodded his head and said, "Very bad." After he didn't respond further, General Moody asked,

"Is it going to affect us?"

Tony nodded and replied softly, "Us and a lot of other people."

"Do you know what's going to happen? Is there anything we can do to prepare?"

Tony slowly shook his head,

"I can't tell what's going to happen, but it will be major and it will affect us", he replied as he stood up and quietly walked out of the room.

General Moody and his staff silently watched him leave. One of the less senior staff asked,

"Has he ever been wrong?"

General Moody replied with a solemn face, "Never"

# Chapter 17

Interstate 15 leaves the Los Angeles basin and then climbs over the Cajon pass. After traveling through the pass and the desert town of Victorville, you hit open desert. The barren desert is a stark contrast to the developed, landscaped areas in the Los Angeles Basin. Sarah looked up from texting and watched the desolate desert roll by her window. All she could see was rock and gravel and a few widely scattered sagebrushes. She asked John

"I thought California was full of people?"

"California's big Sarah. It has over 30 million people. Over 90% of it is Parks and Wilderness and other open area.

Ellen said to Sarah while playing with her cell phone, "Sarah is your phone working? I was texting Haley, and I lost her. Now I can't get a signal."

"Mine isn't working either, Ellen."

As the girls played with their phones, John nodded to Cody and smiled as they both turned off their cell phones.

"Are you having trouble with your phones?"

"They don't seem to have a signal."

"I guess you didn't know. You can't get a signal out here in the desert. There aren't enough people making calls to be worth setting up cell towers."

At least for your crappy cell phones John said to himself.

"You won't have a signal until we get to Vegas. Your phones will work great in Vegas."

"You mean we're stuck without a phone until we get to Vegas? How long will that be?"

"If we didn't stop it would be about three hours. But we're stopping outside Barstow to pick up the wave runners and wait for our parents, so probably 5 or 6 hours if our parents don't get held up."

"Five or six hours without a cell phone? I can't do that."

"You don't really have a choice. This isn't New York City."

"No it's more like hell. How hot is it out there?"

John looked at the thermometer on the dashboard.

"About 107. Does that seem hot to you?"

"Did you say, 107? That's ridiculous. How do you live like this?"

"Oh. This isn't that bad. It often hits over 112 at the lake in July. That's when it gets really hot."

"I still can't believe we're going there for a week."

"You at least get to spent one night in Vegas with all the shows and shopping."

"But it's only one night. Then we have to go to the lake."

"Well, we like vacations like that. Sure they're a lot of work, but you get to spend all day in the sun. You can cool off by jumping in the lake. You don't mind swimming with fish do you?"

"You'll never see me in that water."

"How will you stay cool then? We don't run the air conditioning during the day. Everyone's in the water all the time. It would be too hot to even stay inside."

"You don't run the AC during the day?" Ellen asked incredulously.

"Of course not. Everyone is outside all day in the lake. Why would we run the AC? Besides, it can't keep up when it is 112. We just run it at night. It's too hot to stay inside during the day even if the AC was running."

Ellen stared at John.

"I don't believe this. What do you mean by this vacation being a lot of work?"

"Well, generally the guys take care of the houseboat, ski boat and wave runners, while the girls do all the cooking and washing dishes. It's a small kitchen and everyone eats a lot because we get so much activity. Ellen, you like to cook don't you?"

"I never cook. Who do you think I am?"

"I guess you and Sarah can do the dishes and clean up, while our moms cook. You can at least get your hands clean every day. It's hard to get very clean just by swimming."

"What do you mean by swimming? Don't you have bathrooms?"

"Of course we do. We just don't have showers. We actually do have showers, but you only get to use them once a week or we would overflow the waste tanks. The rest of the time we just swim."

Cody thought, I can't believe they're buying this. Not running the AC during the day and not taking showers. They'll think we live like animals."

Cody chimed in, "Don't worry; it's not so bad at night. It cools off to about 85 degrees. You usually stop sweating a lot by midnight. Did you think this was going to be like Vegas?"

"It sounds more like living like the homeless." Ellen retorted angrily.

"It's not that bad. At least you get to text your friends every couple days for a few minutes."

"What do you mean for a few minutes? We text all day long."

"Not on the lake you won't. We always keep the houseboat in a canyon. The only place you get cell service is in the middle of the channel in certain areas. We only go out there every couple days for a few minutes to check messages. You'll have a week without texting. It's not like staying in Vegas."

Ellen looked at Sarah almost ready to cry and said,

"I can't believe this. We're leaving Vegas to go to that for a week."

John jumped in. "Do you mean you would rather stay in Vegas than live on the lake for a week?"

Ellen said, "I would do anything to be able to stay in Vegas instead of going to the lake with you."

Cody looked at both girls. "You sound like our cousin Blake who lives in Vegas. Her brothers love to come to the lake with us and she complains like you do when she goes. All she wants to do is stay in Vegas and go to shows and shop."

"How old is Blake?"

"She's 17. She used to be fun at the lake. Now she is just into fashion and how nice she looks. She spends all day texting like the two of you. It's too bad you couldn't just stay in Vegas. You could hang with her and send the boys with us to get them out of the way. You probably would have more fun with her than at the lake."

Ellen whispered to Sarah, "Do you think we could? Stay in Vegas instead of going to the lake with them."

"I don't know. Do you think we could talk Mom and Dad into it?"

Ellen looked at John and Cody. "What do you think about us staying in Vegas with Blake and sending your cousins to the lake? Do you think we could talk our parents into it?"

"Maybe, if you brought it up. If we suggested it, our parents would think we are just trying to get out of going to the lake with the two of you. I think they might agree. When we get cell service again, you can call Blake so she can work on it from her angle. I have her number."

"What do you think? Will this work? I'd give anything to stay in Vegas instead of going to the lake." whispered Ellen to Sarah.

"I think we can convince them. I can't live with the thought of spending a week with them in a houseboat." She whispered back.

Cody nodded at John. I think we did it.

# Chapter 18

The parents were sitting in a booth waiting for their food. Nancy grew concerned as she watched Ruth.

"Ruth, are you alright? You look white."

"I'm fine, just having a bad day."

"Are you worried about the kids? I know I'm complaining that Russ let them go, but that's just being a mother. John's really a responsible driver. I know they are safe."

Robert said, "Ruth, you don't look good at all. Can I get you something?"

"I'm fine. I just want to go to the ladies room. Don't worry about me."

After Ruth went to the ladies room, Russ, Robert and Nancy were talking at the table.

"Okay, tell me what's going on. I know you better than this. Something's wrong."

Robert gave Russ and Nancy a resigned look.

"Ruth will kill me for telling you this, but she has cancer."

Russ and Nancy exclaimed in unison, "What! She has cancer. How bad is it?"

"Bad. The doctors say about six months. We have been to every specialist and they are all agreed. There's nothing we can do except make her comfortable. She remembers me talking about our family trips to Lake Powell when I was growing up, and she wants to see the red rock canyons before she dies. That's why we pushed to come on this trip."

Nancy stared at Robert. "This is incredible. There is nothing we can do?"

"There is an experimental program for her cancer in Irvine California. We are considering moving to California and trying it."

"Why is there any doubt? Why aren't you trying it for sure?"

"Because there is almost no chance it will help her. Do we spend her last six months in a program or spend her last six months enjoying life with our family?"

"I don't even know how you could make a decision like that. Do your daughters know?"

"Yeah, they know. She didn't want you to know because she wants this to be a happy trip, not a mourning trip because of her. I just thought you needed to know because she has bad days and doesn't like being asked every hour if she's feeling well. It reminds her of the cancer. She just wants to be happy and enjoy everyone's company."

"She's coming back. Just act normal."

Nancy smiled at Ruth. "You look better. Your color's back. Are you feeling better now?"

"I'm good. Look. There's the AAA truck. Let's pay the bill and get out of here."

Russ and Robert went over to talk to the AAA driver. The man said, "It looks like the fuel pump. I need to tow it. Where do you want to take it?"

"I guess our mechanic. Do you know how long this will take to repair?"

"Why don't you call your mechanic and give him a heads up so he knows we are coming. You can all fit into the towing truck if you squeeze. I'll have it loaded in about 10 minutes."

Robert repeated. "I told you it was the fuel pump."

Russ talked to the mechanic for several minutes then looked at the group. "He says it won't be done until tomorrow morning. The pump is in the fuel tank. It's a several hour job."

"Russ the kids are in Barstow by now. I knew we shouldn't have let them go."

"Nancy, they'll be fine. They can stay at the ranch tonight, and we will be there by noon. Nothing ever happens in Barstow."

"I'm calling them. I am so mad at them for not answering the phone. I must have called them 7 or 8 times."

# Chapter 19

### Jensen Ranch

Joseph was restlessly pacing at the compound thinking of anything that could still go wrong. He said to Abdul,

"Let's go for a ride. I need to get out. I want to check on that house near us that the attorney Mr. Brown owns and make sure no one is there."

"The real estate agent said they only come in the winter when it's cool to ride ATV's. We've checked it every day."

"It won't hurt to check it again. Let's go."

# Chapter 20

### Homeland Security Headquarters

### Arlington Virginia - June 2011

Sandra Collins sat at the conference table looking around at all the other Deputy Directors. This is one of the most boring meetings I have ever been in she thought. This agency spends so much time playing politics it's amazing they can actually accomplish anything. Everyone is so afraid to make a wrong decision they can't make any decision at all. There has to be a better way to run a large organization. It's even worse for a female. They say there is no discrimination, but it's there and hidden. I need some kind of a crisis to show what I can do. The only crisis we have had since 911 is boring everyone to death. And now they are talking more about how it's wrong to profile. That has to be close to the dumbest thing I have ever heard. All our terrorist threat comes from the Middle East but we aren't allowed to target Middle Eastern men. We treat 30 year old Middle Eastern men the same as Catholic nuns. It's asinine. We need to follow Israel's way of doing things. We look close at suspicious people and barely glance at everyone else. If they don't like it, then don't fly in America. If I was in charge of this agency we could actually make America secure. I just need a chance to prove myself. I need a crisis when all these politically correct sheep are out of the office or preferably on vacation and unavailable. At last this worthless meeting is over. As they filed out one of the other deputy directors started a conversation.

"So what are your plans over the Fourth of July? Are you staying around here?"

"Yeah, I'm the lucky one that is on duty for the entire holiday weekend."

"Ouch! That's a lousy way to spend the fourth. I think you will be the only one left in town. I hope there isn't a crisis. You'll be by yourself. The senior staff are all going to be out of the country."

"They are all leaving at the same time?"

"The director called for a retreat at some remote resort. They can get on a plane and be back in several hours. So it's all yours for the long weekend. Have a good time. I'm not on call so my family is going camping with the families of several of the other deputy directors."

"If I get a major crisis like we run out of paper clips I'll send you a text."

"Good luck with that. There is no cell service where we are going. That's what I meant that it's all yours. You're on your own for the weekend."

# Chapter 21

Joseph and Abdul got back from checking the Brown house to make sure no one came to it unexpectedly and called everyone together.

"Is everyone ready to go over the plan? We need to confirm everything is on schedule. Uday, you start. Is the gas ready?"

"Yes, Joseph. We went over all of this a couple hours ago."

"And we are going to go over it again and again. Does anyone have a problem with that?" Joseph demanded as he stared at everyone.

Uday spoke up.

"The final shipment is now here. The tanks are secure. The transfer pumps and hoses have been checked. The containment suits are here although we don't plan on using them, and we have more than enough antidote. The pilots are standing by at the airports. The planes are there. They have full gas tanks and empty insecticide tanks. We will get them about 10 p.m. after the airport is closed. They will be in Barstow, ready to be fueled and loaded with nerve agent by midnight."

"Good. Let's go over the flight paths."

"Kasam will leave first, at about 3:00 a.m. He will fly southwest and come over the mountains near Burbank and then head south to Santa Monica and then to LAX.

"Good, what about Aarif?"

"He will leave at the same time and come over the mountains into Azusa and then continue south all the way to Long Beach."

"Haman will leave next. He will head toward Pomona and then fly south ending in Newport Beach."

"And Ali in the fourth plane?"

"He will spray this area where our base is and the 40 and 15 freeway junction to trap everyone in the LA basin, then fly south and come in over Pasadena and continue south through downtown. I just don't understand why we are spraying random areas and leaving others alone?"

"Our sponsors won't tell me. They supplied the nerve agent and this base with all the equipment we need. They told us where to steal the crop dusters and they smuggled us into the country. After this they are letting us take all of the credit. They must have another agenda, but I still have no idea what it is."

He looked perplexed. "Do the areas they want us to spray mean anything to you?"

"The only similarity I see is all the areas we are spraying are military or wealthy areas. They are leaving the poor areas alone except for the mostly black areas. The only areas that seem to be spared are the mostly Mexican areas."

"What group that has that much money and resources would be tied to the poor Mexican immigrants?"

He shrugged. "I have no idea. But as long as they supply all the resources and money and then allow us to take the credit, I'll keep using them. It's a great deal for us. We just need to keep our eyes open. So far I haven't seen a down side for us. They even set up an escape route. They say they have more work for us. And they're paying us $20 million for what we are doing, and we still get the credit."

# Chapter 22

### Brown house - Jensen Ranch

The kids drove into the dirt driveway at the ranch. John got out of the Explorer and turned to Cody.

"Look at that dust going over the hill. I think a vehicle just left here. I thought I saw something drive away as we came over the hill, but I wasn't sure."

"I wonder if those people that bought the main Jensen ranch are here? Maybe we should ride over and introduce ourselves."

"I don't think we have time now. We have to get the wave runners ready. Our parents are right behind us."

Cody turned his cell phone back on.

"Ah... John. Mom just texted. They're not exactly right behind us. They're still in Orange County. I guess the car had a problem and they are getting it fixed."

"Why didn't they call us?"

"They tried. There are eight missed calls on my phone."

"Why didn't you answer? Is Mom pissed?"

"No, she was pissed an hour ago, now she's going ballistic" Cody said as he read the text messages from his mom.

"Why didn't you answer your phone?"

"I was listening to my I pod and had my phone on vibrate on the seat. Why didn't you answer?"

"I had the music up loud, and then I turned mine off too. What does Mom want us to do?"

"Would that be before or after she kills you?" Cody replied as he kept reading the texts.

"Why me and not us?"

"You are the responsible one that was driving. I'm just the 14 year old along for the ride."

"You are such a loser. I'm calling her." John stated glaring at Cody while the girls watched amused.

"Hi, Mom."

He could tell his Mom was talking through tight teeth. "Don't hi Mom me. I've been calling you for two hours. We are still at home. Our fuel pump went out and it won't be fixed until tomorrow morning. Why didn't you answer?"

"Ah... We were having a really interesting conversation with Ellen and Sarah and the phone was on vibrate on the seat. You know they're really interesting. I'm glad you let us drive together. We're getting along really well. I was wrong about them."

"Don't change the subject. We're still in Orange County and the four of you are at the Ranch in Barstow."

"So what do you want us to do? Do you want us to drive back?"

"No, you'll have to stay at the ranch until we get there tomorrow. Get something to eat and try to stay out of trouble."

"It's not hard to stay out of trouble here. Nothing ever happens in Barstow. It's the most boring place on earth."

Her temper had abated by now after she realized they were fine. "Make sure it stays that way. Here, talk to your father."

"Hi, Dad, is Mom still there?"

"No, she walked away. I think she is planning the best way to kill you."

'Dad, it's not that big of a deal. We're here at the ranch for one night. What could happen? There's no one out here. We're in the middle of nowhere."

"I know. I was seventeen once. Just stay out of trouble and keep Cody out of trouble. We'll be there in the morning."

"Oh, don't worry. I have plans for Cody."

The girls went into the ranch house and started exploring it. John and Cody brought in the food they had in the Explorer and put it in the refrigerator.

"This house is a lot nicer than I expected. Why do you call it a ranch?"

"My grandparents always called it that. I guess because it is on several acres. They lived here for several years and renovated it. They liked to have all the grandkids here so they have five bedrooms."

"What do you do out here?"

"All the grandkids like to ride ATV's and shoot guns. They also have a Jacuzzi in an enclosed sun room in back. But mostly my grandparents just liked having the kids around."

"Wow. They even have a modern kitchen with granite counters and a hardwood floor."

"Go look at the bathrooms. They all have Travertine showers and floors and granite counters."

"This is nicer than our apartment in New York." Ellen commented surprised.

"Go pick a bedroom. It looks like we'll be here all night. Cody and I are going to get the wave runners ready for tomorrow morning. We have to put new batteries in them. We'll be out in the barn. I'll turn on the AC before we go out."

They left the girls in the house and walked to the barn.

Cody said, "It's hot out here. Why don't we do this later?"

"Because I can't stand them, I needed some fresh air."

"Got that. Do you want to ride some when we're done?"

"It's sure hot, but it does get us out of the house," said John. "Works for me."

"Do you still have that wireless mike we used to spy on our cousins when we're all here?"

"It's in my room. What do you think? Do you want to hear what they are saying about us?"

"Of course," said John. "We can put in the family room and monitor it from that hill. Do you think the spy camera will work that far, so we can see them too?"

"Naw, the range is too far. We need the video cam, with the telephoto. I don't think it will work through the windows while it's still light out. Let's just use the hidden mike."

John and Cody went back into the house.

"Hey, the wave runners are ready. We are going to ride ATV's. Do you guys want to come?"

"Go with the two of you on ATV's in 100 degree heat? I'd rather have my teeth pulled out."

John thought, I think I could arrange that, we have pliers in the barn.

"Your loss."

The boys went back out to the barn and got on the ATV's.

Cody blurted, "I can't believe what a bitch Ellen is. Did you get the mike planted?"

"All set. Let's go up on the hill and see what they are saying."

Up on the hill overlooking the ranch they turned on the hidden mike to listen to the girls. Ellen and Sarah were talking in the family room.

"I still can't believe we are out here in the middle of a desert with them. How did we ever get into this?"

"You know. It's for Mom. I still don't know why she wants to do a trip like this even though she's dying."

"Dad said she has always wanted to see Lake Powell and the red rock canyons. She remembers Dad talking about them when he used to go when he was a kid."

"I still can't believe she's dying. She only has about six months. Why didn't she tell us earlier?"

"I think she just wants to spend her last six months with the family, and do the things she always wanted to do and never got around to."

"I guess we need to suck it up and make this trip as enjoyable as possible for her. I just can't stand being around them."

Sarah looked thoughtfully at Ellen.

"Actually, I don't mind Cody as much as I thought. He's not quite what I remembered."

Ellen rolled her eyes. "Sarah, I can't believe you said that. Look how he dresses. He doesn't even wear designer clothes. It's like he doesn't care what he looks like. He doesn't comb his hair and slick it back. He just lets it go wild. He looks like he belongs on a beach. He even wears flip flops instead of shoes. It's like he wants to be a beach bum."

"Sometimes I think we care too much about how we look. I don't mind getting dirty when I play soccer. It feels good to get out and get physical sometimes."

"I can't believe you said that. It's like you want to be like them. That incident last year in Arizona really messed up your mind. I don't understand how you think sometimes. Don't you care about being cultured anymore? What would my friends think if they saw you talking like that? I'm still afraid they're going to find out you play soccer."

"That shouldn't be a problem. They would never go to Central Park and get some dirt on their designer shoes."

The older sister cocked her head, puzzled. "I don't understand you anymore. It's like you want to embarrass me in front of my friends. Erin saw you last week in our apartment lounging around in shorts and a sweatshirt. She asked me why you don't care how you look anymore. I was so embarrassed I didn't know what to say."

"Sorry to embarrass you. I'm going to get something to eat."

"What did I say?"

John and Cody were slack jawed on the hill.

"Cody, I can't believe their mom's dying. Why didn't someone tell us?"

"It sounds like she just wanted a relaxing vacation with the two families. If we knew she was dying, we would spend all our time feeling sorry for her. Do you think you would want that?'

"I guess not. I'm sure we're making it worse by the way we're treating them. No wonder Mom's so mad at me."

"What are we going to do? We can't go through the whole week like this."

"Do you remember when we worked with Special Olympics and we were nice to the special needs kids?"

"That was different. They couldn't help it. I felt good when I helped them."

He looked pensive for a moment. "Can't we just pretend they are special needs?" It wouldn't be that hard. They kind of are in their own way."

"I think we have to try. I still can't believe their mom's dying."

"I think we have to do more than that. We should actually try to be nice. It's only for a week. We can do anything for a week."

"Okay, I'll try, but I don't know if I can be nice to them for seven whole days."

"At least you have Sarah your age. She seems halfway normal and she plays soccer instead of spending all her time pretending to be better than anyone else like Ellen does."

The boys drove back to the ranch, put away the ATV's and went into the house.

"Hi, did you find anything to eat?"

Ellen was wearing a petulant frown. "If you call this food. Don't you have salad greens with non fat dressing?"

John clenched and re-clenched his fists. OK, try to be nice, you can do it.

"I think we have some lettuce and some different dressings. I'll try to find them for you."

"Well, see what you can find. I just can't eat food like this."

John gritted his teeth. OK, you have to try, you have to try.

"I think I found something you might like. Do you want me to fix you a salad?"

"No. just give me the food. I'll fix it to my standard"

Cody watched John starting to turn red, Uh Oh, he's going to blow.

"Uh John, could you help me with the AC outside, I don't think it's working right."

John followed Cody outside and slammed the door as Sarah watched thoughtfully.

"Sorry Bro, the AC is fine. I just had to get you out of there."

"Cody," John muttered taking a deep breath. "I can't do this. I'm ready to hit her."

"Sounds appealing, but you still would have to deal with Mom. I don't think that's a place you want to go."

"Why don't you try with Sarah?"

As they walked back to the house, Cody said to himself, OK Cody, try hard to make this work.

"Hi, Sarah! Did you get something to eat?

"Yeah, thanks. I found some fruit. I'm good."

Ellen was wincing as she watched her sister eating.

"Sarah, did you check to make sure it's organic? You know we only eat organic."

Sarah turned to face Ellen as she continued eating.

"I'll live. I just felt like eating some pesticides today."

"I can't believe you said that. It's like you want to support the cooperate farms that are ruining our food."

"I'm sure the apple I ate won't upset the world ecology."

"I just can't believe you sometimes. If my friends heard you say that I would just die."

Cody was amazed watching the exchange, his eyes darting back and forth between Sarah and Ellen. Not a bad idea. Want some help. But Sarah's acting a bit spunky toward the bitch. I like that. Oh well, here goes.

Cody said to Sarah,

"Hey Sarah. I'm going back out on the ATV's. Want to come?"

"Sounds like fun."

Cody lit up, "Really! All right! Let's go!"

John eyed his brother, his eyes blazing, I can't believe you are leaving me with the bitch.

"See you later John. We're outa here."

# Chapter 23

Cody started up one of the ATV's, Sarah jumped on back and grabbed Cody around the waist to hold on. They drove to the top of a high hill several miles from the ranch. The Saguaro cactus, everywhere reached for the desert sky, the mesquite and sage brush rolled past the ATV. In the distance saw tooth mountains silhouetted their jagged ridges against the sky. Cody thought, this is actually kind of fun. I've never gone riding with a girl before. I didn't think about her having to hold on to me. I think I'll hit those ruts a little harder and see what happens.

As the ATV hit the ruts it bounced up in the air. Cody had the handlebars to hold onto, but Sarah was forced to grab Cody harder.

"Sorry, Sarah," Cody yelled back. "I hit those ruts harder than I thought. I didn't mean to bounce you around."

"It's okay," Sarah yelled. "I have you to hang onto." As she wrapped her arms tighter around his waist.

I need to find some more ruts thought Cody. The top of the hill is coming way too fast.

Cody and Sarah got off the ATV and stood savoring everything and gazing out over the valley.

"What do you think of the view? asked Cody

"It's amazing. How far can we see?"

"From up here. It's probably a hundred miles to those mountains over there."

She pointed. "What are those buildings over there?"

"That's part of the main ranch. It was owned by a man named Jensen. My grandfather bought the land our house is on several years ago from Mr. Jensen. The rest of the ranch surrounds our house. Now my grandparents and Mr. Jensen are dead. My dad said someone bought the main ranch a couple months ago and wanted to buy our place too, but my dad wouldn't sell it to them. We should go over there and introduce ourselves. We've never met them."

"Maybe later" Sarah said as she scanned the panoramic view in wonder.

"Wow, in New York there's no way to see this far. Even from the viewing areas on the top of buildings the air is too dirty. The desert is so empty. I'm not used to looking at so much of nothing. I thought all of California was full of people."

"A lot of it is. But the deserts and mountains are mostly open."

"You have mountains too?"

"Yeah, we go snowboarding in the winter up at Mammoth."

"I go snowboarding in Vermont with a friend of mine."

"You do?"

"You seem so surprised. "Yeah, I do. What's wrong with that?"

"Nothing, you just seem a lot different from your sister and what I remember of you from a year ago."

"A lot has changed in the last year."

"Your sister seems the same, but you've changed."

"For good or bad?"

He grinned. "Definitely good."

"How have I changed?"

"I don't know. You're more...... uh normal. You came on the ATV with me instead of sitting in the house. I had fun riding up here with you. You play sports. You aren't so stuck up like your sister." And you're totally hot he thought as his eyes traveled over her body.

"If you're trying to talk nice, you have a lot to learn."

"You know what I mean. You're fun to be with. I just want to hit your sister and put her out of her misery."

"You're not the first person who feels like that."

There was query in his eyes. "So how did you change? You used to be like that too."

Sarah's eyes explored his eyes and then she murmured,

"I changed about a year ago."

"That's great, I wish it happened sooner. What changed you?"

"It wasn't a good experience. In fact I almost died. I still can't talk about."

He lowered his eyes and turned away. "Sorry, I didn't know. You don't have to tell me."

Sarah thought for a minute and then said,

"My therapist says I need to talk about it."

"You have a therapist! What happened?"

Sarah sat starting out in the distance for a minute. I have never told anyone the way I really feel before. Even my therapist. It just seems like I want to tell Cody, but I hardly know him. I can't believe I'm going to tell him something this personal. It just seems that I really want to though.

Sarah turned and stared at Cody for a minute and then sat down on a rock beside him and started.

"I have a good friend who's an only child. She had to go to Arizona to visit her grandmother. They were going to stay at a nice resort and spend a lot of time shopping in Scottsdale, so she talked her parents into taking me so she wouldn't be by herself. After we were there for a couple days, Shannon and I decided to stay at her grandmother's one night instead of the resort. It was a beautiful night and Shannon and I went for a walk. We were walking by a park and two men ran out of some bushes by the sidewalk and grabbed us. They put their hands over our mouths and dragged us back into a wooded area. Then they put duct tape on our mouths, tied our hands behind our backs and tied our feet together with those plastic ties like the police use instead of handcuffs. They pulled out two big knifes and cut off all of our clothes. We were lying there naked and tied up with duct tape over our mouths. They started to tell us all the things they were going to do to us before they killed us. Then they took off their pants. We heard a noise and this guy walked up and saw us lying there and these two guys with knifes with their pants off. They got on both sides of him and started approaching him with their knives out. He stared them down and said,

"You have one chance to get out of here alive. It doesn't matter either way to me."

Then they started laughing and lunged at him. He reached into his jacket, pulled out a gun and shot them both twice before I could blink. He checked to make sure they were down, then took one of the knives and cut us loose. Then he gave Shannon his jacket and took off his shirt and gave it to me. He was a big guy so they came almost down to our knees. He said, "They won't hurt you now," and called 911.

The police came and we told them what happened. They took us to the hospital to make sure we were okay and called her parents. After the hospital checked us out we met with the guy that rescued us, Shannon's parents and the police and he told us what happened.

He was just walking through the park and heard a noise, got a feeling he should investigate it and came over to where he saw us lying there. Arizona is a 'right to carry' state which means he can carry a concealed weapon. Their laws also favor the citizen instead of the criminal like in New York. The city ended up giving him a medal. In New York they probably would have arrested him.

I looked at my life after this and decided I wasn't ever going to be the victim again. I started working out and standing up to people. Before that I would text my friends when something bad happened and whine to them about how unfair life was. It changed my outlook on life. That's also when I started playing soccer."

"I can't believe that happened to you." Cody stated amazed.

"Well, it changed my life. I'm a different person now."

"What did your family say?"

"My parents were of course relieved that they didn't have time to hurt us physically. But they had a hard time thinking it was a good thing that guy had a gun."

"What!" he yelped in exasperation. "Are you kidding me? He saved your life."

"My point too. My mom just hates guns so much, they don't know what to think."

He shrugged. "I can't understand people sometimes. What did your sister say?"

She didn't roll her eyes but looked like she wanted to. "My sister was mostly concerned with what her friends would think. She didn't even ask how I was before she started texting her friends about how traumatic it was for her that her sister was almost killed."

He shook his head in dismay. "I shouldn't say this, but I really can't stand your sister sometimes."

"Get in line. You're not the first person that said that. The scary part is I used to be like her."

"I find that hard to believe."

"Oh really. I thought you hated me."

Cody thought for a minute.

"You've changed. Maybe I hated the old you, but definitely not the new you. What did your friends say?"

"They think it's terrible that I like that he carried a concealed weapon."

"This is the guy that saved you from being raped and killed?"

Now it was her turn to lower her eyes. "They really aren't my friends anymore. I don't have any friends anymore."

Shrugging he said, "I don't think they ever were your friends. Friends stick up for each other. If something happens to you, they have your back."

"Do you think it's bad that he used a gun? Are you against guns?" she asked hesitantly afraid of the answer.

"Are you kidding? I love guns."

Cody heard his cell phone ring and looked at the display.

"It's my mom calling. I better take this. The cells don't usually work very well out this far. It's probably because we are on top of this hill."

"Hi, Mom, what's up?"

"I just wanted to see how you're doing, Cody. I worry about you being out there without any parents. Are you staying out of trouble? You aren't on the ATV's are you?"

"Mom the ATV's are just sitting there."

"Good. I don't want you getting hurt. I know how irresponsible a 14 year old can be. How are you getting along with Sarah? Are you at least talking to her instead of ignoring her?"

"Actually we're getting along good. She's a lot different than I thought."

"I told you she changed. I'm glad to hear that." He could see her smile in his mind. "You know she's cute. She's grown up a lot since the last time we saw her a year ago. Do you think she's cute?"

I am not going to have this conversation with you thought Cody

"She's fine, Mom."

"It's good that you're getting along. Your dad wants to talk to you. I'm giving him the phone."

Cody's dad grabbed the phone and watched his wife walk away.

"Cody," he said, his tone almost secretive. "Don't get hurt on the ATV's. Your mother would kill both of us."

"How did you know?"

"I used to be 14 once. Just make sure you don't get hurt. Don't do anything I wouldn't do. On second thought, don't do anything I told you not to do. Are you getting along with Sarah?"

"Oh yeah. Things are good." He replied as he nodded his head.

"I'm not sure I like your response, but I'll let it go. Keep your nose clean. I'll be there tomorrow."

"Don't worry. We're good. Just don't tell Mom about the ATV's."

"Do you think I'm stupid? I would get in a much trouble as you. Just don't get hurt. Did you tell her you weren't riding them?"

"She asked me if I was on them. I wasn't at the time. I told her they were just sitting there."

"Smart kid. You're going to make a good attorney someday. See you tomorrow."

"Bye, Dad."

"I really like my dad."

"He sounds great. What did your Mom say?"

Cody looked at her slyly, "She thinks you're cute."

"Oh," she said, grinning, "did you agree with her?"

Cody looked at her thoughtfully thinking too deep to share the mirth. "You're nothing like I remember you. By the way, it's not true that you don't have any friends. You have at least one."

Sarah thought for a few minutes.

"Cody, I have a question for you. What happens when we die?"

He looked awry. "What do you mean, what happens?"

"One minute we are alive and the next minute we are dead. The body is still there but it's dead. What happened?"

"Why all these questions about dying? You look healthy to me."

Sarah held in her tears for a moment and then the dam burst. Between sobs she said, "My mom has cancer. She has about six months to live. I can't believe she will just be gone and I will never see her again. It just doesn't make sense to me."

Cody put his arm around Sarah.

"I'm really sorry about your mom. Are you sure she's dying? A lot of people recover from cancer."

She took a deep breath before blurting out, "She has advanced pancreatic cancer. It's always fatal at that stage. They say she has about six months." Sarah sobbed. "I can't believe she's going to die. What happens when we die? What do you think happens when we die?"

Cody thought deeply for a minute about how to reply.

"My Grandpa Joe taught me a lot. My grandfather and grand-mother spent a lot of time after he retired trying to figure out what life is about. He wrote a book about it."

She stifled a sob. "He wrote a book?"

"Yeah, but he never published it. It's back at the ranch."

"Do you know what it says?"

"Most of it. We talked about it a lot when I was out here with him and he tried to explain to me what he thought."

What does it say about dying?"

"That there is something that inhabits your body and makes your body alive. When it leaves your body, your body dies but it still lives."

"What is it?"

"Grandpa Joe called it a life force. Some people call it a conciseness. But it is what makes your body alive. When your mother dies, that life force will leave her body."

"Where does it come from?"

Cody was earnest now. "He said it has always existed in some form or another and it comes into your body when you are born and it is what makes your body alive. Your life here is just one stage of your overall existence and progression."

"And when you die it leaves your body? Where does it go then?"

"This can get really involved. My grandfather went deep with his ideas. It might be better if we had the book with us?"

"Can we talk later then?"

He gazed into her eyes, his heart full of empathy. "Of course. I'm not trying to put you off. It's just that this is complicated. I think it would be better to have the book."

Could we talk about something else totally unrelated?"

"Sure, whatever you like."

"Cody, you said something about liking guns. Do you know how to shoot?"

"Of course, we shoot all the time when we come out here. We have a safe full of guns at the ranch."

"Do you think you could teach me to shoot sometime?"

He cocked his head at her. "You really want to learn to shoot?"

"I know it sounds surprising, but yes. Ever since that guy saved my life I've wanted to know how to use a gun."

"Do you want to learn now? We can go get a couple guns and come back up to that little valley we passed."

"Can you get the guns without your father here?"

"Yeah, I got the combination to the safe from my grandfather. I think my dad knows I have it, but we never talk about it. I think if my mom knew she would make him change it."

She sounded dubious. "Your father is okay with you having it?"

"My grandfather always said, 'What's the point of having them if you can't get them if you need them.' So he knows I have it just in case, but we don't talk about it."

"So your dad would be okay with us shooting some guns?"

"He wouldn't get very upset as long as we did it safely. But if I asked he would have to say no. I always run under the theory that it's easier to obtain forgiveness than permission. So are we on? Do you want to learn?"

"Let's do it."

Back at the barn Cody opened the gun safe.

She was amazed. "Wow! I can't believe how many guns you have in that safe."

He waxed philosophical. "You can never have too many guns. Having too many guns is like having too much money. It's a problem you can live with."

"What are those big ones?"

"They're assault rifles like the military uses. The small ones are pistols."

"You have assault rifles? I thought they were banned in California."

"Not if they were registered before January 2000. Which would you like to shoot?"

"Both."

"Works for me. I need to check that they are unloaded before we do anything."

"Do you leave them unloaded?"

"Always. But you always check anyway. No exceptions! I might be young but I'm not stupid. My grandfather always drilled into me safety first. Do you want to shoot at posters of terrorists or just at rocks?"

Sarah smiled, "Let's go with the posters."

Cody checked an AK-47 Assault rifle and a Glock 9mm pistol to be certain they were unloaded. He then grabbed some ammunition and strapped the rifle to the back of the ATV and loaded the Glock, some posters and the ammunition into the saddlebags.

"Okay, we're good. I have an AK-47 and a Glock."

The kids climbed onto the ATV and Sarah grabbed Cody around his waist. Cody thought, this is good. I think I'll go the long way. When they arrived at the valley, they got off and they smiled at each other. Cody said to Sarah.

"Are you ready for this?"

"I've been ready for this for a year, ever since that guy saved us. Let's do it!"

Cody set up some targets and loaded the guns. She intently watched every move.

"We are shooting into that dirt bank, with a dirt hill behind it. Just don't ever shoot above the hill. It's a long way up so it won't be a problem no matter how bad a shot you are."

"Why can't you shoot in the air?"

"A bullet can go a long ways. Even though that's empty desert out there, we never take any chances. All the bullets go into the dirt where they can't hurt anything. Are you ready?"

"Let's start with the pistol."

"Okay, I'm going to shoot. Watch what I do. Then I'll help you."

Cody took several shots into a target of a terrorist.

She was eager. "I'm ready. Let me try."

"Okay, use both hands and stand like this."

Cody stood behind Sarah and put his arms over her arms holding her steady.

"Aim toward the target. Never point at anything you aren't planning on shooting. Now if you pull the trigger the gun will fire. Aim at the target. Hold it with both hands and slowly squeeze the trigger, don't pull it, like I said, squeeze it."

Sarah felt confident with her back pushed against Cody's chest and felt his arms around hers and slowly squeezed the trigger.

"Wow. That has a kick."

"That's why you use both hands. Hold it steady and gently pull the trigger. Are you ready to shoot again?"

"Oh yeah. That was great. Let's keep going."

Cody wrapped his arms around hers again and she took several shots.

"It really helps that you stand behind me and hold me steady."

Cody smiled, "It's not a problem." I don't mind at all. "You're not a bad shot, even for the first time. You don't seem to be scared of it."

"I stopped being scared after that guy saved my life in Arizona. Can I try the rifle?"

"That's why I brought it. Everything's the same, but just more kick. Try crouching down and put the stock against your shoulder. You can lean against me."

Sarah crouched down on one knee and Cody crouched behind her pressing his body against her as she fired the AK-47.

She grinned. "Definitely more kick. But I like it. It gives you a sense of power. It helps when you get behind me and press your body against mine. It steadies me and makes me feel more confident."

I'm glad it makes you feel good Sarah. It works for me too.

"Power's good if it's in the right hands. Do you feel like you could defend yourself if you had to?"

"Absolutely. I'm not sure how much good it will do me back in New York City. Only the criminals and police have guns there. It's not like Arizona where you are allowed to defend yourself."

# Chapter 24

"What was that? It sounded like an AK-47."

"Are you sure?"

"I know what an AK-47 sounds like. I think it came from over there." Joseph said pointing to the hills. "We need to check it out. We go tonight and nothing is screwing this up."

"I think Abdul is out there. He was making a circuit around the camp. I'll call him on the radio."

"Abdul, did you hear those shots?"

"Yeah, they were over the hill from me. I just rode to the top and I saw two kids and a quad. They have a pistol and an AK-47. They're shooting at targets."

"It's just two kids?"

"Yeah, a teenage boy and a girl. What do you want me to do with them?"

"Do you see their parents?"

"No, they seem to be alone."

"What weapons do you have with you?"

"Just my knife. I wasn't expecting trouble. I was just checking the area like you asked."

"Can you get close enough to them without them seeing you."

"No, it's barren out here. It looks like they came on this trial I'm on. If I hide my quad behind that hill and wait behind the only bush around here I could be close enough to surprise them when come back down the trail."

Joseph thought for a minute.

"I think you should hide and just watch them. I would hate to have their parents come looking for them. It's a complication I'd rather not deal with."

"Whatever you want. They're just shooting at posters. They will be done soon."

"What do you mean they're shooting at posters? They aren't just shooting at targets?"

"No. They set up posters of terrorists. That's what they're shooting at."

His face darkened in anger. "I changed my mind. Take them out when they come down the trail. By the time anyone realizes they are missing it will be too late."

Cody and Sarah shared the assault rifle and took turns shooting at the terrorist targets for several minutes.

"I didn't bring that much ammunition Sarah. I didn't realize how much you would like this. Here, this is our last bullet. You take the last shot."

Sarah drilled the target through the head.

Cody's eyes lit up. "I can't believe how good of a shot you are. Are you sure you never shot before?"

"First time, Cody. Maybe you're just a good teacher," she said, smiling at Cody.

Cody nodded his head. "Yeah, that's probably it. We're out of ammunition for both the assault rifle and the pistol. Do you want to go back and get more or are you done for now?"

"I'm good for now, as long as you promise me to bring me back out sometime."

"Oh yeah. That's a promise. Ready to go back?"

"Yeah, we better get back. It's getting late. Don't tell my sister what we've been doing. She would go crazy. I don't want to deal with her."

"No problem, first we make sure everything's unloaded. We always double check. Put the Glock in the saddlebags here. I'll put them back in the safe after we check in on my brother and Barbie."

"That's a good name for her. Are you going to tell your brother you taught me to shoot?"

"I'm not sure yet. I'll see how it plays out. I wonder how they're getting along."

"Do you think they might be ready to kill each other? Ellen can be extremely annoying."

"I would second that. It's hard to believe you are sisters."

"Should I take that as a complement?"

Cody stared at Sarah and thought, That's how it was given. I guess I'm not very good at giving complements. What I mean is I can't stand your sister and I like being with you."

Sarah looked over at Cody and smiled at his discomfort. "You're right. You aren't very good, but I appreciate the effort. I like being with you too."

Cody looked her over, smiled and climbed onto the ATV. "Let's go" and slapped the seat behind him. "You might want to hang on tight. There are a lot of bumps on the road back."

"You will be careful to not hit any extra ones won't you?"

"Cody looked back at Sarah and grinned. "I'll try."

Sarah jumped up behind Cody, and snugged her arms around his chest, squeezed her arms as tight as she could and whispered in his ear, "If I fall off, you're going with me.

Abdul hid his ATV and crouched behind the bush listening for the quad Cody and Sarah were on.

Cody went part way down the trail and then suddenly turned near a

bush without warning. Abdul lunged for the back of the ATV but was thrown off by Cody's sudden turn and fell into the dust as Cody sped away.

Sara said, "Where are you going? This isn't the way back."

"I'm going the long way around the hill. I thought it might be smoother for you."

It doesn't seem any smoother to me. I think he's trying for the bumps. Sarah grabbed Cody harder around his chest smiling.

"It seems bumpy, Cody. You don't mind if I hang on tight do you?"

Cody laughed. "No, it's good. You need to hang on tight. I don't want you to fall off."

"Abdul, what's going on? Did they get to you? Did you take them out?"

"They started coming toward me and then turned off the path just before they got to the bush I was hiding behind and went a different way. I lunged for them but they were going too fast and I fell in the dirt behind them. They were paying to much attention to each other to notice me. They just disappeared behind a hill going the other way away from our compound. Do you want me to chase them? I had to hide my ATV quite a ways away."

"No, come on back. We have more important things to do. If they aren't from around here, it doesn't matter. We'll make another circuit around the ranch before it gets dark."

Cody drove back to the ranch hitting every bump he could find and enjoying every minute. He braked the ATV in front of the house and Sarah got off. Cody turned to her, "Was it a good ride back?"

Sarah patted him on the shoulder, smiled. "I liked it"

Cody got off the ATV and he and Sarah looked around.

Cody asked, "Do you see them?"

"No, they must be inside. What do we do with the ATV and guns?"

"We need to put the ATV in the barn and put the guns back in the safe. Can you get this one? I'll take the other one and the shot up posters."

"I'm still amazed that your grandfather gave you the combination to the safe."

"I don't know. He always trusted me. I'm not complaining."

"I'm also amazed that you won't get in trouble for taking me shooting without your father here."

"Ah, about that. It would probably be good if you didn't tell anyone I took you shooting."

"So you would get in trouble?"

"Yes, but it would be worth it."

"I'm worth getting in trouble for?"

"Oh yeah!" Cody replied as Sarah smiled.

Cody opened the safe and started putting the guns back.

"Put that one over there."

"Why do you have so many of the big ones that are the same?"

"Some of those aren't quite the same. They're kind of special. I'll explain it next time we shoot. We need to get in the house and see if John and Ellen have killed each other yet."

Cody closed and locked the safe. In the house, Cody and Sarah saw Ellen at the computer and John watching a movie. Sarah headed for the bathroom and Cody approached John. John looked up at Cody and yawned,

"Where have you been for so long?"

"Just riding with Sarah. How has it been?"

"After I got her on the computer so she could get on Facebook she has ignored me. So I've been watching DVD's. How was it with Sarah?"

"Actually we had a lot of fun. She's nothing like she used to be."

"I wish I could say the same about Ellen. I'm sick of watching DVD's and I can't get on the computer unless I kick Ellen off."

"How long has she been on Facebook?"

"Since you and Sarah left."

"What a waste of time. Why didn't you tell her you want to get on?"

"Because I don't want to deal with her. This way she ignores me."

"I see your point. I need to get something to eat and take a shower. It's hot out there and I'm covered with dust. Is there anything to eat here?"

"Not really, just the fruit, salad stuff and chips we brought and that's about gone. Mom said to go to that little restaurant when we get hungry. Do you want to take a shower first?"

"Sarah walked up.

"What's going on?"

"We're hungry. There is a little restaurant about 3 miles from here. Mom said to go there when we get hungry."

"I'm starving but I'm also gross and sweaty."

"Cody wants to take a shower first too. Hurry up and take one. I'm hungry."

"Come on, Sarah, you can have the guest bathroom, I'll use the master. I'll make sure it's stocked up for you."

John finished watching his DVD and looked over at Ellen buried in the computer on Facebook, shook his head and walked into the master bedroom where Cody was taking a shower leaving the bedroom door open.

"So what's Sarah like?" he asked.

"Cody heard John, turned around, looked through the clear glass at John and said,

"You know I'm naked in here."

"Shut up, Cody. I'm your older brother. It's nothing I haven't seen before. So what did you talk about?"

"She told me her mom is dying. We talked about life and the stuff in grandpa's book."

"Some of that stuff is pretty deep. What did she think of it?"

"It's hard to tell. She was sure interested though. Why don't we take the book when we go eat. At least it will give us something to talk about."

"Good idea. I'm going to see if I can find it. Do you know where it is?"

"Probably in those bookshelves over there. Can you throw me a towel?"

"Sure, which bookshelf?"

"Try the lower one."

Cody dried off and reached for his clothes just as Sarah walked in the open bedroom door. She couldn't see Cody at first and said to John, "I heard you talking about the book. Did you find it?"

She walked farther into the room as Cody frantically pulled on his boxers. As she came around the corner she spotted Cody standing in his boxers frozen and smiled at him.

"Sorry Cody, the door was open and I heard you guys talking. I'll wait till you're dressed," she said and left the room.

John looked over and laughed at Cody.

"Good timing, she almost saw you naked."

Cody was indignant, "Why didn't you shut the door? She still saw me in my underwear."

"When did you start caring about that? You always run around half dressed."

He stared at Cody.

"Oh I get it. You like her, don't you?"

"Shut up, John," said Cody as he turned red.

"Actually I don't blame you. She's hot. I found the book. See you in the car. Don't forget to put some pants on."

Cody threw a shoe missing John and hitting the wall beside him as he walked out of the room laughing.

As the kids climbed into the Explorer to leave, John asked Cody,

"Did you lock up and turn off the lights?"

"Yes, Dad," Cody said sarcastically

"Did you leave the AC on so it doesn't get too hot before we get back?"

"No, I turned it off."

"Get out and turn it back on. I don't want to come home to a hot house."

"What's that" asked Sarah pointing out the window.

John looked over and spotted a dust devil coming at them and quickly took off spinning the wheels.

"What was that?" asked Ellen.

"It's called a dust devil. It's a miniature tornado that can form in the desert on hot days, except its not very powerful like a real tornado, however it can ruin the paint on the car. I guess the Air Conditioner can wait till we get back."

The kids drove away as Joseph and Abdul came over the hill behind the house.

"That's the only house that's close. The real estate agent said they only come in the winter time. Let's check to make sure this isn't where the kids came from."

Joseph got out and started inspecting around the house while Abdul checked the barn. Joseph got back to the jeep and asked,

"See anything?"

"No, the barn is locked and I don't see any tracks in the dirt."

"You wouldn't see any. A dust devil just came through as we came over the hill."

"I don't think anyone has been here in months. The lights are off and the AC is not running. No one would be here without the AC running on a day like this. I don't know where those kids on the ATV are from, but they aren't staying here. They are probably camping way out in the desert. Either way they can't hurt us now. Let's go back to the compound and get ready for tonight."

# Chapter 25

San Marino is a beautiful community of large homes on tree lined streets nestled between the foothills of the San Bernardino Mountains and Los Angeles. The large trees lining the streets remind one of old communities in the Eastern United States. The movie Father of the Bride was filmed there. One of the families that lived in this area was the Longs. The parents were looking forward to the Fourth of July celebration with their three children, but first there was a business dinner with some very important Asian clients that would go far into the evening. They had arranged for a very responsible 16 year old girl to stay with their three children. Knowing how late the dinner might last, they made arrangements for her to stay overnight in their spare bedroom. The three children Aaron age 11, Nancy age 7 and Tommy age 5 were thrilled. Cindy was the most fun babysitter they ever had and this time she would probably stay the night. Aaron was especially thrilled as he had a crush on Cindy. Mr. and Mrs. Long were going out the door saying goodbye to their children,

"OK kids, you know we will be back late. Listen to Cindy and we will see you in the morning."

The parents got in the car and drove off waving to their kids and Cindy. "He really has a crush on her, doesn't he," said Mr. Long.

"Oh yeah, as only an eleven year old boy could for an older girl."

Later that night the kids were watching a movie, eating popcorn and spread out on the floor and sofa. Aaron left to get something to drink and came back to find Nancy in his spot. He reached down and grabbed Nancy roughly and pulled her up. She immediately started crying. Aaron started to say something to her and was interrupted by Cindy.

"Aaron, why don't you sit over here?" she said and motioned to the spot beside her on the sofa."

Aaron looked over at Cindy curled on the sofa with her legs tucked under her and leaning against the side.

"OK" he said, and slid in next to her.

She put her arm around him, pulled him against her and whispered softly in his ear,

"Isn't this better than fighting?"

Aaron moved over and settled in cuddling against her before replying,

"Yeah, it is."

Cindy put the younger kids to bed and was sitting on the sofa with Aaron watching TV when the phone rang. Mrs. Long was on the phone checking in.

"How is everything Cindy? Are the kids being good?"

Cindy looked over at Aaron and smiled.

"Your kids are great. I never have a problem with them."

"That's good to hear. I was a little worried about Aaron. I sure you have noticed he has a crush on you. I was worried what he might do to get your attention."

"He's fine. Don't worry at all. I have two little brothers. I know just how to handle him."

"That's great. We love having you for a babysitter. The bad news is, we are going to be very late. The Asian businessmen haven't adjusted to our time yet and they want to keep meeting. This is very important to our company so we have to make it work. We are going to be here through most of the night."

"That's okay, Mrs. Long. We thought this might happen. I'm set up in the spare bedroom. I'll just see you in the morning."

"You're the best, Cindy.

# Chapter 26

"So what kind of restaurant are we going to?" asked Ellen.

"The only one that's out here," replied John.

"I mean what kind of food do they serve. Is it organic?"

Cody and Sarah were in the backseat, Cody looked at Sarah and rolled his eyes before replying to Ellen,

"Ellen, it's the only restaurant for miles. You'll have to make do."

"That's not acceptable, I always eat organic. Do they have a vegan menu?"

"Ellen this is ranch country. They have meat and fried food and maybe a salad. You have to adapt."

"I don't want to adapt. I want to go back to New York City," Ellen whined.

"Let's wait until you see what they have. Besides I want to talk about the book John and Cody's grandfather wrote." interrupted Sarah.

"What book?"

"Cody's been telling me about it. It talks about life and dying and things like that."

Ellen spun around in the seat and confronted Sarah.

"Did you tell them about Mom?"

"Yeah, so what. I want to talk about it instead of bottling it up. They have some interesting ideas from this book. If you don't want to talk about it, fine. But I do."

"Okay, here's the restaurant. We can talk inside."

The restaurant was a slightly remodeled version of a 50's diner with an old jukebox, red vinyl seats and a lot of chrome. Ellen stopped in the parking lot and just stared at the inside through the window. John opened the door for Sarah and Cody and looked back at Ellen standing in the middle of the parking lot.

"Are you coming Ellen?"

Ellen stared back at John and said,

"There is no way I am eating in there."

John looked at her and then in the restaurant at Sarah and Cody taking a seat, shrugged his shoulders and let the door close.

Sarah and Cody looked at John walking over shaking his head and asked where Ellen was.

"Apparently this is not her first choice of restaurants."

Sarah said, "I don't care anymore, she can come in and eat or stand out there in the parking lot."

A minute later Ellen slowly walked in and slid in the booth beside John.

Sarah said to Ellen,

"They have lots of salads. You should be able to find something you like."

"I bet it's not organic though."

John and Cody rolled their eyes as the waitress came over.

Ellen asked, "Is your produce organic?"

The waitress loomed over Ellen.

"Honey, this isn't the big city. It comes off a truck and we eat it."

"Just give me the salad with dressing on the side."

"I'll take the special with onion rings," said Sarah.

Cody looked at Sarah and then the waitress, "Me too".

"Make it three," said John.

Ellen rolled her eyes, "I can't believe you are going to eat that Sarah."

"Whatever," said Sarah. "Let's get the book out."

Cody opened the book and Sarah said, "I've been thinking about what you said about life forces and I have to admit it makes sense that something makes your body alive and then it leaves and your body is dead. But where did it come from and what happens to it after we die. Who made all this happen? Are we alone out here? Is this like the men in flying saucers or something?"

"Not really," said Cody. "But my grandfather didn't think we were alone either. Something had to create or organize all of this. He and a lot of others called it intelligent design."

"What actually is intelligent design? Wasn't that banned from being taught in schools?"

"No, you're confusing creationism with intelligent design."

"What's the difference?"

Cody started reading parts from the book.

"Creationists try to take what is in the Bible account of creation and then prove or support it with evidence found in nature. People that support intelligent design, began with natural evidence and eventually concluded that there has to be something more than random selection to account for the evidence that exists. The book spends some time with this, but to keep it simple life is just too complex to have occurred randomly. Take something like your eye. You need all these parts working together for it to be useful. The eyeball with cornea, lens, the receptors on the back of the eyeball, the pupil that opens and closes, the optic nerve that transmits information, the visual cortex. All these have to function together for the eye to be useful. Everything would have to come together at the same time for an eye to become useful. If any little part was missing the eye would be useless. It's just too complicated to be random. There is no way everything started off in some primeval soup and advanced to what we are without some kind of direction or guidance."

"I thought the argument was that given an infinite amount of time, anything could happen randomly?"

"Even if all of this didn't violate the second law of thermodynamics, we don't have an infinite amount of time. The argument my grandfather used was if you had an infinite number of monkeys typing on typewriters for an infinite amount of time, you could eventually reproduce an encyclopedia. But you don't have an infinite amount of time or monkeys. Everything is finite and it's just too complex. As complex as an encyclopedia is, life is much more complex. It just doesn't make sense that it could happen randomly, something had to drive it, or direct it or make it happen."

"Did he ever figure out what the driving force was?"

"He had some ideas."

Her gaze was thoughtful. "Did he think we are alone? Is this planet the only thing that was created?"

"Do you mean created like in the Bible?"

"I guess."

"He said the original words used in the Bible don't mean create the way we think of create. The original words they used mean to organize. So if you wanted to go the religion route, be aware that it actually says it was organized, not created from nothing. But he didn't go the religion route. He tried to explain everything scientifically."

"Okay Cody, but you aren't answering my question. Are we alone, or are there others out there?"

"The only way to know for sure if there are others, is if we had contact with them. However this is something to think about. We have received a lot of information the last few years, especially after the Hubble telescope started working. The scientists now say there are 400 to 600 billion stars in the Milky Way Galaxy that our sun is a part of and there are at least 200 billion other galaxies. When you do the math the numbers are incomprehensible. They calculated that there are more than 100 stars for every grain of sand on all the beaches in the world. Now they are discovering planets around these stars. Do you really think that we are alone and all this just happened randomly?" His eyes narrowed. "I don't. There has to be some overall plan and reason for all of it."

Sarah thought for a minute. "What's this second law you mentioned?"

Cody kept skimming the book looking for the parts he remembered.

"The second law of thermodynamics. It says things don't naturally change to a more complex state but go to a simpler state. If you build a sandcastle on the beach and leave it overnight it turns into a pile of sand, not a more elaborate intricate castle. If anything is left alone, it degenerates or decays into something less complex. It's only if something is guiding or directing something or it's alive that it goes to a higher state. Something is behind everything, guiding it along. That's what the scientists like my grandfather concluded. They call it intelligent design. They just aren't sure what all the purposes are."

"The food's here," said John. "Let's eat. I can only handle so much of this at a time."

After dinner the kids drove back to the ranch deep in thought.

# Chapter 27

### Visalia California

Lisa and John had a perpetual problem finding a place to be alone, until they discovered that Lisa's father had put in an office years ago at his airplane hangar at the small agriculture airport outside Visalia, California. Usually when they told their families they were at a friend's house and went to the office they were good for a couple hours without being disturbed.

Kasam and Ali had been sitting in their car outside the airport for several hours waiting for the time to take off in the two crop dusters. When they were almost ready to walk over to the planes Lisa and John showed up.

After an hour they finally couldn't wait any longer and stay on schedule. They looked in the window and saw them making out on the couch. After making some comments under their breath about the loose morals of Americans, they calmly walked into the office, startling Lisa and John.

"What are you doing here? This is my father's office. How did you get in?"

Kasam pulled out a gun, looked at both of them in disgust and shot each of them twice in the chest.

Ali turned in surprise to Kasam and exclaimed,

"Why did you shoot them in the office? We can't afford for anyone to find them."

Kasam looked at his watch, shook his head and said,

"It's late enough that it doesn't matter. If anyone finds them it will be too late to stop us. Let's get the planes going."

They didn't even turn off the lights in the office, but left the office with Lisa and John lying on the floor, their blood soaking the carpet.

Kasam and Ali checked to make sure the planes were gassed then had to remove the tie downs, do a quick walk around, hot wire the ignition, start the planes and have an uneventful flight to Barstow. As they were removing the tie downs they saw a car driving toward the airport.

"I can't believe this. No one comes here at night. That's why they chose this airport. First the kids and now someone else. Stay low behind the planes."

As Mr. Perkins drove into the airport to retrieve some paperwork left in his office, he noticed that there were lights on. That's strange, I never leave the lights on. As his attention was drawn to the office he didn't notice that the tie downs weren't on his planes. As he drove past the planes, Ali and Kasam crouched down and ran behind Mr. Perkin's car toward the hanger. Mr. Perkins stopped his car outside the office, saw his daughter's boyfriend's car and stormed toward the office forgetting his cell phone. He slammed open the door, saw his office covered in blood and his daughter and her boyfriend lying still on the floor. He rushed over to them, recoiled upon seeing the bullet holes and puddles of blood, and quickly realized they were dead. As he reached for his cell phone he remembered leaving it in the car. He made it outside the door before getting sick and running over to the bushes beside his office and throwing up. He didn't notice Kasam silently walk up behind him and he never felt the bullet when it entered his brain. Ali turned off the lights this time.

# Chapter 28

Back at the ranch, Ellen headed immediately to the computer and opened Facebook. Cody, John and Sarah watched Ellen for a minute and then Cody turned to Sarah and asked,

"Want to watch a movie?"

"Sure, what do you have?"

"Everything. Those shelves are full of DVD's. Pick something out."

"I don't suppose you like chick flicks do you?"

Cody rolled his eyes and Sarah laughed.

"It's okay, I don't like them either. What about something with some action or comedy?"

"Either works for me. You pick. Do you want some popcorn to go with the movie?"

"Sure, sounds like fun."

John watched Cody go into the kitchen as Sarah looked for movies. He turned around and saw Ellen still buried in the computer. This is going to be a long week he said to himself and plopped down on the couch. Sarah found a movie, put it into the DVD player and went into the kitchen to find Cody. A couple minutes later Cody and Sarah came back out holding a large bowl of popcorn and saw John sprawled on the couch. They looked over at the large bean bag chair in the corner. Cody handed Sarah the bowl of popcorn and dragged the bean bag in front of the TV.

"I think we'll both fit," he said, as he pointed to the bean bag.

Sarah smiled and plopped down into the bean bag holding the bowl of popcorn. Cody grabbed the remote and slid in beside her.

John looked at the two of them in the bean bag and then over at Ellen still buried in the computer and then a movie he watched that afternoon came on the TV. He sighed and got up.

"I'm going to take a shower," he said, walking out of the room.

When he reappeared with his hair damp, Ellen was still looking at face book and Sarah and Cody were cuddled together in the bean bag intently watching the movie.

My life sucks John said to himself. "I'm going to bed he announced to the room."

Cody glanced over at John and waved to him. Sarah looked up.

"Night John. Cody and I will be here if you need us."

John shook his head and left.

When a slow part came in the movie Cody looked over at Sarah.

"Ah, Sarah. I've been thinking. I think you might like Lake Powell instead of staying in Vegas."

"Oh really. It seemed like you and John were trying pretty hard to get us to stay in Vegas."

Cody hesitated for a minute.

"Well that was more John than me."

"Oh, I see. So you would like me to come on the houseboat with you for a week?"

Cody was silent for a minute. "Yeah, I would."

Sarah snuggled in closer,

"Well, since you asked me so eloquently, I could try. I'm a little concerned though about not taking a shower for a week."

"Ah, about that. John might have exaggerated a little about the conditions on the house boat."

"So you do use the AC and I can take a shower?"

"Ah... yeah. But the part about texting was true. You can only get a signal in the middle of the channel. Your phone won't work at the houseboat."

"Well, I guess you'll just have to keep me occupied then."

"I can probably manage that," Cody said, snuggling his arm around her shoulder."

Ellen stood up, turned off Face book and saw Sarah and Cody curled up in the bean bag together.

"I'm going to bed. Will you two be okay out here alone?"

"I think we'll manage," said Sarah, looking a bit mischievous. "Don't let the door hit your butt on the way out and could you turn off the light?"

Cody and Sarah settled in and kept glancing at the door to see if Ellen was coming back.

"Let's give it a couple more minutes" whispered Sarah.

They struggled to keep their eyes open after all the activities in the hot sun and within five minutes they both fell asleep in the dark room. After the movie ended the TV eventually turned itself off leaving them in a dark house.

A tremendous noise shook the house, startling them awake. Cody and Sarah jumped up as John and Ellen ran out of their bedrooms. They all ran outside and saw a plane flying very low just over their dark house. Sarah turned to Cody.

"What was that? Why is it so low?"

Cody still looking at the plane flying away said, "It's a crop duster. But I have never seen one fly this late before and there is nothing to spray around here."

They heard another plane approaching. John yelled out,

"There's another one. Why are they so low? It looks like they're landing."

"Landing where? There's no airport around here."

"Remember the Jensen place over the hill? He had a dirt strip there for his brother's plane. I think they landed there."

Cody thought how nothing ever happens out here and this is fun. He said to John and Sarah excitedly,

"Let's go check it out. Do you want to come, Sarah? You can ride on the back of my ATV with me."

Sarah smiled at Cody. "I'm in."

John started getting excited, "Cody, let's take the camcorder with the night scope. Maybe they're drug runners or something."

"I'll get it. I want to change anyway."

Cody ran into the house and Sarah turned to John. "John, do you really think they could be drug runners?"

"Nah. I'm just bored. Nothing exciting ever happens around here."

"I'm going back in the house," said Ellen, "are you coming, Sarah?"

"No, I'm going with Cody."

"Whatever," Ellen muttered and walked back into the house.

"How bad was it here with her when Cody and I were gone?" Sarah asked.

"We just ignored each other. It was boring. You and Cody were gone a long time. What did you do?"

Uh Oh Sarah thought. I better be careful what I say.

"Mostly we just talked. Like we talked at the restaurant."

"I hate to admit it, but he's the smart one. I think he got it from our grandfather. He seems more aware of what's around him than most other people. Cody is also extremely intelligent. He tests way off the charts. A lot of the time it's like talking to an adult instead of a teenager."

"Yeah, I've noticed that too. Getting back to what we talked about at the restaurant, what do you think? Do you believe what was said in the book? Is there something out there that explains life here on earth?"

John thought for a minute, "It makes more sense to me than anything else. Cody's best friend Jacob had a brother that died after being hit by a car. He was at our house just before he was killed. Ron was only ten years old and was full of life and had a great personality. I understand that after his body was devastated by the car, it could no longer support life, but I can't believe what made him what he was just disappeared and ceased to exist. I think when his body died, his life force left his physical body, but I can't believe his life force just vanished into nothing."

Sarah stared into the clear night sky crowded with thousands of bright stars thinking deeply. "I wish I could understand it better. I never really thought about stuff like this before. My mother's situation is getting to me."

"One time when I was talking to Grandpa Joe I asked the same question about actually understanding it. Cody didn't get to this part of the book while we were in the restaurant."

"How can you?"

"He said there's this light or force out there that can give you knowledge or insight. The source of all this knowledge is the intelligent designers, or whatever you want to call them, and they want us to learn how to recognize this knowledge when it flows to us, learn from it and use it to understand things to become better people."

"How do you get this knowledge? How would you recognize it?"

He leveled his gaze at her. "Did you ever feel like someone was looking at you and when you looked over, someone was staring at you?"

"Of course I've felt that. Everyone has."

"How did you know someone was staring at you?"

Sarah considered his question for a minute. "I just could feel it."

"There are a lot of things out there that you can't explain or measure in a laboratory. That doesn't mean they don't exist. My grandfather said you could learn to understand and recognize when information was coming to you from that source. You can feel it when it comes."

"Understanding life and death are important. It should be easy to learn about and know."

"He said it was deliberately not easy. It's difficult to learn how to tie into and understand the information that comes from the force. You have to work at it so it becomes part of your life and who you are. The most important things in life are not the easy ones, they are the hard ones. There is a reason for our lives here on earth. This isn't all just one big random coincidence. One of the things we are supposed to learn in this stage of our existence is how to understand and learn from this force. Some information doesn't change, like where our life forces came from, where they go after this life, and how we should relate to and treat other people. Other information changes constantly and comes to us depending on what others need at a specific time and how we should help them."

"What would come to us?" Sarah asked confused.

"Did you ever feel a sudden urge to do something that helped someone that needed it? Or has someone ever helped you unexpectedly when you were in trouble and really needed help?"

Sarah mind flashed back to when the man in Arizona told her he heard a meaningless noise but felt he should come to investigate when she was attacked. She thought about how easy it would have been for him to ignore the noise or not have been a person that was able to help them. She turned white thinking about what would have happened. John didn't notice her reaction in the dark and continued.

"The force can guide us to someone that needs help. This isn't something that you could put in a book because it constantly changes depending on what someone needs. My grandfather said we need to learn to recognize when information is coming from that source and to have the courage to follow it. This is one of the reasons for this stage of our existence. The more we learn to follow this source of knowledge or force, the better person we become. It's not always easy. Most of the time people ignore the information or feelings when they come to them and then say they don't exist. Have you ever had an experience like that?"

Sarah was speechless, thinking about what would have happened if that man didn't follow his feeling when she was tied up and gagged with her friend Shannon. John glanced at Sarah when she didn't respond.

"Is there anything wrong Sarah?"

"No." Sarah said softly while shaking her head.

Sometimes things come to you that are strong and get your attention, but most of the information comes from feelings that are more subtle. When you learn to listen to and understand these feelings you can learn a lot about life and also to help others. Sometimes the information is to help you understand something and sometimes it is to help other people."

Cody ran out dressed head to foot in black and carrying a camera bag.

"Here comes Cody. Why's he dressed all in black?"

"Oh, he likes to play Ninja. He's 14."

"You do know that's my age too."

"It wasn't a put down. I like to play too. You can have a lot of fun out here. Sometimes we spy on our parents. We have some radio mikes we can hide that tie into the camcorder. It's a lot of fun. You can hear some pretty interesting things when people don't know you're listening."

Cody ran up, "I'm ready. Are you with us, Sarah?"

"Sure Cody. Let's go"

# Chapter 29

Cody, Sarah and John rode up to the ridge overlooking the old Jensen ranch, parked the ATV's, crawled up to the top and peered over the edge. The three kids stared over the ridge in disbelief. The area between the barn and the house was lit up with halogen lights on portable trailers. There were four crop dusting planes being fueled by several bearded men dressed in robes and wearing turbans. They spotted several tables and a man talking on a satellite phone and typing on a laptop computer. John and Sarah laid down on their stomachs side by side while Cody set up the camera behind them.

John exclaimed, "I can't believe it. Why would they do this at night? What are those stainless steel tanks for? Insecticides aren't in stainless steel, they come in plastic tanks. What are they doing? Cody, are you getting this on video?"

"Yeah, it's recording fine, but we can't hear what they're saying."

John whispered to Sarah, "Don't they look Middle Eastern with the beards and the way they're dressed? It looks like they have prayer rugs on that table."

"John, that guy that looks like the leader is typing into a laptop. What do you think is going on?"

"Look at the stuff on the table. It looks like bags of something and those boxes under the table. It looks like they have some kind of protective suits in them."

"John, what about those other boxes on the table. They look like some kind of masks."

"The guys fueling the planes keep coming back and talking to the leader. I wish we could hear what they are saying. That guy just turned off the laptop and put it back in its case."

Cody was thinking about the radio mikes he brought with him. I know I could sneak down there and plant these without them seeing me. The area they are in is all lighted up so they can't see out. I'm all dressed in black and I brought a night scope. If I tell John he'll say it's too dangerous. I brought the tripod for the camera. I'm doing this.

Cody set up the tripod, put the camera on it and set it to keep recording. He grabbed the radio mikes and snuck out behind John and Sarah while they were intent on watching. Cody ran silently down the hill behind them and circled back toward the light. He stopped far back from the lighted area and pulled out the night scope. I don't think they would post a guard the way they are lighted up, but I'm going to check the area anyway. Cody scanned the area outside where the men were and saw nothing in the flat desert. There is not even a place to hide. I'm going in.

Cody crouched down and walked toward the back of the tables keeping his eyes glued on the men. He dropped a hundred feet away and began crawling silently through the sand. Cody looked behind himself and could see only blackness. There is no way they can see me he thought and they are making so much noise they will never hear me even if I wasn't being silent.

Cody slowly crawled up behind a table where the laptop was and bundles of hypodermic needles were in zip lock bags. The phone rang and one of the men answered and started talking in English. Cody listened intently to the part of the conversation he could hear.

"Yes, we are still on schedule. They are almost done fueling the planes. We are going to say some prayers and then take the antidote and start pumping the nerve agent into the insecticide tanks on the planes."

Cody couldn't believe what he heard.

"Yes, we have more than enough antidote. There are bags of it here. I'm not even sure how much they sent, but it is a lot more than we need."

The man talking on the phone listened for a minute and then replied, "I'll call you when we're loaded and the planes are ready to take off.'"

He then hung up and walked over to his men.

Cody bumped his knee on an old rusty flat piece of metal lying under the table. He picked it up and thought, this is about the same size and weight as a laptop computer. Peering from under the table he realized all the men were turned away. I am so screwed if they see me, but I think I can pull this off. While watching the men he slowly reached up, felt the laptop case and pulled it off the table, removed the laptop from the case, replaced it with the flat piece of metal, then slowly put the case back on the table just like he found it. His hand reached up and grabbed two of the bags of needles, then planted a radio mike under the table. He looked in the bags and found about 20 needles. They won't miss these he thought. They don't even know how many they have. He stuffed them under his shirt and started crawling away from the table, holding the laptop just as the leader turned around.

The leader started walking back toward the table as his phone rang again and he held it up to his ear and turned around to observe the planes while he talked. Cody quickly scurried back under the table to avoid being discovered. The leader listened silently for a minute, hung up the phone, grabbed the laptop case and walked back to the other men.

Cody's heart was beating like it was ready to come out of his chest and he started hyperventilating. Calm down he thought. He hasn't seen me yet. The men started talking again and Cody crawled away as fast as he could without making noise. At a couple hundred feet away, he jumped to his feet and sprinted into the darkness. After a couple hundred yards he stopped and collapsed behind a bush panting and sweating profusely. He watched the men for a couple minutes and realized, no one noticed me.

John and Sarah watched the men for several minutes, and then John turned around and saw the video camera running on a tripod and no Cody.

"Hey. Where's Cody. Oh crap. I don't believe this. He's playing Ninja and sneaking down there. This is serious. He could get hurt."

"Do you really think he would do that?"

"I know he would. He thinks he's indestructible."

John and Sarah watched intently from the top of the hillside.

"Look I saw something move. The laptop case is gone. Now it's back. It looks like a couple bags of needles just disappeared. I can't believe he snuck down there. He's only about 30 feet from them."

Sarah said to John, "The way the lights are set and the boxes piled, they probably can't see anything behind the tables. But if they hear him he's toast."

Sarah and John kept looking for more movement by the table, but everything was still.

The men finished refueling and rolled out the prayer rugs.

"Sarah, it looks like they're praying now. I don't think they're drug runners, I think they're terrorists. Where's Cody? Keep looking. Look for movement in the shadows."

Several minutes went by and John and Sarah could see nothing else.

Cody got back to the top of the ridge and snuck up behind John and Sarah.

"Boo."

"Cody you idiot! You scared the crap out of me!"

"But I got the laptop, planted a mike and got two bags of needles. Not bad for 10 minutes."

"Cody, you could have been killed if they saw you."

"But they didn't. The mike's been running. Let's see what they're saying. They're terrorists."

John, Cody and Sarah listened intently.

"I don't understand it. It's some foreign language. Wait, I think that one guy is speaking English. Listen, it's hard to hear him."

A terrorist was holding a bag of needles speaking in English to the others.

"Remember we take the antidote when you are exposed. If you spill any nerve agent we take the shots immediately. We probably need to take them when we start pumping the nerve agent in any case. Does everyone know how to give a muscle shot?"

The John and Sarah looked at each other in disbelief as Cody nodded.

"They're terrorists and they're going to spray nerve agent. We need to call the authorities fast," said John. "Cody did you get this on tape with the sound?"

Cody played back the tape and heard the sound with the video.

"Got it" said Cody, "Let's get back to the ranch and call the authorities."

John watched Cody climbing onto the ATV with Sarah. "I'll get back faster with only one person on the ATV. Catch up to me at the house."

John took off riding as fast as he could toward the ranch, while Cody and Sarah followed.

# Chapter 30

Mary was nearing the end of her shift as a 911 operator. She was planning out the food she needed to buy on the drive home for her family picnic when the phone rang. I hope this is a quick one she thought, I'm almost out of here.

She said into the mike "9-1-1 how can I help you?"

John still breathless from riding hard to the ranch blurted out,

"We were out in the desert near Barstow and we saw some terrorists that are getting ready to attack."

"Why do you think they were terrorists? Did you talk to them?"

"No we didn't talk to them. We saw them getting ready to attack."

"How did you know they were getting ready to attack?"

"They were loading planes with nerve gas."

The 911 operator thought I can't believe I have one of these late at night.

"How old are you?"

"How old am I! What does that have to do with anything?"

"Do you know it is a crime to file a false police report? You can get in a lot of trouble. Where are your parents?"

John said to himself, this is going nowhere.

"Look, I know what this sounds like, but we really did see men with planes out in the desert. They had crop dusting planes they were loading and we heard them talking about nerve agent and an antidote."

"You haven't been drinking have you? Where are your parents?"

"I know this is being recorded. I am filing a report that terrorists are getting ready to attack with nerve gas in planes. I have proof. Why don't you transfer me to someone that's willing to do something?"

Mary thought, why not, at least I don't have to deal with it.

"I am transferring you to Homeland Security. I will stay on the line until you are connected."

Nancy called on a direct line into the Los Angeles office of Homeland Security.

"Homeland Security."

"This is 9-1-1. We have a man on the line that has observed a possible terrorism threat. We are turning him over to you. Go ahead sir and have a nice night."

"This is Mr. West. Can I have your name sir and the type of threat?"

"I'm John Brown. We are in the desert near Barstow California and we saw a group of men loading nerve gas into crop duster planes."

Why did I have to get one of these he thought as he listened to john's youthful voice.

"There was more than one plane? How do you know it was nerve gas?

"They said it was. Look, I know what this sounds like. There were four crop dusting planes. They were refueling the planes in the middle of the night at a ranch. They had stainless steel tanks beside the planes holding some kind of liquid. They were talking about an antidote. They all looked Middle Eastern and they were kneeling on rugs and praying. We have this on video tape and have some audio. Do you really want to screw around with this? I know you are recording this."

A new enthusiasm came into his voice. "You have this on tape? I need to see that tape."

Sarah grabbed John.

"John, I'll download it to YouTube. He can watch it from his office on YouTube."

"Good idea, Sarah."

John went back to the phone.

"OK, we are putting it on YouTube, you can watch it there. That will save time."

"Give me the YouTube location. Stay on the line?"

I can't believe I'm going to try to watch a terrorist threat on YouTube he thought. As Mr. West watched the video his eyes got big and his jaw dropped. He picked up the phone again.

"John. When and where did you shoot this?"

"About fifteen minutes ago, 10 miles east of Barstow, California."

"And where are you now? Where are your parents?"

"We have a ranch with Internet and a land line a couple miles away from where we shot this. My parents got stuck when their car broke down and they are in Orange County."

"John, did the terrorists see you?"

"No, I'm pretty sure they didn't."

"John, stay there. Stay on the line. I'm calling Washington and will be right back to you."

All the kids were staring at John. He gave them the thumbs up.

"It looks like they are going to do something. He wants me to hold, they're sending it to Washington."

Jack West was trying to determine if he is being set up or this was a true threat. It seemed unbelievable that a threat of this magnitude would come in from a bunch of kids and the verification would be on YouTube. On the other hand if it was credible and he did nothing, looking incompetent doing his job will be the least of his worries. He called the Main Office for Homeland Security.

# Chapter 31

Homeland Security has become a mammoth organization with all the resulting bureaucracy with directors and deputy directors all trying to keep as much power as possible and build their own kingdoms within the agency. The main problem was getting to the right person who had the authority to do something. It is somewhat different at night and on holidays. Everyone with much seniority is gone. This can work both ways. If someone just wants to play it safe and stall, it can take hours to get the wheels in motion. However if someone is in charge who wants to make a name for themselves, and is willing to take risks that they went too far, too fast, everything can fall into place quickly. Fortunately Sandra Collins was on duty. Tom Harris answered the phone when Jack West called the main office. He started explaining his story just as Tom watched Sandra walking by. He thought, she always wants something bigger, let her deal with this. He caught her eye as she walked past him and he waved her over.

His voice was intense. "You might want to take this. It's the Los Angeles office. They have either a big fraud or a major incident."

Sandra shrugged and thought why not. It's been a boring night. At worst I'll get to chew someone out. She grabbed a phone as he held up three fingers for line three.

"This is Deputy Director Sandra Collins. Who is this? What do you have?"

Jack thought, that was fast, right to a Deputy Director.

"This is Jack West. I have a threat that was just called in that is either an elaborate hoax or a major attack. Some kids videoed four crop duster planes being refueled in the desert outside Barstow, California less than a half hour ago. They downloaded the video onto YouTube to get it to us. From what we have seen so far they are talking about nerve gas and an antidote, but there is very little English they recorded. Can you pull the video off YouTube and have the language in it analyzed? If this is real, it is very bad and it is happening as we speak."

"They put it on YouTube? Are you kidding me?"

"It was the fastest way to get it to us."

"E-mail me the YouTube location. I can have our analysts listen to it immediately from their homes."

Sandra yelled out to the seven agents present. "Everybody listen up! We have a possible major attack occurring in California! We need to analyze a video that was just shot outside Barstow California. Everybody on it! Ben get all the Middle Eastern Language experts on this from their homes. Wake them up now. I want answers in five minutes. The video location is now on your screens. It's on YouTube. Don't ask. Just do it."

Everybody opened the YouTube location and started watching the video as Ben texted instructions to all the Middle East experts on their emergency cell phones. As Sandra watched the video she spotted the tail numbers on the four planes. She motioned Tom Harris. "Get the FAA on those tail numbers fast. I want the owner's addresses and phone numbers, and where those planes are based. Get the local police to the airports. I want to know if those planes are where they should be or they are in the desert outside Barstow and I want to know now."

"The FAA is closed for anything other than emergencies. This is going to take a while."

"We don't have a while. Use Polk."

"Are you sure? Last time we did this, everybody got in trouble."

"I'm sure. Get him now. It's my responsibility."

# Chapter 32

### Justin Polk's home – Arlington Virginia

Justin Polk was a genius who had a love affair with computers since he was a young boy. His parents thought it was a good activity for him. By the time he was ten he learned to defeat all the parental controls so his parents had no idea of the sites he was on. By visiting hacker's chat rooms he quickly learned the basic tricks and then started taking it further.

By the time he was 16 he had been on all the major government sites, usually undetected. He was content to fly below the radar, getting in and out undetected and staying inconspicuous. He found he could hack into financial sites, penetrate their security and transfer small amounts of money without it showing. Once the money was out of their system, he could bounce it around to several banks and have it end up in his account. The problem with most hackers, he thought, is they get greedy. As long as I deal with a small amount at a time, it's not worth tracing, the monitoring programs are set up to look for larger amounts. Up until the age of 23 he was a full time student with plenty of money and very happy. It was a stroke of luck by Homeland Security that they were working on a secure site and observed him come in. It seemed incredible that he could have gotten into one of their secure areas undetected. They decided to try to follow what he did in the hope of catching him.

He prowled around in the site long enough for them to trace him through all the proxy servers back to his home address. Even then they didn't do anything immediately. They put monitoring equipment on his lines and decided to wait him out. The security consultants were amazed at his ability to get in and out of highly secure sites undetected. The more they saw, the more they realized they wanted him to work for them instead of sitting in jail.

The best part was when they got proof of him being in the Pentagon's Defense area. Because of the high alert after 9/11, that could be considered treason. When they had the proof, they brought him in. They took four hours to lay out all their proof, then showed him the law and explained why it was treason and what the penalties were. Then they offered him a deal. He works for them and his computers would be monitored 24/7. He could hack all day long as long as they knew where he was. No more transferring money. They would pay him well. He had to report anyplace he had been, and all the information he got, especially from foreign governments. And when they needed his expertise, he was available immediately. In return he stayed out of prison and did what he wanted anyway. It was 3:00 a.m. when he got the call from Tom Harris.

"Polk, this is Harris, wake up!"

Justin heard Harris on the phone and looked over at the clock in disbelief. "Why are you calling me at 3:00 a.m.? What can't wait until morning?"

"Justin, get on your computer, hack into the FAA and get me the names and addresses of the owners of the planes with these tail numbers I am e-mailing you."

A weary, bored voice said, "This can't wait until morning?"

"We are under a terrorist attack, Justin. Move it! You know the deal."

"Okay. Cool your jets. You didn't say we were under attack."

"How long will it take to hack into the FAA?"

"I leave their trap doors on my computer. About 45 seconds."

Harris thought, This guy is amazing. I'm sure glad he is on our side now. I wonder how many more like him are out there.

Polk had the information within 2 minutes and e-mailed it to Harris.

"Did you get it?" Polk asked Harris.

"I got it. Four names and addresses."

"Anything else or can I go back to sleep? By the way where is the attack?"

"At this point, California. If we think it's spreading, we'll contact you."

"California's a long way from here. I'm going back to bed."

# Chapter 33

Victor was talking on the phone to some of their Language experts. He motioned Deputy Director Collins over and said, "You need to hear this. I have a conference call running with three language analysts. I'm going to speaker phone."

Deputy Director Collins said to the analysts, "Tell me where we're at."

The analysts responded, "Bottom line is, they are talking about a nerve agent attack spread by four crop dusting planes. They seem concerned for themselves but the leaders seem confident the antidote they have will work. They have an escape plan and the pilots think it will work. What we don't have is any idea what the nerve agent is or where the planes are headed."

Victor interrupted. "We have the plane information. The planes are based in El Centro and Visalia California."

Deputy Director Collins turned to him. "Get the local police to those airports and owners' houses. Now!

She turned to the rest of the staff. "Get in contact with the National Security Staff. They can authorize us to use military assets. We need interceptors in the air. We can't let those planes take off. See if there are any satellites in the area that can give us any useful information. As soon as we get conformation on the location of those planes, I'm calling the president. Harris, get the Director and NSS up to speed on where we are at."

# Chapter 34

The El Centro police had two cars on the road in the middle of the night and one dispatcher. The call came in at 2:30 a.m. and the two cars were on the way to the airport and Mr. Jones house by 2:31 am. Car 5 got the call for the airport and had a 35 year old police wanna-be doing a ride along. After listening to the dispatch, he asked the officer driving,

"What do they want us to do?"

Officer Morris shook his head, "We need to verify if two crop dusting planes are tied down at the airport."

"Do we look through the entire airport? Where are they supposed to be?"

"The airport's not that big. Shouldn't be a problem. The problem is I don't have a gate key. The airports closed."

The dispatcher came back on. "Car 8 just talked to the plane's owner, he says they should be tied down in space 22 and 23. He was there 8 hours ago and the planes were there. Homeland Security said if you don't have a gate key, ram the gate or shoot off the lock, whichever is faster. They need that information immediately."

The ride along asked Officer Morris, "Is this unusual?"

Officer Morris shook his head and said, "More like unheard of and I've been a cop for 20 years."

As he approached the gate he thought, I've always wanted to do this, and hit the gas. The police car hit the chain link gate at about 50 miles per hour, snapping the lock and throwing the two gates against the fence. Officer Morris skidded onto the taxiway and headed to the aircraft parking area. Officer Morris and his ride along checked out the space numbers with the outside spotlight and soon come to two empty spaces marked 22 and 23. Officer Morris called back on the radio. "We are at spaces 22 and 23. They are both empty and we can see the entire tie down area. There are no crop dusting planes here with those numbers."

# Chapter 35

The Visalia Police Department had a concerned call from the wife of Mr. Perkins earlier that evening. Because of his history of alcohol abuse, his wife's history of calls when her husband didn't come home on time and the fact that he never drove drunk, put her call at an almost zero priority. This changed when his name came up as the owner of two of the planes. Visalia had only one car on duty that night. After remembering the wife's earlier call, heading to the airport first was an easy decision. There was no fence at the Visalia airport, but several crop dusting planes. As Officer Valdez started checking tail numbers on the planes, he noticed what looked like a bundle lying to the side of the taxiway. He had a bad feeling and decided to check it before finishing checking the tail numbers. Approaching the bundle, he pulled out his gun and flashlight. It was immediately obvious that it was a man's body lying in pool of blood. After checking the man's neck for a pulse and finding nothing, he quickly felt for a wallet in the back of the pants, found it, pulled in out and checked the license. It was Mr. Perkins. A quick look confirmed that the few crop dusters that were there did not have the tail numbers he was looking for.

Officer Valdez called Homeland Security as quickly as possible.

# Chapter 36

"Tom Harris."

"This is Officer Valdez from the Visalia Police Department calling back. I'm afraid I have bad news. The owner of the planes, Mr. Perkins has been shot and the planes are missing."

"Is Mr. Perkins still alive? Did he see anything?"

"The back of his head is missing. Anything he saw died with him."

Harris was stunned. This is really happening he thought.

"Thank you, officer, I need to go. We are getting quite busy here."

Tom hung up the phone, turned to Deputy Director Collins, shook his head and said, "The planes are not at El Centro Airport. The owner says they were there at 6:00 p.m. last night when he left. The owner of the two in Visalia, Mr. Perkins has been killed and those planes are missing also."

Director Collins realized, This is real. We are under attack.

"Where are we with the Director and the National Security Staff?"

"The Director is in Europe and getting a plane to come back to the US and they are convening the National Security Staff. They are giving us authority to bring in military assets. They are sending us interceptors, but they want more information before you take any action. They basically told me we can't start shooting until they are on board."

"This better not turn into a game of politics."

"I don't think it will. If it comes out that you had 4 crop dusters loaded with nerve gas in your sights and weren't allowed to take them out, their heads would be on the block. They would rather have you go too far and too fast and then be the fall guy if anything goes wrong."

"That's true. There always has to be a fall guy. What about the satellites?"

"They said you can have them, but it's a moot point. There is nothing close enough to do us any good in the time we have. Any satellites that will help are an hour away. I put priority on it to move anything we can in and start going through data that was recovered in the last few hours from that area, but it's not an area we ever look at. They don't think we will have anything. The best we might be able to do is track the planes if they don't take off until the satellite is in position."

"What about getting the interceptors in?"

"Still working on it. After 9/11 they have procedures for airline hijackings, but not for small planes. It's the middle of the night on a holiday weekend. Nobody is believing they are using crop dusters. No one ever expected an attack like this in a place like Barstow. There aren't any fighters based in the Los Angeles area anymore. All the bases they used to be at are closed. The Air Force decided to bring them in from Nellis in Vegas. The planes were loaded with fuel, but weren't on standby. There isn't a set procedure for an attack like this, so we lost a lot of time."

"What about Edwards Air Force base outside Los Angeles?"

"Edwards is now a test facility. There are no active fighters based there."

"What about Miramar in San Diego?"

The answer to that was just as fast and just as clipped. "They think San Diego could be attacked, so they are leaving their fighters there. They couldn't be in Barstow any faster than from Nellis anyway."

Harris interrupted. "NSS wants to talk to you on line 2."

The voice was steady but intense. "Is there any indication of other areas in the country being attacked?"

"Not at this time, but we were extremely lucky to find out about this attack at this stage. If there are similar attacks under way at other areas we won't know for some time."

"We are giving you the ability to use military resources, including jet fighters. We don't know this is not happening all over the US. So we can't send everything to the LA area until we are sure. For now you concentrate on the LA area and what you have found so far and don't worry about any other areas."

"How can I do my job without the assets I need?"

"You will have to get by with limited assets until we learn how widespread this is. They have released two interceptors to you from Nellis AFB in Las Vegas and are sending up an AWACS plane at this time. Two interceptors won't have any trouble taking out four crop dusters. We will release more when we can. Keep us posted."

Tom Harris was still on the phone with John. He overheard Cody in the background talking to John.

"John, we can hear the planes. We think they are getting ready to take off. Do you think we should go take a look from the top of the hill?"

John said into the phone.

"Mr. Harris, my brother can hear the planes. He thinks they are getting ready to take off. What should we do?"

Tom thought I can't believe I'm even thinking of doing this, but I don't see any good choices.

"John, is there any way you could see what the planes are doing without getting close and having any chance of the terrorists spotting you?"

"That's not a problem, we can ride the ATV's to a hill overlooking the airstrip and be a half mile away. If we come up the back of the hill, there is no way they will see us, it's dark out. But, I can't stay in contact with you and go out there also. We do have radios though. I could send my brother out to look and he could stay in contact with me on the radio and I could stay on the phone with you."

"John, I hate doing this, but we really need to know what those planes are doing. Could your brother do this?"

"Let me talk to him."

John put down the phone and confronted Cody and Sarah.

"Cody, Sarah. This is getting serious. They are sure they are terrorists and are getting ready to spray nerve gas. They need to know what the planes are doing. The nearest help is a long ways away. You need to ride over to that hill, come up the back, see what the planes are doing, and call me on the radio. That's all Cody. No adventures. Just report. We have to work as a team."

"Okay, Okay, I get it. Sarah and I will just ride up, see what the planes are doing, and call you."

"Cody, one more thing, take some of the antidote with you. I'm not sure what's going to happen, but we need to be prepared."

"John, we have to give each other shots? I've never done that before. How do we do it?"

Sarah said. "I have a friend that is a diabetic. It's not hard. It's just a muscle shot."

Cody turned to Sarah. "OK. I'll get the radios set up, get some antidote. Let's go."

John went back to the phone.

"Mr. Harris, they're leaving. I should have a report in about five minutes."

Tom Harris motioned Deputy Director Collins over. Several of the agents come with her and crowded around Harris's station.

Tom said, "The kids heard the engines start up on the planes. Two of them are going over to a hill overlooking the airstrip and radioing back to the house. We should know if the planes are taking off in a couple minutes."

Deputy Director Collins replied, "We can't lose those planes. If they get a good head start we will never find them at night, even if we get a direction they are heading."

Tom Harris answered, "We are working with air traffic control and military radar, but the fighters aren't up yet. The Air Force is trying to get an AWAC's plane up but it is at least an hour out. Air Traffic Control knows there is a problem, but don't know the details. They have a supervisor and several controllers available and standing by. We have their radar feed on our screen and they are on the phone with us. The only thing on radar is commercial flights at 35,000 feet."

"Tell Air Traffic Control what is going on and ask them if their radar will be able to track the crop dusters once they take off."

Victor called back to Air Traffic Control. "This is Victor. I need to speak with the supervisor."

A mature voice came on. "This is Sam Mullins. I'm the supervisor on duty."

"Sam, I'm going to give you the short version. We believe we have a terrorist attack commencing very soon, probably in the Los Angeles area. We have discovered 4 stolen crop dusters fueling at an abandoned strip ten miles east of Barstow. We have a video of them with the men talking in Arabic about nerve gas, and the planes appear about ready to take off so our confidence level is high that this is a genuine attack. Our interceptors are at least a half hour away. Once these planes take off, can you track them on your radar?"

"Victor, that depends. If they stay at normal altitudes we can track them. The planes should have transponders on, which makes them very easy to track. If they turn off the transponders and fly low, especially with the mountains and valleys between Barstow and Los Angeles, we will lose them."

Deputy Director Collins looked over at Victor. "Where are we?"

He replied, "If the crop dusters fly low and turn off their transponders, they will lose them. If they fly normally, they can track them."

"What are the chances of them flying normal?"

"If they don't know they are being watched or tracked they might fly normal to avoid calling attention to themselves. However they are flying crop dusters at night which is already suspicious. But if someone sees a light plane flying overhead at normal altitude they probably won't recognize it as a crop duster in the dark. If it was me, I would fly with lights and transponder on at normal altitude. If they get suspicious, they will go low and turn off the transponders, and we will lose them."

"Any other ideas?"

"A lot of those commercial pilots are ex-military. What if they descended low enough to see the planes take off? Could they keep them in sight until the fighters arrived?"

Deputy Director Collins looked thoughtfully at Harris.

"That's a good idea and could possibly work." She turned to Victor who was watching the radar and asked, "Are any flights close enough?"

"We have two Southwest and a Jet Blue flight that could possibly get there within a few minutes. They would have to do an immediate emergency descent to have a chance of finding and following them. We would have to tell them something to get their cooperation. By going through channels we are going to lose our time window."

Deputy Director Collins thought, This is going to unravel soon, but not quite yet. "Put me on speaker phone with Air Traffic Control."

Ben pushed the button for speaker.

"This is Deputy Director Collins. Who am I speaking with?"

"This is Sam Mullins, Director of Air Traffic Control, Palmdale."

"Sam, we have very little time. Have you been told what is happening with the terrorist attack?"

"Yes, Victor gave me a rundown."

"The fighters we called out are a half hour away and we are afraid we are going to lose those crop dusters. We want the Southwest and Jet Blue flights over Barstow to do an emergency descent and try to keep the crop dusters in sight until the fighters arrive. We don't have any good options here."

"It could work. We can clear out any traffic and let them try to find and keep the planes in sight. It's not going to be easy to follow a small plane at night in an airliner. How do you want to do this? Do you want to talk to all of them at once to save time? I can clear traffic in front of them, but I can't require the pilots to do this."

"Is there a way to not have anyone else hear?"

"We will have them switch to a different frequency, so it will help some. But if anyone else is on that frequency they could hear everything."

"We have to do it. This will get out soon anyway."

Sam motioned to the controllers and they had the three flights switch frequencies.

"Southwest flight 34 and 65 and Jet Blue flight 523, can all of you hear me?"

All the flights acknowledged.

"This is Supervisor Sam Mullins. We have an emergency and don't have time to go through the normal airline channels. We are on a conference call with Homeland Security. They are at condition red. There are four crop dusting planes, loaded with a nerve agent, getting ready to take off from a dirt airstrip outside Barstow. There are fighters coming, but they are still a half hour away. We need to track these planes until the fighters get there. We're asking you to do an emergency descent and try to get eyes on those planes and follow them until the fighters arrive. You will each have an air traffic controller assigned to you to clear out any traffic. We are trying to get permission from your respective headquarters, but seconds count at this time. If we lose these planes the fighters will probably not be able to find them before they start spraying."

"Palmdale this is SWA flight 65. You want us to chase crop dusters in a commercial airliner at low altitude at night?"

"Not chase them. We want to follow them so we know where they are. We think they will keep their lights on and fly normally. Hopefully they will do this until the fighters arrive. If they turn off their lights and drop below radar, you might be able to still follow them until the fighters arrive."

"Palmdale, this is SWA flight 34. I have SWA flight 65 and JetBlue 523 on my radar. I'm the closest. Commencing emergency descent. Give me a location."

"SWA flight 34, the dirt strip is 10 miles due east of Barstow. The report we are getting is the staging area for the planes is lit up. Stay high enough so they won't see you and turn off all your lights. We will keep any traffic away from you. If they run with lights on, you can track them from several miles away. Our concern is if they fly without lights at a low altitude we can't follow them on radar and you won't be able to see them unless you're close. If you leave your lights off we are hoping they will never know you're there.

# Chapter 37

Leroy Hudson and his wife Mable were avid pilots who enjoyed racing airplanes. They had set the alarm to wake up at 3:00 a.m. to get an early start to fly to California while it was still cool as their race plane did not have air conditioning. Leroy was an ex-military fighter pilot who had talked his wife into trying racing and found she liked flying even better than he did. It was a constant battle to see who got to fly when they traveled to the next air race. On this trip they were flying into Southern California in their two seat Edge to visit their children and grandchildren in Azusa for the Fourth of July holiday before heading to Reno Nevada for their next race. Leroy won this time and he was planning to fly the leg to California.

"Come on Leroy, times a wasting, we wanted to be to the airport by 3:30."

"We're fine, it's only a two hour flight to California. We'll be there by 6:00 a.m. and to the house by seven and still probably find everyone still asleep."

"I don't know how our kids sleep so late. Half the days done by the time they wake up."

"You do know that everyone else doesn't like to get up in the middle of the night like you do."

"Including you, Breakfast is ready, let's eat and get going."

# Chapter 38

Cody and Sarah crawled to the edge of the hill and looked down at the planes. The terrorists were topping off the tanks, and then the pilots climbed into the planes and started to taxi.

"Cody, it looks like they are going to take off right over us. Do you think they can see us?"

"It's still too dark. As long as we don't move they'll never spot us. I better call John."

Cody called John on the radio. "John, one of them is taking off now and the rest are lining up."

"Hold on Cody." "Mr. Harris, one is taking off and the others are getting ready to."

"I was afraid they would take off before we were ready. John, we need to get the direction they go as each one takes off."

"OK, let me talk to Cody."

"Cody, they need the direction the planes take off. They need to chase them when the Air Force planes get here."

"We can call that in, but we might have another problem."

"What else is wrong?"

"We think the terrorists gave each other the antidote shots, they are rubbing their arms. I'm worried the gas is leaking or they are going to spray this area or both."

"You have antidote with you. Don't you?"

"Yeah, we took some with us, but I have never given anyone a shot. Sarah says she has seen her diabetic friend do shots, but she has never done it herself."

"Let me check with Homeland Security."

"Mr. Harris, Cody is monitoring the planes and will tell you what direction they take off. The terrorists gave each other shots. He is worried that the nerve agent is leaking or they are planning on spraying this area. I think we are going to have to all do the shots to each other also. We need instructions? None of us have ever done this."

"John, I've been talking to our medical people that have been analyzing the video you sent. The terrorists are talking about the antidote, but we know very little about it. What we do know is that it has to be given just before or after exposure. They have prepared the syringes in advance with the correct amount. You need to take the sheath off the needle, use an antiseptic swab to clean the skin, put the needle straight up and tap it to make any air bubbles rise to the top and push the plunger slightly to remove any air bubbles. Then quickly jab it into a muscle through the skin, and then pull back slightly on the plunger to see if there is any blood. If you see blood you are probably in a blood vein. You need to pull it out and start over. Do not inject it into a blood vein. It needs to go in the muscle. Then slowly push down the plunger and then remove the needle. It's easier to do it to someone else. But be aware. We have no way of knowing anything about this antidote."

"Do we have a choice? The terrorists are taking it. What would you do?"

"John, if it was me I would take it, but we really don't know and you don't have any time to waste."

John got back on the radio with Cody.

"OK, Cody. If you're exposed, you need to give each other a shot. I'll walk you through it. Tell me when you have directions on the planes."

"John, the first plane took off and headed southwest as far as we could see. The second plane has just taken off and headed west. I'm not sure if we're exposed yet. We're going to wait a couple minutes."

"Cody, I got the phone and radio beside each other together. Mr. Harris did you hear what Cody said?"

"I heard it. Cody, can you hear me? We also need to know if the planes have their lights on."

"Yeah, I can hear you, the third plane just took off and is headed southwest too. It looks like the fourth plane is almost ready to go and all of them have their lights on."

Controller one called SWA flight 34.

"SWA flight 34, the first plane took off about 3 minutes ago and headed southwest, followed by plane 2 heading west, and plane 3 just took off also heading southwest. Do you see the staging area and dirt strip?"

"This is SWA flight 34. We are at 5,000 feet flying VFR. We have the strip and are looking for the first plane. We just spotted the second plane and we are looking for plane one. Hold on, we just spotted the first plane. We are following it at 5,000 feet."

Controller two called Jet Blue flight 523.

"Jet Blue flight 523. SWA flight 34 is following the first plane at 5,000 altitude. Plane 2 took off a couple minutes ago heading west. It has its lights on. Do you have it in sight?"

"Jet Blue flight 523, we have SWA flight 34 and plane 2 in sight. We are following plane 2 at 5,000 feet VFR."

"SWA flight 65. Do you have any planes in sight?"

"SWA flight 65, we have SWA 34 and JetBlue 523 in sight and we are looking for plane 3 or 4."

Cody called John on the radio. "John the fourth plane just took off and is heading south."

"Do you have that Mr. Harris?"

"I got it John."

"Flight Control. Are you getting all this?"

"We are hearing everything. Stand by."

Controller three to SWA 65. "We have two planes. One heading south and one heading southwest."

"SWA 65, we have a plane in sight. We aren't sure if it is the third or fourth plane. It is running south-southwest with its lights on. We are following at 5,000 feet."

"Sam, do you have them on radar?"

"We have all three airliners and the four crop dusters on radar. Their transponders are on and we are having no trouble tracking them."

"Sam, we are going to keep the SWA and Jet Blue flights above the planes at 5,000 feet just in case. Hopefully the interceptors will get there before anything changes."

Victor got Deputy Director Collins' attention. "We have more information coming in from the analysts."

"Put it on speaker."

"We have been analyzing the video. Did the kids say anything about a laptop?"

"Is everyone still tied in together? Did you hear that, John?"

"Yeah, we didn't tell you about the laptop. When we were watching the terrorists, we saw one of them typing into a laptop. He put it in a case and went to pray. My brother Cody snuck down and took the laptop and put a flat piece of metal in the case. Then he took some of their antidote."

"Do you have the laptop?"

"Yeah, it's right here."

"John, you have a laptop that you took from the terrorists, and you didn't tell us!!"

"Look. It's been a little busy here too. Yes, I have the laptop."

"John, we need to find out what's on that laptop. Are you good with computers?"

"I'm not, but I think Sarah is."

Cody interrupted. "John, the last plane just flew over us. I think he sprayed us when he flew over."

"Cody, take the antidote now, and then get back here."

Cody and Sarah looked at each other wide eyed. Sarah grabbed a needle and swab.

"I've seen my friend do this so I'll give you your shot first. Take the radio and have John tell me what to do."

"John, walk us through this." Cody said desperately.

John repeated the instructions given by Homeland Security to Cody and Sarah.

Cody thought, I can't believe we're doing this. Sarah jabbed in the needle, pulled back on the plunger to check for blood and pushed the plunger.

"That wasn't so bad."

"It's a small needle, Cody. Now do me."

Cody injected Sarah. "We better get back. John and Ellen need this too. I think he sprayed our ranch too and we have this spray on us."

Cody called John on the radio, "We gave each other shots and the planes are out of sight. We're heading back."

John said to Mr. Harris, "Cody and Sarah are on the way back. Sarah is good with computers."

"John, put Sarah on as soon as she is back, and you and Ellen take the antidote. I'm going to put someone on that is an expert with computers."

Cody and Sarah rode the ATV back to the ranch. Sarah opened the laptop while Cody got the shots ready.

Cody said to John, "Sarah and I got sprayed on the hill. Our clothes are contaminated. You and Ellen need to take this antidote immediately."

"Do you know what you're doing, Cody?"

"There's not much to know. Turn around, drop your pants and bend over."

"What! Here!"

"John this is serious. Just do it. I could have the nerve gas on my clothes."

Cody gave John a shot, he stood up and turned around.

"That wasn't bad. I thought it would hurt more."

Sarah watched what happened while she worked on the computer.

"Why did you give it to him in the butt? I gave you yours in the arm?"

John confronted Cody. "You and Sarah got it in your arm? Why did you give it to me in my butt in front of Sarah?"

"That was for the shower incident," retorted Cody.

Sarah smiled at what Cody did. "Give me a needle. I have to give Ellen her shot."

Ellen backed away into a bedroom. "Don't even think of it. Stay away from me."

"Ellen, you need this to stay alive. Our clothes are contaminated. Let me give you the shot."

"Sarah, you don't know how to give shots."

"It's not that hard and I just did Cody. Buck up and let me do this or John will have to do it. I have to get back to that laptop."

"I can't believe this is happening to me." Ellen whined.

Sarah gave Ellen the shot in the bedroom and came back to the laptop and started talking to a technician.

"Sarah, this is Ben. I'm going to walk you through this. Is there any chance you have a flashdrive with you? I would like to do a backup before we do anything."

"I actually have two 12 gigs in my backpack."

"That's great. I'm going to have you copy all the data files with your flash drive before you open any programs. It will only take a couple minutes and I will walk you through it."

Ben walked Sarah through the backup twice.

"Okay, Ben, I did a flash drive backup twice. Do you want me to open the program yet?"

"Let me check first. My boss just came back in. Are we ready to open, Larry?"

"Larry asked Ben, "Did she back up?"

"All set. I'm not sure what else to do without the laptop being here, we don't have any time to waste, and now the laptop's also contaminated with the nerve agent. We need to know what's on it."

Larry's supervisor, Jason came into the room.

"Jason, I think we are ready to try to open the program."

"Go ahead, Larry."

Larry said to Ben and Sarah, "Okay, Sarah, we are going to carefully open up the program. Tell me what you see."

"He never closed the program. Everything is open."

"He left it open! That's great. We don't have to worry about any passwords. What do you see, Sarah?"

"There are financial records, a lot of names and phone numbers and some maps. There is another section with some chemical formulas."

Larry looked at his supervisor, Jason. "We need to get that laptop here. What about having her send us some files right now?"

"We can try a few files. Sarah, try sending one. If the connection speed is slow it will take a long time. How soon can we get the laptop here?"

"They told me it would take an hour to get a decontamination team by helicopter to the area. 15 minutes on the ground and 45 minutes back here. About two hours."

"I think we should wait Larry. If there is a virus or trap in that program we could lose everything. I think it's too risky."

"I agree. She sent a couple files and it was slow. We need to get those kids on the move heading east from where they sprayed, and get a decontamination team on the ground in front of them, decontaminate that laptop and the kids, and get that laptop back here fast."

Larry said to Sarah, "Sarah, we need that laptop. All of you and the laptop are contaminated. Do you have transportation to go across the desert?"

Sarah turned to John.

"I think we should take the dune buggy. It's a four seater. All four of us will fit and it can go almost anywhere."

Tom said to John, "John, we are sending a decontamination helicopter to meet you. You need to get as far East as you can from where they sprayed. The wind is blowing east to west. Once you are decontaminated you can keep heading east until we can get a rescue team to you. The decontamination helicopter is small and can't take the four of you. We can decontaminate your dune buggy because it has hard surfaces and we will bring you new clothes. Our main problem is communication. Your cell phones won't work very well east of where you are. Just drive with your lights on and we will find you. Look for a helicopter. Can you leave soon?"

"We should be out of here in five minutes."

"Cody lets grab some clothes and food and take the dune buggy."

John, Cody and Sarah loaded up the dune buggy. When John went back in the house for more food, Sarah asked Cody.

"Are you taking some guns?"

"I have a bad feeling about all of this. I'm taking the special guns. Don't tell John. I'm going to put them under the clothes."

John came back out dragging Ellen.

His lips were tight. "Sarah, you talk to her. She wants to stay here."

Ellen looked down at Sarah. She was bristling. "I don't know why you don't listen to me. I'm the older sister. We need to stay here and wait for Mom and Dad."

Sarah shook her head, I should just leave you here. "Ellen, I don't care anymore. Do whatever you want. I'm leaving with John and Cody."

Sarah climbed in the dune buggy with John and Cody and looked questioningly at Ellen.

Ellen looked at all three for a minute and reluctantly climbed in. John drove away and headed east.

# Chapter 39

### ACU New Mexico

The staff had been monitoring the communications from Homeland

Security and all the other agencies involved. They watched Tony listening intently. Finally General Moody said to him,

"Is this what you were worried about? It affects all of us, but doesn't seem to affect our unit here in New Mexico."

Tony looked up and said, "It will, get ready." and then stood and walked out of the room as everyone stared at his back.

# Chapter 40

Tom Harris asked the staff, "How many people will the decontamination helicopter carry with all the gear."

"Only a crew of four plus the pilot and copilot. There is a lot of gear even for minimum decontamination."

"So there is no way to get the kids out at this time?"

"Not without leaving the crew there, and we are stretched way too thin on decontamination crews anyway."

"I know. I just hate abandoning the kids after all they've done. Make sure you bring clothes and food for them. Everything they have will be contaminated."

"I'll get right on in, Tom. I need to go to my office and get the protocols on decontamination."

"Thanks, Jason, get back here fast. Report back with any problems."

Jason went into his office, pulled out his private cell phone and made a call.

Joseph heard his cell phone ring, looked at the number, frowned and answered,

"Jason, is that you? Why are you calling on this line?"

"Just listen. Some kids heard the planes, came to investigate, saw the planes and got it on video. They uploaded the video to Homeland Security. They know some of the plan. Homeland Security is sending satellites over the area and has interceptors and something called an AWACS plane is coming, but it is an hour away. Even worse the kids have a laptop. Tell me they don't have your laptop."

Joseph tore open his case and found a piece of metal where his laptop should be. He stared at it with disbelief.

"I don't believe this. My laptop is gone and there is a piece of metal in the bag. Do you have a location on these kids?"

"They just headed east from a ranch a couple miles east of your compound. They are in a dune buggy with the lights on. Homeland Security is sending a decontamination helicopter to find them and get the laptop. Did the planes get off?"

"The planes are gone. We were just getting ready to setup the extraction for the pilots. We are now going to have to split up to keep the plan going forward and find that laptop. The planes need to fly low and turn off their lights and transponders. If they can come in low over the mountains undetected, they can still spray their tanks dry."

"What about radar? Can they track them if they are low and dark?"

"The only radar that can track them like that is an AWACS or a jet fighter looking down. You said the AWACS is an hour away. We can still make this work if the planes get low. The planes are on radio silence but we have a code for this. I'll send the code and then go get those kids."

"What is this AWACS plane?"

"It stands for Airborne Warning and Control System. It's a very sophisticated radar system in a large jet that can control the jet fighters and find anything flying. But it has to be in the area to do anything. If it's still an hour away it will be too late to hurt us."

"What about Costa Mesa?"

"What about it?"

"Are there references to the site in Costa Mesa on the laptop?"

Joseph thought for a minute. "There could be, I'm not sure. There might be an old file. Are the charges still set up for if no one comes back?"

"They should be. I haven't been there in while."

"I'm going to have one of the crew that's immune go to the Costa Mesa site. By the time they get there the planes will be done spraying. I'll have them set off the charges instead of waiting for the timer and blow up the entire building. The information there is probably worse than the laptop."

"As long as you get the laptop no one will know about Costa Mesa."

"I don't want to take the chance. Once those planes start spraying we don't need Costa Mesa anyway."

Joseph sent the signal to the planes, sent a car to Costa Mesa and the rest of his men loaded into three jeeps and went after the kids."

# Chapter 41

John drove the dune buggy through the cool desert night, the Joshua trees silhouetted in the moonlight. He thought about the nerve agent. I know they sprayed the area and got some on us. I think I feel OK. What does this do? Am I going to get sick, or start shaking, or stop breathing or just die? I'm not sure if we are still healthy or not.

Cody tapped John on the shoulder and pointed to the left.

"I see a helicopter."

John stopped the dune buggy and they watched the helicopter descend to a flat area about a mile in front of them. John slowly drove toward the helicopter. A soldier ran out and motioned them to stop. He pulled out a megaphone and hailed them.

"Stop there. We have to set up the decontamination before you come closer. It will take about 10 minutes. I will come back and give you instructions. Wait where you are."

The kids waited in the dune buggy and watched the crew set up. They put down a large tarp and then started loading tanks and bins on the tarp. After this they set up a generator and large overhead lights and got into moon suits. The soldier with the megaphone came back out and stopped 100 yards away.

"OK kids. The decontamination is set up. The nerve agent is in your clothes and hair and on your skin. You need to take all your clothes off and leave them in a pile. Bring the laptop with you and come over to the tarp so we can clean your skin and hair and give you clean clothes. We can hose down the dune buggy with a strong bio-agent that would destroy your skin, but the dune buggy will be fine. Come on. Get going. We need that laptop."

All the kids looked at each other in disbelief. John yelled over to the soldier with the megaphone.

"We have to take our clothes off here? Can't you set up a tent or something?"

"Look, son, I'm sorry. We don't have time. We had to pull this team off other duty as it is. This is not the time to be modest. If we had more equipment and time we could set up a tent, but this is all we have. We don't know what the nerve agent could be doing to your bodies as we speak even though you seem immune, and we need that laptop. People are going to start dying. So, take your contaminated clothes off and bring over the laptop."

John thought, I can't believe I have to do this in front of everyone.

Ellen called out. "I don't care what you say. I will not take off my clothes until you get me some privacy."

The soldier looked at her, shook his head and replied,

"Miss, at this point I don't care. It's your body. In ten minutes we will be out of here with the laptop, one way or another. Suit yourself."

John started taking off his clothes and looked over at Cody.

"Cody, just do it. We don't know what this nerve agent might be doing to us."

Cody looked at John stripping and then over to Sarah. Sarah looked at Cody, shrugged and started removing her clothes.

Cody looked at Sarah, then back at John and slowly started taking off his clothes. I cannot believe I have to do this in front of Sarah he thought. Sarah took off the rest of her clothes, grabbed the laptop and the two flash drives and turned to Cody. She handed him one of the flash drives and said, "Keep this one. I think they should be separate." Cody just stared at her, held out his hand and took the flash drive.

Sarah thought, come on Cody, get with it here. Don't be such a wimp now. It's just a body.

John, Sarah and Cody slowly walked over to the tarp and were approached by four people in moon suits. One of them took the laptop and triple wrapped it in plastic. The other three each took one of the kids and started hosing them off. Sarah's worker said to her,

"Take this solution and start rubbing it through your hair. It will take several times. While you are doing that, I will be scrubbing your body with this brush and the same solution. We have found that no one scrubs their body enough. So we will scrub your body and then go through your hair again after you are done."

Sarah looked over at Ellen slowly walking over to the tarp and taking off her clothes. I can't believe how skinny she is. I think she is anorexic. She looks terrible.

John looked over at Ellen. She looks horrible. I can see her ribs. She looks like a concentration camp survivor. Does she like to look like that?"

Cody looked at Ellen. Wow! She looks bad. I wonder if she's sick. He then looked back at Sarah. His eyes popped. He saw Sarah look at him, turned his head and then looked back at Sarah and then away again. I can't believe I'm standing here naked in front of Sarah being scrubbed down by a lady in a moon suit.

After several minutes the worker said to Cody,

"OK son. You're clean now. Here is a towel and there are clean clothes over there. Get dressed."

Cody quickly dried off and sensed someone behind him. He looked over and Sarah was dressed.

"Don't forget the flashdrive, it could be important."

She looked at him and raised her eyebrows and then he realized she was dressed and he wasn't. He reached down and grabbed some clothes they set out and quickly put them on as he turned his back to Sarah. All the kids finished dressing and walked over to the dune buggy that had been decontaminated. The soldier said to them,

"Your dune buggy is clean. Just keep heading east and we will get a rescue helicopter to you as soon as we can. We put food and sleeping bags over here. You should be fine for a couple days until we catch up."

He dashed to the helicopter and jumped in as the aircraft started the engines, ready to take off.

The kids went through the pile and found some jackets, sleeping bags, a tent and food and water, but no radios. They started loading everything into the dune buggy while John, running low, to the chopper, called out, "What about a radio or cell phone? You took all of ours."

Yelling over the roar, he said, "Sorry. Yours didn't make it through the decontamination. I don't have anything to give you. We put a locator in the dune buggy so we can track you. We will catch up. We have to go. Step back."

John backed up to the dune buggy as the helicopter lifted, dipped its nose and headed off into the night, navigation lights blinking. Cody asked John,

"No radios?"

John shook his head as they turned to watch the helicopter fly away. When it got about a hundred feet above the ground a streak of light flashed over their heads and aimed like a laser for the chopper's open door. A split second later the helicopter exploded in a blinding flash and flaming wreckage fell to the desert floor where John was just standing. The kids ran and crouched behind the dune buggy as they got pelted by parts raining from the sky. They looked over at the crash site and realized there is no way anyone could have lived through that explosion. They stared at the crash for a minute and Cody grabbed John's arm and yelled in his ear,

"Did you see that streak of light going in the open door just before the crash? I think that helicopter was shot down."

John sat watching the burning helicopter, then muttered, "We better get out of here. Whoever shot that helicopter down has to be close. Cody, is the dune buggy loaded?"

"It's ready, let's go."

Ellen looked scared., "I think we should wait here for those military people. I'm sure they realize their helicopter was shot down and someone will come to get us."

John cocked his head and did a double take.

"And the terrorists who shot down the helicopter. You don't think they might have an issue with who stole their laptop? They just shot down an Army helicopter and killed several soldiers. What do you think they might do to us?"

Sarah chimed in, "I don't even want to think what they'll do. I'm out of here. Jump in the dune buggy, Ellen."

Ellen glared at Sarah. "I'm the older sister. Don't you talk to me like that!"

"Do whatever you like, I'm out of here. Let's go, guys."

Cody looked behind everyone and spotted lights. "Somebody's coming. Time to go. The dune buggy's leaving, with or without you, Ellen. Jump in or stay and deal with them. Let's go John."

Ellen looked behind her, saw a jeep coming, and jumped in the dune buggy. "You know I still think we should stay here. I think we can talk to them. We no longer have the laptop. I don't know why they wouldn't just let us go. There's no reason to hurt us."

John shot a look over his shoulder. "See those flashes of light, Ellen. Those are muzzle flashes. They're shooting at us. Do you want to jump out and go talk to them?"

Sarah, her hair flying, looked back over her shoulder. "John, there are three jeeps. They're all shooting. Can we go any faster?"

Cody yelled to John, "John, take that trail. I remember it. It twists around and keeps splitting. Maybe we can lose them."

Abdul clung to his seat and yelled to Joseph in the bouncing jeep, "They're getting away. I don't think we hit them! Should we chase them?"

"No. We need to go back. They can't hurt us now. We saw them take the laptop on the helicopter. I would like to spend some satisfying time with them as much as you, but we have more important things to do. Let's go."

Cody had been watching behind the dune buggy for several minutes as John drove as fast as he could along the twisting trail.

"I haven't seen them for a while. I think we lost them or they turned around."

"There's a big hill about three miles from here. If we go behind it and come up the back, we can see this whole valley. We should be able to see if they're still chasing us."

When they got to the top of the hill, John stopped the dune buggy on the back side of the crest and Cody ran over to the ridge and scanned the valley with binoculars and his night scope.

"I don't see anything in the entire valley. It looks like they turned around. I wonder why they gave up chasing us."

John said, "I don't really care. Let's rest here for a while. If we keep a lookout over the valley we can see them coming a long ways off."

# Chapter 42

Kasam had been preparing for this day since he was a boy in the mosque in his home village. He was actually going to strike a blow against the great Satan. The nerve agent in his plane alone could kill several million people. If the escape plan worked he would live to fight another day, if not he was ready to be a martyr. In less than a half hour, he would cross the San Gabriel Mountains, drop into Burbank and spray all the way through to Santa Monica and on to Los Angeles International Airport. He still disagreed with the plan to fly normal with their lights on. He knew he could fly low through the valleys where no one could see him. He almost wished the signal would come over his radio that they had been discovered and he could trip the circuit breaker on the transponder and lights and dive low.

Ali was nervous. The other pilots had more experience that he did. If he had to dive low and fly through the valleys, he was sure he would crash. As long as the radio stayed silent, he could just fly normally, spray his nerve agent, land at the small regional airport and live to fight another day.

Aarif was excited. He had been waiting for this day for a year. He had grown up in America and learned to fly. The training the others had was nothing compared to his experience. He was tempted to fly low through the valleys just for the excitement. He thought of how he wouldn't even know if he was being followed. There is always a blind spot behind a plane. If someone was following him to shoot him down he would never know. Of course that was impossible. The plan had worked perfectly up to now. There is no way anyone could know they had four planes ready to attack Southern California. He wished they weren't on strict radio silence. He would love to check with the other planes.

Haman was the calm one. He had set up the routes through the mountains so each plane would arrive at the strict areas they were supposed to spray. He didn't understand why some areas were to get sprayed and not others. The routes didn't even make sense to him. But their sponsors were very generous and supplied everything they needed. He could live with it.

It came as a shock to all the pilots when the signal came from Joseph that said they had been discovered but the Americans were not in a position yet to do anything. They still had time. The order was to proceed to the areas they were to spray as quickly as possible with their lights and transponders off.

When Aarif got the signal he immediately turned off his lights and transponder and dove into a valley. Aarif was more comfortable now that he was lower with the lights off. As dark as it was someone would have to be right behind him to see him. But he still kept thinking what if someone was following him? How would he know? It would be so easy to take a quick look so he would feel at peace. I'm going to do it. One quick turn to the left, look over his shoulder through the window and he would know he was alone. Aarif turned the wheel, kicked the left rudder pedal and within a couple seconds was flying 90 degrees to the left. He looked over his shoulder and could see a 737 behind him by the moonlight. This was unbelievable. They had caught up to him. But why an airliner? What could it do? He had to warn the others. They had a signal set up for this, but if the Americans knew what was going on a secret signal or radio silence no longer mattered. He had to warn the others. Aarif called on the open channel.

"Ali, Haman, Kasam. This is Aarif. They found us. I have a jet behind me, but it's an airliner. It can't shoot me down. Go to the full evasive plan. May Allah be with you."

All the agents in Los Angeles and DC were hovering around the computer screen watching the feed from Air Traffic Control showing the four crop dusters and the two SWA and one JetBlue flights. The four transponders from the crop dusters suddenly stopped flashing and the radar signal dropped and then disappeared. The agents looked at the screen in disbelief.

"Tell me this didn't just happen" yelled Deputy Director Collins. "Sam, what happened?"

"Their altitude dropped and the transponders are off. SWA 34 and 65. JetBlue 523. Do you have the planes in sight?"

"This is SWA 34. Mine just turned off the lights and dropped altitude. I'm going in closer."

"SWA 65 here. Same with me. I'm going in closer."

"JetBlue 523," called in. "Mine is dark also. I'm going lower so I don't lose him."

Deputy Director Collins dejectedly said to her staff. "If we aren't careful we are going to add three down airliners to this mess."

Victor replied, "If we lose those four planes and they spray Los Angeles, it will be a lot worse than three plane crashes."

"What about the fourth plane that no one is following?"

No one replied. They just sat and looked at each other shaking their heads.

"This is SWA 34. I have reacquired my plane. I'm 1,000 feet back and 100 feet above him. Any further back and I'll lose him. So far he is flying straight. I don't think he knows I am following him."

"JetBlue 523 here. I am about the same following my plane."

Another minute went by and SWA 65 didn't reply.

"SWA 65 do you still have your plane?"

"We lost him, found him, and now we lost him again. He is not flying straight. His lights are off, he is low and he is flying in and out of valleys. We have to close in to keep following him in the dark."

"Victor, where are my interceptors?"

"Still at least 20 minutes out. They cruise at about 600 miles per hour."

"I thought they could do three times that."

"They can if they turn on their afterburners," said Victor. "But they can only run them on full afterburner for less than ten minutes before they run out of fuel. If they turn them on too soon they will run out of fuel and crash about the time they get to the crop dusters."

"Can they turn on the afterburners for a couple minutes and get closer and still have some fuel when they get to the crop dusters?"

"They could try. It's a balancing act to get to the crop dusters in time and still have some fuel left to shoot them down and land."

"What about refueling? We still have that fourth plane to find, even if the airliners stay with the first three."

"The air tankers are a good hour out," said Victor. "The choice is bring the interceptors in on time almost out of fuel, or bring them in late with more fuel left."

"Get them there on time. We can't let them start spraying LA while the interceptors are still over the mountains. I just hope those airliners can stay with the three planes. I have no idea what to do with the fourth."

"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 looks 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, taking 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."

# Chapter 47

Henry and his wife were sitting in their family room with Officer Fred Oliver and his ride along.

"So you think that my planes were stolen by terrorists?" asked Henry.

"They aren't giving me much information, but that is what it looks like. Don't you have insurance?"

"Of course, I have great insurance. I just hope I don't get them back, especially if they sprayed nerve agent with them. The insurance will buy new ones. It's the best thing that could happen to me. I just want to know what's happening. I think I'll check where the planes are now."

"How can you tell where your planes are?" asked Fred surprised.

"I always want to know where we are spraying to make sure my pilots don't say they sprayed something they didn't. I hid a cell phone with GPS and tracking service in the planes and wired the charger into the plane battery so it is always on. I can go to the computer and follow the planes on a map."

Henry turned on his laptop and a southern California map came up with two blinking cursors over the San Gabriel Mountains.

"There are my two planes. They are heading into the Los Angeles basin."

"What do you think is going on?"

"If I had to guess, if they are being used by terrorists, they will shoot them down before they get to the basin."

They kept watching the computer screen as the planes got closer to the LA basin.

"I'm surprised they are letting them get so close. They are almost to the populated area."

After a couple minutes, Henry said,

"Is there any possibility they don't know where they are?"

"I'm sure they have them on radar."

"Then why are they still up? Is there any way to get in touch with the person that called you from Homeland Security?"

Officer Thomas called his dispatcher and asked if there is a phone number for the call that came from Homeland Security. His dispatcher replied that the number was on their computer.

"Give me the number. I need to give them more information."

Officer Thomas called Homeland Security and got a recording to call back during normal business hours. He turned to the others.

"I'm getting a recording. It says they are closed and to call back during normal hours."

"That's ridiculous," said the ride along. "You got through before."

"I did. But now they are on full alert to handle the crisis and don't want to be disturbed. They can call out but don't want anyone calling in."

"But they need this information. They might be having trouble tracking those planes and we know where they are."

"Do you have any suggestions? The problem is when you get to this stage, the information flows down, not up. I don't know how to talk to them unless they call us. I'll keep trying to get through."

# Chapter 48

"How are the passengers doing?" asked the pilot.

"From what the flight attendants say, half of them are sick and the rest are close. No injuries. One ten year old took off his seat belt before the negative G maneuver and sprinted for the bathroom screaming he couldn't wait and had to pee. He went for a ride around the cabin, somehow didn't get hurt and is now back cowering in his seat. All the attorneys are passing out cards and talking about law suits."

"As long as they have a jury trial in LA, it will be a waste of time. Did the kid make it to the bathroom?"

"Apparently not, but it doesn't matter anymore. I think his seat cushion needs to be replaced though."

"It won't be the only thing that needs replaced before this is over. It looks like he's diving again. I'm going in closer."

Aarif headed down the last valley between him and the foothills east of Pasadena. The valley was fairly straight and he could see the lights of Pasadena ahead. The plane gradually picked up speed as Aarif hugged the valley floor. I'm almost there, he thought and started toying with the spray controls.

Flight 34 was trying to stay close to the crop duster as the valley walls closed in on the wingtips, when their concentration was interrupted by a call on the radio.

# Chapter 49

"Leroy, do you see that jet at 2:00 o'clock. It's only at about 5,000 feet. What's it doing?"

"I've never seen a jet that low unless it's landing. It's flaps and spoilers are out, but the landing gear is up. It looks like it is flying as slow as it can without landing."

"It keeps circling like it's following something. I'm going to check the other radio channels to try to see what's going on."

Mable tried several channels and found the one that the flights used to talk to air traffic control and Homeland Security. Leroy and Mable listened to the conversations and quickly realized what was happening.

"Leroy, we need to help. We can follow that crop duster a lot easier than that 737. In this race plane we can stay right with him. I'm going to call air traffic control."

"Air traffic control, this is N4527," said Mable. "We have been following your conversations with SWA 65 and 34 and Jet Blue 523. We can stay right with a crop duster through the canyons. My husband is flying and he is an ex fighter pilot and we are in a full race Edge. We are offering our help to follow a plane."

"Air traffic, this is SWA 65. I see N4527. He is right below us. I'm going to lose my plane in these canyons. I can't fly as slow as him and he is right down in the canyons with no lights. I can't stay with him. I can guide 527 in if I do it in the next several seconds before I have to climb and circle."

"527 we need your help. SWA 65 can you guide him in?"

"527, the crop duster is in the canyon below you at 5 o'clock and a half mile ahead of you. He is running at about 100 knots without lights."

"I'm going in. That canyon is nothing. I can fly rings around a crop duster. I'll be on his 6 in less than a minute."

"Victor, what's this talk about 5 o'clock? What are they talking about?"

"Pilots identify directions by the hands on a clock. It something is to your right it is at 3 o'clock. If it's on your left it's at 9 o'clock. If he's coming up on his 6 it means he is right behind him."

"I'm right behind him." Leroy announced as he slid in behind the crop duster.

# Chapter 50

Jason was following the locator in the dune buggy on his computer and didn't notice Deputy Director Collins come behind him and look over his shoulder.

"Is that the locator on the dune buggy, Jason?"

Jason jumped but recovered fast.

"Sorry, you startled me. Yes, I'm tracking the locator. I thought it might be helpful if I could program the kid's location into one of our computers so we could track where they are. Then when the Special Forces get close we could track them also."

"Good thinking, Jason. Put it up on one of the overheads when you get it working."

"No problem, Director." Especially when I can send it to Joseph at the same time he thought.

In a couple minutes the staff looked up at one of the computer screens and watched a flashing red light slowly moving across a topographic map of the desert.

"Is that them, Jason?"

"Yes, it updates every second and shows them moving over the map."

"What's that area they are heading for? It looks like a brushy area with small hills and a cliff on one side. I don't think they should go there. If the terrorists come after them they could get trapped against the cliff. I wish we could communicate with them and head them off."

"Do you think they could have spotted the terrorists and they are going into that brushy area to hide?"

"That's possible. With all that brush and it being still dark the Terrorists will have trouble finding them until the Special Forces arrive," said Jason.

Unless the terrorists have their location, thought Jason.

# Chapter 51

Joseph felt his phone vibrate and read Jason's text to open his laptop and turn on the satellite receiver to a website he had never seen before. He motioned the other two jeeps to go to a location on top of the hill, stopped, set up the laptop and opened the website to view a full color topographic map with a flashing red light that was slowly moving away from the top of the hill. Beautiful he thought. The only problem is I have to stop and set up the portable dish. But it only takes a minute and I can direct the other two jeeps in. He quickly put the laptop away and headed after his other two jeeps.

At the top of the hill he caught the other jeeps and set up the laptop again. They saw the brushy area in front of them with the red light moving into the middle of it and stopping. All the terrorists smiled in anticipation.

"This will be almost too easy. I want the two jeeps to go there and there as he pointed to the map. We will trap them against the cliff. When you get in position I will come down to here in the middle and set up the computer again. Then we will move in on them."

The kids were hiding in some heavy brush beside the dune buggy. They heard one of the jeeps go past them and stop a ways off and heard the second jeep stop before it got to their area. In a few minutes they heard the third jeep stop in a different area. Cody whispered to John, "They have us surrounded with the cliff at our back. It's almost like they know where we are."

"Do you think they see us with a night scope? You have been using ours. Do you see anything?"

"No. There's too much brush. Something doesn't seem right, John."

"How could they know where we are?" asked Sarah frantically.

"This doesn't make sense," said John. "What about the locator they told us about? Could the terrorists be tracking it?"

"How could they track it? We got it from the military."

"Do you know how it works? Maybe they know we have it and can track it. What if they have a traitor in Homeland Security?"

John and Cody looked over at the dune buggy with the locator in it and then at each other.

"Cody, we have to start up and move the dune buggy. We can't move far enough on foot. They have us surrounded."

"Can you outrun those jeeps in the dune buggy John?" asked Sarah.

"No way. Those jeeps are faster in the open desert. We have to stay in the brush. The other problem is as soon as we start the dune buggy they will hear us. Their engines are off."

"What if they're coming in on foot if they know where we are?" asked Sarah.

"We're screwed," said John. "We need to make a run for it."

"I thought you said we couldn't outrun them?" asked Sarah.

"We can't. But if we drive fast through the brush and double back, they are going to have to start up their jeeps to follow. Then we ditch the locator and drive a little further and see where they go. At least we'll know if they are tracing the locator. Did you say you brought the full auto AK-47's Cody?"

"Yeah. They're loaded and ready."

"How many clips did you bring?"

"Seven or eight of the 30 round magazines."

"You brought the hi-cap 30's? Those are illegal. I thought we got rid of them."

"They're only illegal in California."

"We're in California."

Cody looked at John and asked sarcastically, "Do you want me to take them back?"

"Shut up, Cody. Let's go and we'll see what they do."

The kids got in the dunebuggy, John started it up and drove as fast as he could toward the far end of the brush area. As they passed the area where they heard the jeep stop, Cody emptied a 30 round clip toward the area they thought the jeep stopped. When they got close to the far end John turned around and sped back to the middle of the brush as Sarah threw out the locator. John drove a little further, turned off the dune buggy and coasted into another brush area. They heard the jeeps racing around.

Joseph heard the dune buggy start up and watched the red light move on the map. He was startled to hear the AK-47 fire as they passed the far jeep. He threw the laptop into his jeep and said to Abdul,

"That was an AK-47 on full auto. Did Uday shoot at them? Get him on the radio."

Abdul called Uday.

"Did you shoot at the kids?"

"No, they shot at us."

"What! They're armed? Did they hit anything?"

"No, we were in the brush. They just shot in our direction. We're chasing them now."

"Stop. We can't hear with all the jeeps running. I'm going to set up the computer and see where they are now. Keep to the outside of the brush area. We need to keep them surrounded," yelled Joseph.

Joseph set up the computer and noticed the locator stopped again. He said to Abdul,

"We still have them surrounded and they're stopped. I'm going to leave the jeeps where they are with one person in each jeep and we are going in to the area they've stopped on foot with the night scopes. If they try to drive out again, shoot them. Leave the laptop running. I'm going in on foot."

Joseph called Uday and the other jeep.

"Send one person in with a night scope and an assault rifle. I'll meet them and we'll go in on foot. One person stays in the jeep. If they take off driving past you, shoot them."

Joseph met up with Uday and a terrorist from the other jeep and they slowly converged on the location shown on the computer.

Cody and John had crawled out away from the dune buggy and were watching the area where Sarah threw the locator with their night scope. They watched Joseph, Uday and the other terrorist closing in on the spot where the locator was lying in the brush where Sarah threw it. John whispered to Cody,

"They are tracking the locator. Let's get back to the girls in the dune buggy."

When John and Cody got back they huddled with Ellen and Sarah and talked in whispers.

"Are they tracking the locator?" asked Sarah.

"Yeah, they're going right for it." John replied.

"What does that mean?" asked Ellen

"Either they figured out how to track it or there is a traitor in Homeland Security feeding them information. Either way we're screwed."

"Can we outrun them?"

"No, there are three of them and they're faster than us."

"Can we fight them? Cody brought the assault rifles."

"We have two rifles and one night scope. They have three men on foot with night scopes and assault rifles, plus the ones in the three jeeps, and they are trained terrorists. We would lose a fight real fast."

"What other options do we have?" whined Ellen.

"I don't know." Replied John solemnly.

Cody was intently studying the path they were on.

"John, do you recognize this path?"

"No, what about it?"

"Do you remember that jump over the ravine we always dreamed of making with the motorcycles?"

"The one Mom said she'd castrate us if we ever even thought about trying it."

"Yeah, that one. It's coming up in about a mile on this trail."

"You're thinking about doing it a dune buggy with four people in it at night? We didn't even dare try in on motorcycles in daylight!" John exclaimed.

"Do you have any better ideas? We're running out of options fast."

"What do you think our chances are of landing it without getting hurt?"

"Landing it 100%. Without getting hurt, about 20%. If the terrorists catch us, 0%."

"Twenty percents good."

"If you run down the trail and figure out the line for the jump, Sarah and I can take the night scope and the AK-47's and cover your back. When you get ready, shoot the Glock three times and we'll come running."

"Why don't I take the assault rifles and you line up the jump?"

"Do you want me driving the dune buggy? Don't you want to line up the route you are going to take for the jump?"

John thought for a minute. "You're right, I need to drive the dune buggy and line it up. Just don't get hurt."

Cody and Sarah crept closer to the open area and started looking with the night scope as John lined up the jump. Cody and Sarah were lying together behind a dirt mound peering out through the brush. Sarah whispered,

"Tell me about this jump we're doing."

"There is a ravine about a hundred feet deep and 75 feet across, just down that trail. This side has a natural slope to jump from and the other side has some soft sand to land on. John and I have always dreamed of jumping it on motorcycles."

"Did you ever try?"

"No."

"Why not?"

Cody stared off in space for a minute before replying,

"Beside the fact that my mom would kill me, if everything doesn't go perfectly, the right speed and hitting the ramp just right you will crash into the other side of the ravine at about 65 miles per hour."

"I see. So you think our chances are about 20%?"

"I think we can get the right speed and John can hit the ramp right, the landing is what I worry about. It's hard enough on a motorcycle that you can control somewhat in the air. In a dunebuggy once you take off, there is almost no control and we have to land on all four wheels. We will be going 65 miles per hour when we land."

"Twenty percent sounds optimistic."

"That's what I'm afraid of, but I don't see any other options. Shh, I see them coming."

"Do you think John's ready?"

"I'm not sure, but we're running out of time. If we empty two clips at them, maybe it will slow them down enough so we can get back to the dunebuggy and do the jump."

"That's if John's ready."

"Exactly, if we go too soon, they will catch up before we make the jump."

"So we wait?"

"As long as we can, if he isn't ready we try to pull back and fight."

"The jump is starting to look better and better, even at 20%."

Joseph, Uday and the other terrorist slowly approached the area the computer showed the locator in, searching with their night scopes. Uday whispered to Joseph,

"I don't see how they can be in that pile. It's not big enough to hold a dune buggy."

"Keep getting close and go slow. They have to be in there."

Uday kept crawling closer to the pile of brush while Joseph and the other terrorist covered him. He finally slowly crawled into the brush and found the locator lying in the sand where Sarah threw it. He picked it up in disgust and walked back to where Joseph was crouching down. He threw in on the ground in front of him. Joseph recognized what he threw down and swore in Arabic.

"This changes nothing. We know they are in this brush area and we have three jeeps covering the escape. We each have a night scope. We just find them. If they try running the jeeps will get them. Let's go. Stay 20 meters apart and keep track of each other with your night scopes."

Cody watched Joseph, Uday and the other terrorist slowly approach the area where he and Sarah were hiding. He whispered to Sarah,

"We're running out of time. Go to the top of that little rise on the trail back to the dune buggy. I'm going to empty a clip at the terrorists and run up the trail toward you. When they recover you need to start shooting at them to cover me as I run up the trail. Just don't shoot me. When I get to the top, you take off for the dune buggy. I'll load another clip and hold them off as long as I can but it won't be very long. With three of them, they will come at me from three sides. Help John get ready. I'll be right behind you."

Sarah quickly crawled up the trail as the terrorists got closer. When Cody saw she was ready, he put his AK-47 on three shot bursts and fired at the terrorists. When he emptied his clip he sprinted up the trail toward Sarah. As she watched the terrorists recover and raise their weapons she started shooting at them causing them to duck back down. Cody cleared the top and dove down in the sand beside her as she emptied her clip.

"Go, go!" he yelled at her as he inserted another clip and turned back toward the terrorists and started shooting. As Sarah sprinted down the trail toward the dune buggy she and Cody heard the three signal shots from John's Glock. Cody hurriedly emptied the clip toward the terrorists and sprinted down the trail after Sarah.

Joseph waited for a minute after Cody fired at them for the second time. He motioned to his men and they slowly crawled up the slope to where Cody last fired. Joseph called Abdul on the radio.

"Leave the other jeeps in position. Bring my jeep in closer. If you hear the dunebuggy start up, chase it."

Abdul started the jeep and drove it to the area Joseph was in a few minutes previously at the bottom of the rise. He turned off the engine and the terrorists heard the dunebuggy revving up. Joseph motioned to Abdul from the top of the slope and he started the jeep and tore up the hill toward the sound of the dunebuggy.

Cody got to the dunebuggy and dove in the back seat beside Sarah and quickly put a new clip in Sarah's AK-47. John took off down the trail and quickly picked up speed. They looked back and spotted Abdul behind them in the jeep. Cody handed Sarah her AK-47 and frantically started putting a new clip in his. He yelled to Sarah over the wind and engine noise,

"Don't worry about aiming. Just point at the jeep. You'll never hit anything anyway. This is just for effect to gain us a minute."

Sarah emptied her clip at the jeep Abdul was in causing him to slow down. Cody looked back and couldn't see the jeep. It worked. He's falling back a little. "Sarah, stand up beside me on the seat and hold onto the bars. When we're in the air, we have to shift body weight to keep the dune buggy level."

"What exactly are we doing?"

"We don't have enough time for me to explain and you really don't want to know anyway. Just follow my lead."

Sarah spotted the ravine ahead. "Are you guys nuts!" she screamed. "We'll never make it! That's a 75 foot jump!"

"Just ride it out. It's going to be a hard landing."

As the dune buggy left the ramp it flew into the air soaring more that a hundred feet over the rocky ground at the bottom of the ravine. As it crested high over the other side it started rolling to the left. Cody and Sarah threw all their weight against the right bar. It wasn't enough but it helped. The dune buggy hit on the left front wheel and bounced to the right. The right front hit and dug into the sand, spinning the dune buggy to the left. John and Ellen were wearing their seat belts and stayed in as the buggy rolled twice. Cody and Sarah were thrown from the back, flew through the air and landed in the sand 40 feet in front of where the dune buggy finally stopped. The sand was soft enough to break most of their fall.

Abdul wasn't so lucky. After he fell back when Sarah shot at him and tried to catch back up, he was only going about 55 miles per hour when he hit the ramp. He needed at least 65. Abdul's jeep slammed into the other side of the ravine about five feet below the lip. It burst into flames as it tumbled the rest of the 95 feet into the bottom of the ravine.

Cody got up, brushed the sand out of his eyes and saw Sarah lying face down. He limped over as she rolled over to look up at him. "You and your brother were insane to try that."

"Yeah, but the alternative wasn't that good either. At least we're alive. How are you?"

"Aside from every part of my body hurting and a bloody nose, I feel just great. What about you? You're limping."

"I hurt my ankle when I landed. I don't think it's broken, but it really hurts. It looks like the dune buggy is on its side. We need to check on John and Ellen."

"John, is Ellen all right? She looks dazed."

Sarah grabbed Ellen's shoulder and shook her.

"Ellen, it's Sarah. Are you OK?"

"She's not responding. She just looks out in space. Get her out of her seatbelt. It probably doesn't help that she's hanging from her seat."

"Lie her down over there. At least she's breathing. I wonder if she's in shock."

"Guys, I think she is just overwhelmed. The most excitement she ever gets is going outside when it's raining. We better see if the dune buggy is workable. We can't stay here."

John looked back at the jump. "I'm going to crawl back past those bushes and see what happened. At least they didn't land on us. I don't think they made the jump. Cody, you and Sarah stay here with Ellen. It doesn't look like you could walk very far anyway."

John crawled back through the bushes and peered at the ravine. He saw smoke coming over the lip. He then spotted the other two jeeps still on the other side. He slowly backed up and went back to the others.

"It looks like there is a jeep in the ravine, the other two were able to stop in time. They are on the other bank."

Sarah looked at John. "Are they coming?"

"No. The ravine is too steep to climb back out without equipment. The jeep either crashed into our side of the bank at high speed or fell into the ravine. It's about 100 feet deep. We don't have to worry about it anymore, just the other jeeps. But they have to go clear around the ravine. It's about ten miles either way until they can cross. We have a little time. We need to see if the dune buggy will still run. It hit pretty hard and it's lying on its side."

John looked over the dune buggy. "I think it will run, but we have to flip it back on its wheels. It's going to take all of us."

Sarah looked over at Ellen. "I don't think Barbie is going to be much good, and Cody has a bad ankle."

Cody struggled up. "I can help push. I have one good ankle. Just help me over there."

John, Sarah and Cody backed up to the dune buggy, grabbed the rails and lifted with their legs, but couldn't get it to roll back.

John looked at the dune buggy lying on its side. "We have to do this. Those jeeps will be back and they will be in a really bad mood. Let's try working together and rocking it."

The three dug in, started rocking the dune buggy and lifted with all they had. It finally flipped over onto its wheels. John jumped in and got it started.

"OK, we're good. Let's load up Barbie and get out of here."

Sarah asked, "Any idea where we're going?"

John looked out in the distance. "Any place but here. Those terrorists know where we are if we stay here. I want to head east and get as far from here as possible."

Joseph sat in a jeep on the other side peering furiously down at his burning jeep with Abdul still strapped inside. He opened his laptop that Abdul tossed to him as he roared past and studied the surrounding terrain. The other terrorists gathered around afraid to talk. Joseph pointed to the two ways around the ravine and said to Uday,

"You go this way and I'll go this way and we'll meet up on the other side so we can track them. If you get there first, don't kill the kids. Just hold them."

"You don't want me to kill them?" asked Uday surprised.

"No. Save them for me. They are going to die a very slow death."

# Chapter 52

"Deputy Director, we have some information from our Arabic translators that have been listening to the video."

"Put them on speaker. Gather everyone around. We need to know what's going on. What about the NSS?"

"They're on that monitor so they can hear and see what we are doing and communicate with us. They are also tied into all of our feeds."

"I see. Put on the translators."

Victor turned on the speaker phone.

"This is Deputy Director Collins. Who am I speaking with?"

"This is Rollin, head of Arabic translations. Where do you want to start?"

"Give us everything you have learned so far."

"Don't forget none of this is verified. It is what they said talking to each other on the video. We went over what we heard with the experts in Bio-weapons so we could know for sure what we have. The nerve gas is actually a liquid that can be sprayed with a crop dusting plane. It is fairly sticky and immediately starts evaporating, putting nerve gas into the air. It appears that if exposed to the air, it will evaporate within 24 hours. The gas will be effective for about 12 hours after it evaporates. However if the liquid is not allowed to evaporate, it will stay potent for a long time after it is made. So an area that is sprayed should be safe after about two days."

"How potent is it for the two days?"

There was no response from Rollin.

"Rollin, are you still there?" asked the Deputy Director.

"That's the problem. It is about the same as VX gas, the most potent agent we have ever seen. If they spray high and the liquid drifts and floats around and there is a light wind, it could go a long way and kill everything in its path. And then for the next 12 hours the gas will do the same."

There was stunned silence at Homeland Security. Finally Victor spoke.

"Will this gas seep into buildings or can we keep them closed up for two days and be safe?"

"With human nature the way it is, there is no way you could keep the buildings closed up enough. Everyone will want to run in the streets and flee. Even if you did leave a building closed, it is unlikely the gas wouldn't creep in enough. Buildings aren't that tight."

"Just how lethal is this gas?"

"If the gas touches your skin, it will be absorbed. Once enough is absorbed, you will have several minutes to live. If you breathe the gas, one breath could kill you depending on the concentration."

There was more silence until Harris asked,

"How much skin has to be exposed to get a lethal dose?

"A few square inches, remember I said this was comparable to VX gas."

"Do we have any estimate on potential casualties?"

"Impossible to predict, but easily in the millions."

Everyone was too stunned to reply for several minutes.

"Thank you, Rollins. Is there anything else you can add?"

"Yes. The terrorists have an antidote. They believe they are immune. They plan on escaping this. We need that antidote."

"Was there any information about the antidote on the tape you saw?"

"Only how good it is. Not how it works or what it is."

"And all the antidote that the kids stole was on the helicopter that was shot down and burned?"

"Except for the antidote the kids took."

"Thank you again, Rollins."

Deputy Director Collins said,

"We have to get that flash drive and we have to stop those planes before they spray."

They heard a voice from the overhead speakers.

"This is General Alsop from the Joint Chiefs. You have full authority to shoot down those planes. They cannot spray LA. If you have to shoot them down over a populated area, then do it. We have to minimize casualties."

"There is one more thing," Deputy Director Collins said to the staff. "This is unusual, but it applies especially to the staff in Los Angeles that are listening in. I am letting all of you call home. I have decided to issue an emergency alert for everyone to stay indoors. Try to keep your families in their houses. We don't know where the planes are planning to spray so there is no way to evacuate or flee. The less you worry about them, the better job you will do for me. The best way you can help them at this point is tell them to seal the house and for you to help us get these planes down before they spray."

John stopped the dune buggy for a minute to talk.

"What do you guys think? We can go for miles out here, but we don't know where we're going. I haven't been this far before."

Cody chimed in, "But they're still back there. Didn't you say they still have at least one jeep?"

"I saw two jeeps on the other bank."

Sarah jumped in, "I think we have to assume they're still chasing us. If they were mad before, losing a jeep isn't going to help. I say we keep going and get as much distance from here as we can?"

"They all looked over at Ellen.

"She looks shell shocked," said John "I hope she's alright. She just sits there staring in space."

"Let's get out of here," said Cody. "If they catch up, being shell shocked will be the least of her worries."

John sped off heading East.

The staff had been watching the radar returns as the two F-15's tried to balance running their afterburners enough to get to the crop dusters before they get to the populated areas and not run out of fuel and crash.

"Homeland Security, this is flight leader Iceman. I have SWA flight 34 and the crop duster he is following on my radar. He is pulling up. Do I have clearance to fire?"

"You have permission to fire, Iceman. Take out that plane."

Director Collins said,

"It looks like the other F-15 will get to the plane JetBlue 523 is following in time also. What about the plane that racing plane and SWA 65 are following. They have more missiles. Don't they?"

"They have more missiles, but they are too far away. He will be over Azusa before the missile could get to him."

"Air traffic, this is 527. He's getting close to the LA area. How close are the fighters?"

"Still a couple minutes before missile range. Stay with him. We have your transponder so we know where you are."

"A couple minutes! He's going to spray Azusa before the missiles get him."

"We know, we're doing all we can."

Marge leaned over the seat and stared rummaging through her bag. "Leroy, get up beside him when the canyon opens up. He's heading for Azusa where my grandkids are. No one messes with my grandkids."

Leroy looked over and saw Marge holding her Glock and checking the magazine.

"Do you think you can shoot down a crop duster with that Glock?"

"No, but I can shoot the bastard that's flying it. Do you think that aluminum door will stop a 9 millimeter? Just get up close to him and he's going down."

"OK Marge, the canyon's opening up. I can get up beside him on his left. Are you ready?"

"I was born ready. Just get me close."

"Just don't shoot my wing."

"Just fly the plane, Grandpa. Leave the shooting to me."

Leroy edged up his plane beside the crop duster as Marge opened her window. Ali looked over and was shocked to see a small plane on his left. He was more shocked to see a pistol pointed out the window. His eyes opened wide as Marge rapidly pulled the trigger five times. Three of her shots hit AIi, the last one through his neck. As Ali slumped over, his body pushed down the controls forcing the plane into a dive. Leroy and Marge watched the crop duster nose over and fly straight into the ground.

"I'd better call air traffic control," said Leroy.

"Air traffic control, the crop duster we were following has crashed."

"What! Are you sure? What happened?"

"The terrorist seemed to have trouble flying the plane after Marge shot him."

"She shot him?"

"Grandma doesn't like it when people mess with her grandkids. They live in Azusa where the plane was headed. That plane is now a smoking hole in the ground."

# Chapter 53

"He seems to have settled down. He's flying straight down that valley with nowhere else to go. It makes following him easy. I wonder if he doesn't know we are still here."

"I don't know, Captain. I don't think this is over yet. I just hope that fighter arrives soon."

"What is the latest update on him?"

"About one minute. That crop duster should still be over the mountains when he gets here."

"This is Air Traffic Control. There is an F-15 interceptor just behind you and he has you and the crop duster in sight. Pull up and out of the way."

Flight 34 pulled up as a missile flew by under the plane toward the crop duster. Two seconds later there was a bright light and explosion ahead of the plane as the missile impacted the crop duster.

"This is Red Dog. I have shot down the crop duster Flight 34 was following.

"This is NSS. Can you give us a quick recap of where we are?

Deputy Director Collins looked at the monitor NSS was tied into and said,

"Three of the four planes are down, two in the mountains and one just short of Azusa. One of our fighters is headed to Burbank airport for refueling and one is lingering along the mountains, but will have to land for fuel at Ontario in less than five minutes. We have no clue on the location of the fourth plane. If he stays low over the mountains, we won't catch him on radar. We have alerted all the police departments to look for him and call in immediately. If he is on about the same schedule as the other three, we are concerned he can spray a large area before the interceptors can take off again and get him."

"What about the third plane? How much of Azusa got sprayed? Where is the plane down?"

"He crashed just short of the town. We are securing the area and rushing military emergency teams in, but we are not sure what we are dealing with and if the emergency teams will be protected. We are issuing instructions for everyone to stay indoors with all the media, but the city is still asleep at this time."

All the kids fell asleep in the dune buggy as John drove the last hour. Fighting his drooping eyelids, John spotted a barn up ahead, and thought I've been on rock and hardpan for ten miles now with my lights out. There's no way they can be following. We need to get some sleep to keep going. If we hide the dune buggy in that old abandoned barn, we should be safe and be able to get some sleep. John pulled up to the barn, slid open the door and pulled in the dunebuggy. I'm surprised the door worked so good in this abandoned barn, he thought, but I'm too tired to care. Cody woke up when John turned off the dune buggy.

"Where are we?" he asked John, rubbing his eyes.

"We have to get some sleep," said John. "I found this old abandoned barn and I have been driving on rock and hardpan for 10 miles. I don't know how they could follow us. Let's get a couple hours rest and then decide what to do."

"Works for me. I have to go to the bathroom."

"Don't wake the girls. Just let them sleep."

"I'll be right back."

Cody left the barn and walked over to a tree. As he started to unzip his pants he felt the flash drive in his pocket. I wonder if I should hide this, he thought. Sarah has one with her. Maybe they should be separated. I need a good place to hide it.

After he finished he noticed a box on legs. As he walked over to it he heard a humming sound. I think this is a bee hive, and all the bees are in for the night. Cody crawled under the hive and found a ledge to lay the flash drive on. This will be a good place he thought. No one will look for it when the bees are buzzing around in the daytime. Cody went back in the barn, saw everyone lying on some hay bales, laid down beside Sarah and promptly fell back asleep.

Joseph followed the trail left by the dune buggy fairly easily for the first hour and then started getting into rock and hardpan. There is absolutely no way to follow this trail, especially at night, he thought. We need to stop until daylight.

# Chapter 54

Jack West was trying to console his wife.

"There is nothing else I can tell you. Take wet towels and put them under the doors and tape the windows. Even if our area is sprayed, it will evaporate in 24 hours and after another 12 hours the gas should be gone."

"Can't you just come home?"

"Even if they didn't need me here, it wouldn't be safe. I could get sprayed. There is no way to protect yourself while driving. I want to talk to the kids, just in case."

"Austin woke up. Talk to him while I get the others up."

"Austin. How's my little man."

"I'm good, Daddy. Why are you calling so early? Are you coming home for the July 4th picnic?"

"Ahh.. Austin. I might not be home for a couple days. You need to be the man of the house and help Mommy. Can you do that for me?"

"Yes, Daddy. What are you doing? Why can't you come home?"

How much do I tell him, thought Jack?

"There are some bad men in planes we are trying to find that want to hurt people?"

"Why can't you find them? I thought you had radar. Remember you took me to that air traffic control place. It was fun."

"These are small planes, Austin. They are flying low and the radar can't find them."

"Don't they have Lo-jack like we have in our car? You said they can find our car if someone takes it. Planes are expensive. Why wouldn't they have Lo-jack?"

Jack's mind started racing. We never checked that. Is it possible?

"Austin, I have to go now. I love you. I'll call back when I can."

Jack ran back into the control room and frantically went through his notes looking for Henry Jones' phone number. He looked down and saw a note that the El Centro Police had been trying to call him. I don't believe this he thought. He grabbed an outside line and called Henry Jones house in Visalia.

"Henry, this is Homeland Security."

"I've been trying to call you. Why haven't you shot down my other plane? You know I don't want it back. I'll never trust it after having that nerve stuff in it. I would rather get the insurance money."

"Shut up," Jack interrupted. "Do you know where the plane is? We can't find it!"

"Of course I know. We've been tracking it. I put a cell phone with GPS in it years ago. Don't you think that was a good idea? My wife thought it was a good idea. Cathy, didn't you think that was a good idea?"

"Stop," yelled Jack. "Tell me the location right now!"

"Of course, all you had to do was ask. It's over Altadena heading due south. I can e-mail you the link to the tracking from the phone."

Jack gave Henry his e-mail address and had the link within seconds. He opened it and could track the exact location of the fourth plane coming into Pasadena.

"Stay on the line," Jack yelled into the phone and he ran over to the center control and yelled out, "I've got the location of the fourth plane."

Everyone looked at him in disbelief as he bent over and yelled into the speaker phone.

"The fourth plane is near Pasadena, heading for San Marino. Is there anyone close? I am sending everyone the exact coordinates."

"This is Iceman. I'm refueling at Burbank. I could be there is about 15 minutes."

"This is Red Dog, I'm on final approach at Ontario and close to flaming out. I could never make it until I refuel. I have to land."

"I can't believe this," said Deputy Director Collins, "He could kill millions of people in the next 15 minutes."

"This is SWA 65. I'm just above him. I have him in sight."

# Chapter 55

### Long's Car

"I am so tired. I can't believe we met with them until 4:00 a.m."

"I'm exhausted too, but look what we accomplished. It was a great meeting."

"I know. I just want to get home and crawl into bed. We have a big day planned with the kids for the Fourth of July."

"I'm going to turn on the news to make sure I stay awake."

Mr. Long turned on the news while his wife reclined her seat to try to nap on the way home. After a few minutes he was startled by the announcement coming from the radio.

"Breaking News. This is not a drill. Los Angeles is under a terrorist attack. Areas are being sprayed with a biological weapon from stolen crop dusting planes. Stay indoors. If you spot a crop dusting plane, call 911 immediately and stay indoors. Get into a structure and seal the windows and doors. Try to tape up any cracks. We will keep you updated as we get further information. A plane has been spotted near the foothills between Pasadena and San Marino. If you are in that area, get indoors immediately and stay indoors. We will keep repeating this information and add to it as we get details."

Mr. Long shook his wife's shoulder and yelled,

"Honey, wake up. LA's under attack. You need to call the kids."

She was startled awake.

"What did you say?"

Mr. Long pointed at the radio.

"Listen. LA is under attack with biological weapons from planes and they are in the area near our house. Get the kid's or Cindy on the phone. They have to stay indoors and seal up the house."

Mrs. Long frantically dialed her phone.

"I can't believe this is happening and our kids are with a babysitter. Come on Cindy, answer the phone."

Cindy didn't answer.

"I'm trying Aaron's cell phone and the house phone. Come on someone, answer the phone."

On the third try on Cindy's cell phone, they heard a sleepy hello.

"Cindy, wake up. It's Mrs. Long. Are you awake?"

Cindy answered groggily, "Yeah, I'm awake. What time is it?"

"Cindy, listen. LA is under a terrorist attack and they are in our area. They are spraying a biological weapon from crop dusting planes. Grab the kids and get to our bedroom. We had new doors and windows put in and it is the tightest room in the house. There is duct tape in the pantry. Take it and some garbage bags and seal yourselves in the master bedroom. Hurry, we don't know how much time you have."

"Where are you guys?"

"We're still coming home, Cindy. We can't get there for a while. You need to take care of this. Hurry!"

Cindy ran into Aaron's room and shook him awake.

"Aaron, wake up."

She kept shaking him until he said,

"What! What's wrong," as he sat up in bed.

"Aaron, your parents are still in LA. They just called me. We are under a terrorist attack. Grab your brother and sister and go in your parent's room. I'll meet you there. Hurry. Are you awake?"

"Yeah, yeah I'm awake."

Aaron bolted out of bed and ran for his sister's room while Cindy hurried to the pantry. She quickly grabbed a roll of garbage bags and several rolls of duct tape. As she ran for the bedroom Aaron was ahead of her carrying his still asleep little brother in his arms. When she got into the bedroom she saw Nancy already in the room lying on the bed where Aaron threw her.

Cindy was frantic. "Aaron quick, we need to seal up all the openings in this room. The terrorists are spraying the area with a biological weapon. We need to seal all the cracks."

Aaron grabbed a roll of duct tape and started working on the door while Cindy taped the windows. When they got done they looked around at several higher windows and two heating ducts out of reach over their heads."

"Aaron, we need a ladder."

He looked at her, his jaw slack.

"We keep the ladders in the garage, not the bedrooms. We just sealed up the door."

"Maybe we have time to get it."

Just then, they heard a plane overhead. Cindy and Aaron looked at each other wide eyed and turned white.

"Aaron, get on my shoulders. See if you can reach the ducts."

As Aaron got on her shoulders he realized he was not even close.

"Cindy, I can't reach like this."

Cindy looked up,

"Let's try this. We do it in cheerleading. You stand on my shoulders and if we still can't reach I put your feet in my hands and push you up. You can keep your balance by keeping your hands on the wall. When you get stable, put your forehead against the wall so you can use both hands for the duct tape."

As Cindy and Aaron were frantically trying to seal the ducts and higher windows the phone rang. Nancy walked over, picked up the phone and said Hello.

"Nancy, this is Mom. Where are you?"

"Mommy, we are all in your bedroom and Cindy and Aaron sealed up the windows and doors with duct tape. Now Aaron is standing on Cindy's hands to reach the ducts. When are you coming home?"

"Nancy, ask Cindy if they are OK."

"Cindy, Mom wants to know if you are OK." Nancy yelled at she held up the phone.

"Nancy, tell your mom we will finish sealing the cracks in a couple minutes. We are working fast because we heard a plane fly over us."

Nancy related the message then said to Cindy, "Mom says she needs to talk to you when you are done. She will try to stay on the line, but if we lose her to try calling back as soon as you can."

"OK Nancy. Tell her I will call her back as soon as I can."

Cindy and Aaron finished taping all the ducts and windows and looked back and inspected their work.

"I think we got it, Aaron. Do you see any other areas?"

"No, it looks good to me."

"Mom's still waiting," said Nancy as she handed the phone to Cindy.

"Mrs. Long, we have everything taped up. What do we do now?"

"Cindy, they keep trying to get us more information, but they don't know much yet. Turn on the TV and they will keep you up to date. I am not sure we will be allowed in the area and I am worried the phone circuits will get tied up. If we can't get back to you, keep calm and follow the instructions they give you. We trust you Cindy. Do what you need to."

"OK Mrs. Long. I'll try to stay in touch. I think I left my cell phone in the guest room. You can only call us on the house phone. Mrs. Long. Can you hear me?" I think I lost her, she muttered to herself.

They noticed Tommy looking out the window and crying.

"What's wrong, Tommy," she asked as Cindy and Aaron ran over.

Tommy pointed to the neighbor's.

"Look at King."

They looked over and saw the neighbor's dog lying in the yard with its tongue hanging out and not moving. They then noticed several squirrels lying in the grass and not moving.

"Come on, Tommy. Let's go back and watch TV. There is nothing more to see out here."

"Will King be OK?" asked Tommy tearfully.

Cindy looked at Aaron and he shook his head not knowing what to say to Tommy.

Tommy asked,

"Can we watch cartoons on TV?"

"That would be good. They just keep saying the same stuff over and over on the news anyway. I'll find some cartoons."

When the little kids were settled in Aaron turned to Cindy.

"How long can we last with the room sealed up? Won't we run out of oxygen?"

"That's a good question, Aaron. It's a big room but at some point we're going to be in trouble."

He said, "I think my dad's laptop is in here. Maybe we can find out."

Aaron looked up how long the oxygen will last in a room on goggle. As he and Cindy studied the information Cindy said,

"It's a little complicated because we breathe out carbon dioxide and use the oxygen. Normally the oxygen percentage in air is about 21% and the carbon dioxide almost zero. As we breathe the oxygen level goes down and the carbon dioxide level goes up. At some point we start having problems from the carbon dioxide. As far as I can tell, with the size of this room we should have more than a day. After that we are in big trouble."

"I just thought of another problem. It's getting hot outside."

"I'm sure we can survive being a little hot, Aaron."

"Not that. The Air Conditioning. What happens to the vents we taped up when the AC turns on. It will pull air from the other parts of the house and blow it into this room. I don't think the tape can handle the pressure."

Cindy looked up at the vents and at the plastic held on with duct tape.

"You're right. I don't think the tape can handle it. We need to turn off the AC. Where's the thermostat?"

"It's downstairs and it's one of those complicated ones. You have to press several buttons to turn it off or it will go into one of those automatic cycles and turn on."

"Do you know how to turn it off?"

"Yeah, I had to program it. My dad said it was too complicated and gave up. Cindy it's getting hot. The AC could turn on at any time."

"Aaron it's all the way downstairs. There could be gas in the house by now. We know it's outside. It killed your neighbor's dog."

"I think I could make it down and back while holding my breath."

"And push all the buttons?"

Aaron thought for a minute.

"Yeah, I could make it."

"I think I should do it," said Cindy

"Can you hold your breath very long?"

"No, not really."

"I can. I like to see how far I can swim underwater. Besides, you have to press some buttons and then after it responds press some more. I could never teach you without being at the thermostat. I'm going to have to go."

"Aaron, I can't let you. What if something happens?"

"Cindy think. If there is gas in the house and the AC turns on and blows the plastic off we all die. Look at the dog next door. If there is no gas in the house yet, I'll be fine."

"But if there is gas in the house it could kill you."

"Cindy, we don't have a choice. If there is gas and the AC turns on we all die. There is no way the plastic will hold."

"Let's call your parents. Maybe they will have another idea."

# Chapter 56

The pilot of SWA 65 called Air Traffic Control to request permission to descend.

"Permission to descend? We have your location and can now pick up the crop duster on radar since he's out of the mountains. There is nothing else you can do."

"Actually there is. I wonder how he would like flying through the wingtip vortices from a 737?"

"Victor, you're a pilot. What exactly is he talking about?"

Victor said, "Heavy planes like a 737 put out a strong vortex off the ends of their wings, especially when flying slow. That is why they have to space out planes when they land, so the vortex has time to dissipate. If the 737 were to fly just in front of the crop duster and he flew through the vortex, it could flip him around so he would lose all control. It definitely could work."

"SWA you are cleared to descend on VFR. We are keeping all traffic away from you. Don't run into him."

"That won't be a problem. He'll want to stay away from me."

SWA 65 descended to just in front of the crop duster, extended his flaps and landing gear, and started banking back and forth.

Ali started laughing to himself. After all this I made it, and I'm the least experienced pilot. I've been spraying for 5 minutes now. What does that pilot think he's doing? Does he think he's going to scare me out of the air by waving his wings?

Officer Johnson had been standing outside his patrol car on a hill in Altadena for 15 minutes. I can't believe I'm sitting here looking for a crop dusting plane in the dark. And if I see it, all I'm supposed to do is report and get out of the way so the Army can come in. Why don't they issue us protective gear for a gas attack? As he continued to scan the sky, he spotted SWA 65 in an emergency descent, with his gear down and landing lights on. What's that plane doing! It looks like he's trying to land, but there's no airport here. He's weaving all around. Then he spotted the crop duster just behind SWA 65. I can't believe it. There's the crop duster. He frantically keyed his radio.

"This is Officer Johnson. I have the crop duster in sight just south of the 210 freeway. He is right behind an airliner that looks like it's in trouble."

"Johnson, just report what you see."

The dispatcher called Homeland Security.

"I have an officer with eyes on the crop duster. I am patching him through."

Victor said to the group, "We have a patrol officer with eyes on the crop duster. He's going on speaker."

Officer Johnson continued to report as the staff huddled listening mesmerized to his narrative.

"The jet is weaving all over the sky, but it looks deliberate. He doesn't seem to be crashing. The crop duster is just behind him and it looks like there is something coming out behind his plane."

"Hold on. The crop duster just flipped upside down. Now he's starting to spin. It looks like he's going down. He crashed. The airliner is now flying straight. Boy, this is exciting. I've never seen anything like this."

"Victor, cut him off. NSS did you hear that? The fourth plane is down."

They heard NSS from the monitor.

"Do we know how much the fourth plane sprayed?"

"If he started spraying when he hit the populated areas, about 6 miles."

"We have Army decontamination crews on the way. This will be bad, but it could have been a lot worse. Where are we on getting that flash drive?"

# Chapter 57

The SEAL team was examining the area where the kids threw the locator.

"Can you tell which tracks were theirs?"

"The dune buggy headed East from here followed by three jeeps."

"You can tell all that by looking at tracks. What about all the other tracks?"

"These are more recent. The edges are sharper because they haven't eroded yet and they are on top of the other tracks. The jeeps have a smaller track and the dune buggy has sand tires."

"Sorry I asked. Can you follow them from the Hummer?"

"I could follow these tracks from the helicopter. Why did we send it back?"

"Because we follow orders from officers that don't spend enough time in the field."

# Chapter 58

Jose knocked softly and then walked in his boss's office.

"Manuel, It's Joseph" As he held out the phone.

"Joseph. We have been somewhat disappointed watching the news. Your plans did not go through as expected. I hope you aren't calling with more bad news," said Manuel.

"We've had our problems, but the mission is still a success. We have killed many Americans."

"Not nearly as many as you should have. Are you calling to inform me how badly you have performed?"

"Actually we have another problem," said Joseph, "We found out the kids made a copy of the hard drive on the computer. The computer is burned up, but we are concerned the kids still have the flash drive."

"I thought you were going to kill the kids after shooting down the helicopter."

"We stopped chasing the kids to set up the extraction for the pilots. We found out later about the existence of the flash drive."

"Where are the kids now?" asked Manuel.

"We've lost them. They jumped a ravine with their dune buggy and we lost a jeep and my best man trying to follow. I had to circle the ravine and I am now two hours behind them and having trouble following their trial."

"You've been a major disappointment, Joseph. We handed this operation to you with all the details worked out. All you had to do was execute it and you have failed miserably. And now you inform us that there is a flash drive out there with potentially harmful information on it. Keep going the way the kids went. I'll try to get you more information."

Manuel hung up the phone and turned to Jose.

"Joseph has turned out to be more incompetent than we feared. Still some of our objectives have been met. As long as we stay undiscovered, we can still meet our goals. Do we know what he stored on the laptop that could possibly be traced to us?"

"I'm not sure, there is no way for me to determine what he might have put on the laptop." said Jose. "Joseph has lost his credibility. Asking him would be pointless. We need to recover that flash drive."

"We need to get our crews in the area on alert and looking for those kids. Contact the Meth cookers also. They're in that area. Our crews can stage from their compound. Don't we have another source in Homeland Security?"

Jose had a sly grin on his face. "We have a sleeper that we have been saving."

"It's time to use him. We need to find that flash drive before they do."

"The sleeper is actually a female," said Jose. "I'll use the emergency contact and bring her up to speed. I'm not sure she is in a department that can help us at this time."

# Chapter 59

The SEALS were staring down into the ravine at the still smoldering wreckage of the jeep. One had rappelled down into the ravine, climbed up the other wall with equipment and was calling back on the radio.

"What happened here?"

"The dune buggy jumped from there and was able to clear the ravine. One of the jeeps tried to follow and crashed into the wall at high speed. The other jeeps stayed here and then left going both north and south. The dune buggy landed badly on the sand and rolled. They were able to right it and they took off going east again."

"Is there anyway to get the Hummers over the ravine without going around?"

"Not without the helicopter."

"Let's go. Follow the jeep trail. This is going to cost us another hour."

Clyde woke up with a splitting headache. I've got to stop drinking so much at night, he said to himself. If this wasn't such a desolate place out here with nothing to do, maybe I wouldn't. He looked over and saw the alert flashing on his E-Mail. I better check this. Our boss can get mad when we don't check in. Fred walked in as he read the E-Mail.

"Anything important?" Fred inquired."

"No. They want us to be on the lookout for four kids in a dune buggy. They say it's important that they find them and to contact them immediately if we see them."

"Everything's important to them. Let's get breakfast."

Sarah woke up in the barn and tried to figure out where she was. She felt someone and realized it was Cody lying against her. Sarah managed to slide out from beside Cody without waking him. I really need to go to the bathroom she thought and started exploring the barn. She found a somewhat dirty but functional bathroom behind the first door she came to. This will do. I even have running water to wash some dirt off. After a couple minutes she emerged with her face washed and clean hands. Well that makes me feel better, she thought. I wonder what this place is. As she wandered around she saw a lot of stainless steel tanks and other equipment. I wonder if this is a dairy, she thought. She heard John stirring.

"John, what is this place?" she questioned.

John woke up still exhausted and stared at the ceiling, "It's an old abandoned barn I found last night. Everyone was asleep and I was about ready to fall asleep driving so I pulled in here."

"John, this isn't abandoned. It looks like it on the outside, but the inside is full of equipment and tanks and has a working bathroom."

John bolted upright.

"What!! I thought it was abandoned. Is there anyone around?"

"I haven't seen anyone yet, but I haven't been outside."

John and Sarah ran over to the door, slid it open a few inches and peered out.

"All I see is an abandoned farm house," said Sarah.

"Me too," said John. "But maybe the farmhouse just looks abandoned like this barn does from the outside. Someone has to be using this barn with all this equipment."

Fred was looking out the window toward the barn while eating breakfast and saw the door move.

"Clyde, the door to the barn just moved. Look at it."

"What are you talking about? We're the only ones here," he said as he peered out the window. "Hey, that door was closed all the way."

"I told you. Someone's out there."

"Grab the guns. We gotta check this out," said Clyde concerned.

They grabbed shotguns, ran out to the barn and snuck in a back door.

Sarah and John ran over to Ellen and Cody. John shook Cody by the shoulder. "Cody, wake up. We need to talk."

"What!" said Cody, "Can't I sleep some more," and tried to roll over.

"No, Cody. Wake up now."

"OK, OK. Where are we?"

"We're in a barn."

"Oh yeah, the abandoned barn you found last night."

"Except, it's not abandoned, someone's using it" said John. "It's full of tanks and equipment."

Cody started wandering around looking at the equipment.

"This equipment looks familiar", said Cody. "I've seen this before. I did a paper on this. This is a Meth-Amphetamine lab."

Clyde and Fred overheard Cody as they quietly entered the barn through the back door,

Well, well," said Clyde, "the boy is well informed." He pointed a shotgun at the kids.

All the kids backed up from Clyde and Fred staring at their shotguns.

"Just keep going," said Clyde. "Back yourselves into that room."

Clyde went over and locked the door once the kids were in the storeroom.

"Stand guard," he said to Fred. "These are the kids the boss is looking for. I need to call him."

"This is not good," said John. "If they are drug dealers, there is no way they can let us go after we have seen them and their operation. We've got to get out of here."

They started inspecting the storeroom.

"This room was built like a bank vault," said Cody. "The walls are concrete, the door is steel, there are no windows and the ceiling is concrete. Who builds a room like this?"

"Someone that wants to keep their drugs secure," said John dejectedly. "The only way out of this room is that steel door."

"Manuel, the meth cooker, Clyde is on the phone. He said he has the kids."

Manuel took the phone.

"Tell me what you have, Clyde."

"We came out to the barn and found these four kids in a dune buggy, two boys and two girls. The boys have kind of long surfer hair and are about 14 and 16. The girls are blonde with long hair and about the same age. I took a picture with my cell phone and I'm sending it to you."

"Where are the kids now?"

"I locked them in a store room," said Clyde.

"Is it secure?"

"Very. It's the one your men built with the concrete walls and steel door. They are locked in with the double deadbolts fastened."

"Good job," said Manuel. "I'm glad there is someone in my organization that can do something right. I'm going to have someone there in less than an hour. He needs to get something from those kids and then I have other plans for them."

"Jose, get Joseph on the radio and tell him where the Meth lab is. Have him get the flash drive, but don't hurt the kids. I have other plans for them."

One of the SEALS was sitting in the Hummer watching their tracker.

His buddy said, "Do you really think he can track them over this rock and hardpan?

"I've seen him do amazing things. I have no idea what he sees. The problem is how slow it is. He spends most of his time out of the Hummer. We are never going to catch them at this speed."

"Joseph, this is Jose. We have done your work again. The kids are locked in a store room at one of our facilities, 20 miles to the east of you. I'm texting you the exact location. Go to the facility and talk to Clyde. He will give you the kids. Get the flash drive and check it to make sure it's the right one. They have detection gear there. Search the kids to make sure they don't have another one. Destroy the flash drive after you have checked it. Then call me back. Also, don't hurt the kids. Manuel has special plans for them. Don't disappoint us again. Any questions?"

"No questions. I'll be there in 30 minutes."

# Chapter 60

"What's the latest on the flash drive?"

"The SEAL team is following the tracks, but it's slow."

"Can't you search by air?"

"Search for what. They are trying to hide and could be in a hundred mile by hundred mile area. How do you search that? We just have to wait for the SEAL team to catch up."

"What's the causality count up to?"

"We aren't sure. Pasadena and San Marino were sprayed for several miles. The drift seems to be about a half mile to a mile wide. We have evacuated the area around that and those people seem fine. Within that area we can see dead people lying in the street, but most are still in their houses. We have talked to a few that are still alive. They have sealed up their doors and windows with tape. So far they seem healthy. We just don't know if they can make it until the gas is not lethal. We have no idea how many people are dead in the area. When we tried to send a team in with level 3 moon suits on, they only lasted five minutes."

"They only lasted 5 minutes in moon suits?"

"That's right. Even with bottled air. 5 minutes."

"What is this stuff? We need that flash drive."

"Is there any way to help that SEAL team?"

"They are doing what they can. It just isn't that fast to track something."

# Chapter 61

Clyde was waiting outside for Joseph. He got out of his jeep and Clyde showed him into the barn.

"They're in that storeroom. Here's the key. Just like I told Manuel."

Joseph glared at Clyde like he would like to shoot him and snatched the key out of his hand.

Clyde and Fred backed up warily and watched Joseph open the door.

"I really don't like these people," Fred whispered to Clyde. "I thought we dealt with bad people with the drug trade. This guy is just plain evil."

Joseph opened the door and strode into the storeroom. All four kids were cowering against the back wall staring at him. Joseph stopped in front of them and pulled out a knife. He looked at the knife and then back at the kids. "I want the flash drive," he said calmly, and then started looking at each kid individually in their eyes.

Sarah slowly reached into her pocket, pulled out the flash drive and handed it to Joseph, her eyes frozen on his icy gaze.

Joseph took it, looked it over, and said, "Don't go anywhere. I need to check this. Then I'll be back to talk about my friend you killed."

The kids watched Joseph walk out and close the door, and then they collapsed on the floor.

"We are so screwed," said Sarah. "When he comes back he's going to kill us."

Ellen walked over to the corner, sat down and started sobbing hysterically. John watched her for a minute and then walked over, sat down and put his arm around her. Sarah looked over at Cody and softly asked, "What about the other flash drive?"

He leaned over and whispered, "It's hidden outside."

"Should we give it to him?"

"I don't think so. I don't think they know about it or he would have asked for both of them. I don't think they'll find it outside. Let's try holding off for now. It might be the only leverage we have to stay alive."

Sarah nodded in agreement.

Joseph plugged the flash drive into Clyde's computer, opened several files and saw that it contained the complete memory of his original laptop. He removed it from the computer, crushed it on the floor, took the pieces over to the stove, grabbed an old pan, put the pieces in the pan and lit the stove.

"Hey!" said Clyde, "you are going to ruin my pan."

Joseph stared at him and said, "Shut up. Where is your electronic detection gear?"

"Over there in the closet."

Joseph opened the closet and pulled out a wand. This is going to be the part I enjoy he thought, and walked back out to the barn.

Clyde went over to the stove, looked into the pan at the melted pile of plastic that used to be the flash drive in the bottom. He turned off the stove and then followed Joseph to the barn.

Joseph put the wand on a shelf outside the storeroom and then opened the door and walked in. He looked at the kids and said, "You were smarter than I thought and gave me the right drive. Now, where are the other drives?"

Cody and Sarah thought, there is only one other drive and he asked for more than one, he's guessing.

Cody said, "What other drives? We gave you the only one we had. Go ahead and search us."

"Oh. I plan to. And if you're lying, you will die a very slow death. Clyde, bring in the wand."

Clyde walked into the room carrying the wand and handed it to Joseph.

"Do you know what this is?" he said to the kids? "It's a wand that can detect anything electronic. Now I will see if you're lying. Who would like to be first?"

Cody walked up and held out his arms. "Go ahead and search. I told you I don't have a flash drive."

Joseph stared Cody in the eyes trying to see if he was lying, then grabbed him, spun him around and roughly patted him down before running the wand over him. When he didn't find anything he pushed Cody aside and walked over to John and repeated the process. He then followed with Sarah and Ellen. When he didn't find anything, he barked at them, "Stand in the middle of the room." Joseph then proceeded to go through the room with the wand. When he didn't find anything, he turned to Clyde and asked, "Were they in here the entire time?"

"As soon as we found them, we put them in here and they haven't been out," he said.

Joseph pushed past Clyde and went over to the dune buggy and started running the wand over it. Finally satisfied, he set down the wand and dialed a number on his cell phone.

"Jose, this is Joseph. I found the kids and the flash drive. I checked it and it was a copy of the hard drive. The flash drive is destroyed and I searched the kids for another drive with the wand. This is the only drive and it is destroyed."

"It better be for your sake. Do you have the kids?"

"Yeah, they're right beside me."

"Manuel wants to deal with them personally. He is coming to the States in a couple weeks. Put on Clyde."

Joseph handed the phone to Clyde.

"Clyde, Manuel is coming to visit you. You have done well and he is pleased. There is one more thing you need to do. He wants to deal with the kids personally. You need to keep the kids for the next couple weeks in good condition. He wants them healthy when he gets to them."

"Jose, I'm not equipped to keep prisoners." Clyde protested. "This is a Meth Lab. We're cooking all day. I can't do that and watch prisoners."

"I'm sure you'll think of something. You don't want to displease Manuel do you?"

"Of course not. But we aren't equipped to do this and cook meth also."

Fred leaned over and whispered in his ear, "What about your cousin, Clem?"

Clyde thought for a minute about his cousin and smiled.

"Jose, I have an idea. Do you want those kids healthy and happy or just healthy?"

"What did you have in mind?"

Manuel picked up the extension to listen to the conversation.

"I have a cousin near here that is into pornography. He's always looking for new subjects, especially children, willing or non-willing. He has a great facility to keep the kids. They don't have a chance to escape from him. And he will promise to return them healthy, if not necessarily happy. It might be just how the boss would like for them to spend a couple weeks before he gets them."

Manuel smiled evilly, nodded and said to Jose, "Do it. Just make sure they're healthy when I get them."

"Clyde, do it. Just make sure they are healthy when Manuel comes. Give the phone back to Joseph."

Joseph grabbed the phone from him.

"Joseph, leave the kids with Clyde and go to the backup safe house. We still have other work to in Denver, New York and Chicago. We'll contact you at the safe house when we get the transportation set."

Joseph threw the phone at Clyde and stormed out of the room.

Clyde said to Fred. "I'm sure glad he's gone. Lock the kids back up. I need to E-Mail my cousin."

"Why do you have to E-Mail him? He has a cell phone."

"He uses throwaway phones. He only calls out. No one knows the location of his compound. All I know is it's east of here and he can get here in less than an hour."

Clyde went in the house and E-Mailed his cousin.

'Clem, remember that favor I owe you? You are going to owe me big time in a couple minutes. I have a really nice present for you. Call me. Clyde.'

Within a few minutes Clyde's phone rang.

"So, what's this big present?"

"Good to hear from you too, Clem."

"Don't start with me. You only call when you want something and you still owe me."

"Not anymore. I have kids for you for the next two weeks. Two boys and two girls age fourteen to seventeen, all blonde and good looking. All we need is them to be returned physically healthy in two weeks."

"Can you send me a picture?"

"On its way."

Clem took one look at the picture and said excitedly, "I'll be there in an hour."

Clem hung up the phone and said to Brian, "We're going to my cousins. He just found us a gold mine. Four of them actually."

The kids have been listening intently through the crack under the door.

"Did you hear what they said?" said John.

"I think they were talking about pornographers. Is that where they are sending us?"

"That's only part of the problem. After two weeks some guy named Manuel is coming. I think the nerve gas was his plan. It will get worse then."

"Don't you think the authorities are looking for us?"

"Probably, but with LA getting hit with nerve gas and us trying to hide, it could take a long time. I put a lot of miles between here and where the helicopter crashed when the rest of you were asleep. Remember we were trying to get away from Joseph."

"I'm concerned that Joseph is afraid of Manuel, and I'm scared out of my mind of Joseph. What happens when Manuel gets us?"

The SEALS were talking to each other in the Hummer following the tracker who was now at a slow trot.

One said, "At least we are going a little faster now."

"If you call going a fast walk better than a slow walk we are. We need to pick this up."  
"If you have any ideas, I'm all ears. I don't see how he is following anything at any speed."

"He definitely sees things that I can't. He's the best there is. So we wait."

Clem and Brian pulled in to the meth lab in a white panel van with no windows. Clyde came out of the barn and opened the door wide so the van could pull into the barn out of sight. Clem waited until the barn door was closed before getting out of the van.

"I see you are as careful as ever," said Clyde.

"That's why I have lasted as long as I have in this business," said Clem. "Let's see those beauties in person."

Clyde opened the storeroom door and Clem, Brian and Clyde walked in. Clem and Brian stared at the kids cowering in the corner of the room.

"Clyde, I owe you. They are better than I expected. What's the deal? I have two weeks?"

"They're all yours. I'll give you several hours notice when I need them back. Just make sure they're healthy."

"Are you sure I can't keep them? They are worth a lot."

"Believe me, you do not want to cross my boss," said Clyde. "Two weeks."

"Two weeks is good. Can I take them now?"

"Are you sure you can handle them. There are four of them."

Clem looked at Clyde shaking his head. "Please, do you know how many times I've done this? Four hours back at my place and they will be begging me to do whatever I ask."

Clem motioned to Sarah to come over.

"We'll start with you. What's your name?"

Sarah froze. John moved in front of Sarah to protect her.

"Oh I see," he said to Sarah. "This will be the first lesson."

Clem reached into his pocket and pulled out a taser. Without another word he shot John in the chest. John immediately fell to the ground and started convulsing. The other three kids froze and looked down at John in horror as Clem turned off the taser and John stopped jerking.

"That was easy," he said to Sarah. "Would you like me to do him too?" and pointed to Cody with the taser.

Sarah slowly shook her head and walked over to Clem.

"That's better," said Clem, and put plastic ties on her wrists behind her back.

"Now what's your name?"

"Sarah," she blurted out.

"See, that wasn't so hard. Now Brian will take you to the van," he said and shoved Sarah toward him.

"You next," said Clem, pointing to Ellen.

Ellen slowly walked over to Clem with a dazed look on her face and put her hands behind her back and said, "Ellen."

Clem put plastic cuffs on her and pointed her toward the door.

Clem then turned toward Cody and saw him eying the door.

"Go ahead and try it," he said. "See how far you get. I'm going to have fun breaking you."

Clem pointed the Taser at Cody and said, "Either way works for me."

Cody looked down at John and walked over, turned around and put his hands behind his back.

"Is he OK?" he asked Clem.

"He'll be fine in less than an hour. Next time he will listen better. What's your name?"

"Cody."

His smirk was the personification of evil. "Well, Cody, you and me are going to spend some quality time together."

Clem finished cuffing Cody and dragged John to the van. He threw John on the floor and Cody climbed in. Clem locked the door and Cody saw there was no handle on the inside. There was carpet on the floor and a steel partition between them and the two front seats. Clem started the van as Clyde opened the barn door. Clem drove out as he waved to Clyde, "See you in two weeks."

# Chapter 62

Cindy called the Longs on speaker phone and explained their concern about the AC turning on. There was silence for a minute as Mr. Long analyzed what she said.

"Aaron's right. When the AC turns on it will pull air from downstairs and blow it out the ducts. There is no way the plastic will hold. You have to keep the AC from turning on. The only other way I know is to unplug the furnace in the garage or turn off power to the house. The circuit box is outside and the furnace is farther from the bedroom than the thermostat. Aaron you are going to have to go. I can't even understand that stupid thermostat and I've read the instructions. Cindy you wouldn't have a chance. Aaron, can you hold your breath that long?"

"Dad, I know I can." he said eagerly.

"The other problem is if there is gas in the house it will get on your skin. I don't know how much it will take to hurt you."

"Could I put a bunch of clothes on to keep it from my skin?"

"That might help until you get back to the room. When you come back in if it is in the fabric you will contaminate the air in the bedroom where everyone is. Let me think for a minute. Try to find some clothes to protect you. What are you wearing now, Aaron?"

"Just the sport shorts I sleep in."

"Try to find something in our closet while I think."

Aaron and Cindy prowled through the closet and found a long sleeve running outfit that Mrs. Long used in the winter, a ski face mask, cap and some ski goggles. Cindy got back on the phone and told Mr. Long what they found.

"Aaron, Cindy, I think that will work. Your best bet is to wet it down so gas won't get through as easily. Is that emergency bucket with the 3 day supply in the closet?"

"Yeah, it's here, Dad."

"Empty it out and fill it with water. Before you leave the room, jump in the shower with the running suit, face mask and cap on and get completely wet. Set the full bucket outside the door. When you get back take everything off, leave it in the hall and pour the bucket of water over your head before you come back into the room to rinse off any gas."

"Uh, everything, Dad?"

"Aaron we are talking about saving your life and your brother and sister and Cindy. I'm sure you will survive Cindy seeing you in your underwear. Take off your shorts now and leave them in the room. You can dry off and put them back on after you come back. But you have to rinse off any gas before you come back into the room. You can't risk having any stuck in the clothes. You will contaminate the bedroom."

"Aaron, change in the closet. When you come back I have to tape up the door and I promise I won't look."

"I'll go change." He said reluctantly. This was a really bad night to go commando he thought. At least I can put my shorts back on when I return. I wonder if she really won't look.

Mrs. Long asked her husband,

"Will this work?"

"I'm not sure, but I don't know what else to do. If the AC kicks on I'm almost sure the plastic won't hold. If he gets a little gas on him I hope the wet clothes will keep it off his skin for a minute. I really don't know what else to do and they are running out of time. I think this is the only chance for everyone. The AC could turn on any minute."

Aaron took off his shorts, put on his Mom's running suit, jumped in the shower and got totally wet. He filled up the bucket and walked over to the door with the bucket and a towel.

"Any last instructions, Dad?"

"Just one. Do you remember how I won't let you hyperventilate when you swim underwater because it's so dangerous?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Do it now, you need everything you can get to make this work. Cindy, listen up. When Aaron gets back to the door, he has to take all his clothes off and douse himself with water before he comes back into the room. After hyperventilating and running that far he could lose consciousness. If he does you need to grab him and bring him in and maybe give him artificial respiration."

"Why would he lose consciousness?"

"When you hyperventilate, you fool the body into letting you hold your breath longer. Your trigger to breathe comes from too much carbon dioxide in your blood not lack of oxygen. If you hyperventilate you reduce the level of carbon dioxide in your blood which depresses the need to breath. You can run out of oxygen and go unconscious while holding your breath. That's why it's so dangerous to hyperventilate before swimming under water. Can you do this, Cindy?"

"Of course. I'm certified in CPR. I just didn't know why hyperventilating was dangerous. I'm ready when you are, Aaron."

Aaron hyperventilated for about a minute, nodded his head and Cindy pulled the tape off the door. Aaron sprinted down the hall, down the stairs and over to the thermostat. He pushed the program button, then reset the thermostat and staggered back upstairs, fighting the overwhelming urge to breath. He made it back to the doorway and got his clothes off before falling unconscious against the door. Cindy heard him fall, opened the door and found him lying in the hallway. She picked up the bucket, washed it over him, dragged him into the room and shut the door and taped it.

When she finally got back over to Aaron she discovered his heart was beating but he was not breathing. Cindy laid him on his back, tilted his head back, put her mouth over his and started giving him CPR. His eyes shot open as he felt Cindy's mouth on his lips and he stiffened when he realized what happened. He glanced down, discovered Cindy put a towel over him and relaxed. Cindy stopped crying, smiled and asked how he was.

"Just give me a minute," Aaron gasped. "I'm still out of breath," he said as he relaxed and enjoyed lying in Cindy's lap looking up at her"

"You did it, Aaron. You saved our lives."

Cindy bent down and kissed him on the forehead. Aaron blushed, grabbed the towel and ran for the closet. Cindy hurried back to the phone,

"It worked. Aaron's back and he's safe. The door is sealed and we feel fine. I don't think any gas got in when the door was open."

Mr. and Mrs. Long were with several others who had relatives in the affected area who were still alive. They were sitting by themselves talking quietly while talking off and on to the authorities and their children.

"I can't believe we went to that dinner and are stuck here not able to do anything while our children are sealed up in our house surrounded by death."

"You aren't looking at it in the right way."

"What are you talking about? Our children could die at any moment while we are stuck here."

"Think about what would have happened if we didn't go to the dinner and had been home. Because we were driving home at 5:00 a.m. we heard the news and were able to call and warn our children. If we would have been home we would all be dead right now, just like all our neighbors. This way we are alive and our children are alive. We need to be grateful we weren't home. Sometimes things happen to us that we think are bad but in the long run, turn out to be for our benefit."

"I guess you're right," she said grimly. "I'm just so scared for our children."

Mr. Long put his arm around his wife and sighed.

"So am I."

# Chapter 63

"It looks deserted to me," said one of the SEALS.

"Too many tire tracks. The dune buggy goes in, but not out. The jeeps are in and out, and there is another larger vehicle that came in and out."

"You can tell all that from the tire tracks?"

"You just need to know what to look for. Didn't you learn anything in the tracking classes?"

"Not like you. But then I'm not a full-blooded Cherokee."

"Your loss not mine, are we ready to go in?"

"Two front door, two back door, on three."

Team leader Jacobs held up his fingers and counted off one, two, three and the SEALS crashed through the doors. They found Clyde and Fred sitting at the table eating. The meth cookers slowly raised their hands as they saw four fully armed SEALS pointing automatic weapons at them. Five minutes later Clyde and Fred were tied in two chairs when two of the SEALS returned from the barn.

"They were here. The dune buggy is still in the barn. The jeeps were here and left and another vehicle about the size of a pickup or van was here and left. Judging by the equipment in the barn, this is a meth lab."

"I demand a lawyer," yelled Clyde, "I know my rights!"

"Your rights!? You're part of the terrorist plot to spray nerve gas over LA. I have family there. You have no rights. The only question now is how quick you talk before you go to Guantanamo Bay. So what's it going to be?"

Clyde turned white as team leader Jacobs pulled out a knife.

"I didn't sign up for this. What do you want to know?"

"There were four kids here. They came in that dune buggy in the barn. There were some men in a jeep following them. The kids had a flash drive with them. Start talking."

"The kids were here. They showed up sometime in the middle of the night and hid in the barn. We found them in the morning. Then this jeep showed up and the men wanted the kids. The kids gave them the flash drive and they destroyed it. Then they took the kids and left. That's what happened. I swear it."

Jacobs walked over to the stove, turned on the gas and grabbed a knife lying on the counter. He placed it in the flame to start heating it. He turned back to Clyde, stared at him and said, "You're lying and I have run out of time and patience. We have you involved in cooking Meth, a terrorist plot and kidnapping kids. There is no out or deal for you. The only question is how you live the rest of your miserable life and how long that will be."

Clyde looked at the knife heating and said in a shaky voice, "OK, I'll tell you everything."

Jacobs walked over, ripped open Clyde's shirt and attached two wires to his chest. Clyde squirmed around trying to get free and cried out, "What are you doing? I said I would talk."

"Portable lie detector. See the knife. Guess what happens when you lie."

Clyde twisted around in his seat and panicked, stared at the knife glowing red, and said "I'll tell you everything this time."

"Let's start with the flash drive. Where is it?"

Clyde talked as fast as he could.

"The leader of the men in the jeep was named Joseph. He got it from the kids and brought it in here to see what was on it. He plugged it in the computer, read what was on the flash drive and seemed satisfied. He took the flash drive out and crushed it with his boot. He then took the crushed parts and put them in the pan on the counter and put in on the stove. The melted plastic in the bottom of the pan is what is left."

Jacobs looked in the pan and then back at Clyde.

"Did you see what was on the flash drive?"

"No, he put it in the USB port opened it, looked for a minute, seemed satisfied and closed the program. I have no idea what was on it."

"Where did Joseph go?"

"I have no idea. He drove away in his jeep."

"He left the kids here? After chasing them for hours, after they killed one of his men, after they ruined his plans, he took the flash drive and just left the kids?"

Clyde looked down and shook his head.

"You have to protect me," he said.

Jacobs slowly shook his head and walked over to the stove where the knife was glowing on the burner. One of the other SEALS walked in and whispered to the SEAL standing guard,

"Why does Jacobs have him wired up to the portable defibrillator?"

He whispered back, "He thinks it's a lie detector. Every time it beeps he wets his pants."

"Good idea. I never thought of trying that. Is he talking?"

"Yeah, he's so scared now it looks like he's telling the truth. Did you find anything else in the barn?"

"It looks like a typical meth lab except for some special equipment that's wrapped up and sealed. It looks like they made something and then sealed up the equipment."

"Do you think they made the nerve gas here?"

"Maybe. They used that equipment for something, but I'm not about to unwrap it without protective gear and more information."

# Chapter 64

Manuel walked into the conference room and saw Jose intently looking at a computer. Jose heard Manuel, turned around and said,

"I was just going to get you. I turned on the surveillance on the computer at the meth lap. There is a SEAL team there questioning Clyde and Fred.

"Have they said anything damaging?"

"They don't know anything that really matters. Our tracks are covered too well. We are going to have to get another meth lab though."

"That's a shame. They were a good team. However they served their purpose. Losing teams once in a while is part of the business. Keep monitoring them and make sure they don't know more than we think. How well have Clyde and Fred held out so far."

"About what you would expect of them. They are talking as fast as they can. The other problem is he is our contact for the kids. You will probably have to postpone your session with them."

"I'm a patient man. We can locate where they live. I'll get my revenge."

# Chapter 65

Jacobs picked up the glowing knife and examined it. Fred blurted out,

"Clyde, tell him everything. This is over. If you won't tell him, I will."

Jacobs looked over at the other SEALS and said,

"Why don't you take that one to the other room and get his story while I talk to Clyde. Then we will compare notes and see how truthful they are. And if they don't agree, we'll find out who's lying. Take him now."

As the other SEALS carried Fred out of the room in his chair, Jacobs turned to Clyde and said,

"Now, where were we? Oh yeah. You were getting ready to tell me why Joseph left the kids here?"

Clyde looked up at Jacobs and then looked down, shook his head and said,

"It's over. I might as well tell you. Joseph was working for the same boss I have. I got a call from him to keep an eye out for those kids and when I woke up this morning they were in my barn asleep. I locked them in the storeroom and called my boss. He told me to wait for Joseph and he would deal with the kids. Joseph came, he got the flash drive like I told you and then talked to our boss. He told Joseph to leave the kids with me because he wants to deal with them personally, so Joseph left after destroying the flash drive."

"So where are the kids now?" asked Jacobs.

"My boss wanted me to keep them until he got here, but I have no good place to keep them and still cook meth, so I called my cousin and he is supposed to keep them for two weeks until my boss gets here."

"Who is your boss and what's his name?"

Clyde looked up and shook his head. "He'll kill me."

Jacobs looked at the knife and then back at Clyde.

Clyde looked over at the knife, slumped in his seat and said,

"We call him Jefe or Manuel. He heads one of the Mexican drug cartels. I cook Meth for him."

"Which cartel?"

"I have no idea. Jefe is more of a title. There are certain questions I don't ask because I don't want to know."

"What does Joseph do?"

"He's not part of the drug operation. This was the first time I saw him."

"Did you make the nerve gas here?"

"Yeah, we made it here."

"How did you know how to make it?"

"Manuel sent a man here for two weeks with special equipment. He made it. Then we shipped part of it to a place outside Barstow in stainless steel tankers. The rest of it was put in stainless steel containers and some men picked them up in a truck. After that we bagged up all the equipment, he left and said it was safe to go back in our lab after two days."

"Did your cousin get the kids?" said Jacobs.

"Yeah, he came a couple hours ago and took the kids."

"Why did your cousin take the kids?"

Clyde hung his head down,

"Because my cousin makes pornography. He is always on the lookout for new subjects, especially minors. He is supposed to keep them for two weeks and then bring them back and give them to Manuel when he comes here."

"He does that with teenagers?" he asked disgusted.

"He does it with anyone, willing or not. So yes he does it with teenagers."

"Where did he take the kids?" he asked as his blood started to boil.

Clyde blurted, "I don't know. I really don't. He has always kept his place a secret. I contact him by E-Mail and he calls me back on a burner phone. All I know is his place is east of here, he calls it "The Studio" and it takes about an hour to get here."

"We need to send your cousin a message. Do you have any code you use when you E-Mail him?"

"No, I just send him an E-mail, but he doesn't always respond very quickly. Sometimes it takes hours, especially when he is busy."

"Like when he just got new victims?"

Clyde hung his head. "Yeah, like then."

Jacobs walked over and cut off Clyde's restraints and motioned him over to the computer.

"Write him a message so he calls back. What's the number for your cell phone?"

Jacobs talked into his radio while Clyde was typing.

"We need to get a trace on a call that came into this number in the last couple hours. It will probably have come from a throwaway cell phone."

"If it's a throwaway, the best we can get is the closest cell tower. Are there any other calls coming in?"

"Yeah, we are sending an E-Mail to try to get him to call back. There should be another call."

"When?"

"Sometime between now and I don't know when," said Jacobs. "Call me immediately when you have it. Also we need a helicopter. We need to move fast when we get that tower."

"Do you want another team?

"Yes. Send us a helicopter and put the other team in a helicopter about 60 miles east of here. Also get a ground team in about 40 miles east of here. Then we wait."

Jacobs looked over Clyde's shoulder at the message, nodded his head and said, "Send it."

Clyde sent the E-Mail and Jacobs glowered at him. His voice was like flint.

"We need to talk some more. I want more information about your cousin. This cell phone tower is not good enough. I want better information. I have kids of my own. If those kids are hurt I will be very unhappy with you and you do not want me to be unhappy, so start talking."

Clyde couldn't talk fast enough. "I'll tell you everything I know. He has a brilliant setup. Most people that view illegal pornography go to jail because they are caught with the photos or videos. With his system everything is on computer, but nothing is stored. Everything is stored on servers in Belarus. He sells access codes to web sites. The web sites look normal until you type in a code in a hidden area. Then you jump to another site, type in another code in a hidden area to get to the real site. Then you have so many hours depending on what you paid. You don't store anything on your computer, but you can get to anything you want within a minute and they have a lot stored. He is not the only one that sends them video. All the sites are in Belarus so our government can't shut them down."

Jacobs thought for a minute.

"What about the money trail? How does he get paid?"

"He sells his clients expensive shampoo."

"What!"

"He buys cheap shampoo in drums. Then he bottles it in his own containers and sells it on the internet for $50 a bottle as designer shampoo. Each bottle has a code on it. If you know the system, you type in the code to the web site and you have $50 worth of viewing. When you have used it up, you get a code from another bottle. All the profit comes to him through the legitimate business of selling shampoo."

"What about the video and pictures he takes?"

"He sends them through the internet to his partners in Belarus. But he only has to do it one time. Then his clients get it through the servers in Belarus. No one knows where his compound is. I'm his cousin and all I know is that it's east of here. That's why I have to E-mail him and he calls me back on a throwaway cell phone. He doesn't have the risk of sending videos out of his place, except for the one time to Belarus. The only exception is when he gets victims for the first time."

"What happens when he gets them for the first time."

Clyde took a deep breath. "He has to break them so they will do what he wants. A lot of his clients want to see this live, so he takes the risk of streaming live for up to a half hour to select clients that have been purchasing shampoo for a long time. If no one knows he is about to start streaming, even if they see it they don't have time to figure where he is because he sends it through Belarus. Some of these clients even get to E-Mail him with suggestions during the live presentation."

"So fairly soon, he will be sending out a live presentation from his compound?"

"I'm not sure when fairly soon will be, but yes. However he will be sending it to Belarus and only select clients will be notified by Belarus when it will be sent, so his risk is almost non-existent."

"How does he break them?"

"I have no idea." He lowered his eyes. "I'm not into watching stuff like that."

Jacobs said, "Have you been getting all this?"

He heard in his earpiece "We have all of it. Do you think he's telling the truth?"

Jacobs walked a little ways away to get some privacy.

"He seems to be. What about the cell tower?"

"We have the cell tower, but it's rural there so it covers miles of area. There are a lot of possibilities. We need to narrow it down."

"I can keep questioning him, but I think he is telling us everything he knows. I'm not confident I'll get anything else useful."

"Keep trying. After the helicopter gets to you we will reevaluate where you are needed. There is an organization we need to notify when anything regarding abused children comes in and they have some tremendous resources available. Maybe they can help."

# Chapter 66

### Abused Children Unit (ACU) New Mexico

There were numerous Air Force bases built during the Cold War in the deserts of the Southwest United States. When the Cold War ended, most of these became obsolete. Some of them were ideal for the use of an organization that few people in the government were aware of. They picked one that still had good facilities and was therefore easy and inexpensive to renovate, but more important was not near any town. It was a combination headquarters and prison. Having many miles between the base and any town to give them more time to locate any escaped prisoner was important. After they were there for awhile, they realized this made everyone more comfortable but wasn't necessary. One of the great advantages of an old airbase was the existing runway. These are very expensive, but last for a long time and it didn't need any renovation. The housing wasn't too bad and they found that after the prisoners started arriving they could use them to improve the living quarters quite inexpensively by just buying materials and putting them to work. After the living quarters for both the staff and the inmates were totally renovated, they moved to the old golf course, the swimming pool, and the tennis courts. They soon had an oasis in the middle of nowhere. They even grew a lot of their own food. All the inmates had jobs that kept them busy for part of the day. Most of the renovation money went into the communications, because they insisted on the best. They also had a good medical staff that could perform operations on site. Many of the staff were retired military and soon reverted to their old ranks. They worked very closely with active military including the Air Force and Special Forces from all the branches. They only needed the additional manpower and special Air Force transportation from time to time and they found it was much easier to just ask for it when needed than maintain their own force. The assets were officially loaned as needed to avoid issues with using military for civilian operations. They initially were concerned about how well the elite Special Forces would react to helping out on loan as the tasks they were usually asked to perform were quite simple as compared to their intensive training. They discovered a simple solution for this problem. They let the Special Forces they intended to use meet Tony and he asked them to help. That immediately ended any question of their willingness to help. If given an option of taking a well deserved leave and helping the ACU they would all forgo their leave and fight to be included on whatever mission was necessary.

"General Moody. We just got a communication from Homeland Security. One of the units working on the terrorist attacks ran across a pornography group. They have just sent us a recording of an interrogation of some terrorists. Apparently there are four kids that have or had a flash drive with information regarding the attacks and now the kids are in the hands of some pornographers. They are asking for our help."

"Set up the recording in the conference room and assemble the staff. We might as well review it together."

After reviewing the recording General Moody spoke to the staff,

"It definitely sounds like something we want to jump into. We might be able to help them and also pull off a sting and get some more trash off the streets. Major Nelson, take our G 3 and get to California, call the Air Force and request transportation for when you get there. You will probably need one or two helicopters. Take Sergeant Morris and Sergeant Frank with you. We will get set up here to run the sting operation. Any questions?"

Everyone looked at Tony.

"Is this what you saw coming Tony?"

Tony nodded his head and left the room.

# Chapter 67

"Are you worried about what Clyde said about the cartel?"

"No, we knew this would happen at some point. All they know is there is a drug cartel. They don't know who we are. All they know is they got paid to make the nerve gas. The trail goes cold because we never told Clyde enough to cause trouble. As long as the flash drive was destroyed I'm not concerned."

# Chapter 68

The entire staff were meeting around the conference table as Victor outlined where they stood. It was a very grim assembly.

Deputy Director Collins asked, "Is there any possibility of getting anything more from the video the kids shot?"

"Our analysts have been over and over it. There are a couple things they aren't sure of, but they can understand everything that was said before and after, so it is unlikely they will get any more useful information."

"And there is no possibility that what was in the pan wasn't the flash drive?" asked Collins.

"Anything's possible, but the terrorists were convinced and our men don't think Clyde is lying. He appears to be scared to death."

Ben said, "You said flash drive. What about the second flash drive?"

Everyone turned and stared at Ben.

"What second flash drive?"

"The younger girl, Sarah, made a second flash drive when she made the first one. Larry and Jason were out of the room when she made it. They came in just after she was done. I wasn't told the first flash drive was destroyed until just now."

"Get that SEAL on the phone. Find out if they checked for another flash drive."

Victor called back to the Meth lab.

"This is Jacobs."

"Jacobs, we found out they made another flash drive. Did Clyde say anything about it?"

"It never came up. No one said anything about a second flash drive. I'll go find out."

Jacobs walked over to Clyde who was now tied back in the chair. He looked over at the knife and then back to Clyde and said,

"It seems you have not been very truthful with us. We want to know about the other flash drive."

Clyde, his breath coming quick, replied, "What are you talking about another flash drive? The terrorists looked and they couldn't find one."

"We found out they made another flash drive. How did the terrorists look for it?"

"We have equipment to look for electronic bugs. My boss is paranoid. Joseph got some of the equipment out and checked the kids and everyplace the kids were at. They only found the one. If there is another flash drive, it's not here."

"Ben, are you sure there's another flash drive?"

"She said she made one. I wasn't there, but I don't see any reason she would make that up. It could be anywhere now."

"Those kids are smart and very resourceful. I bet they hid one and gave the terrorists the other one. If it was hidden far enough away, the equipment wouldn't detect it. We need to find those kids and keep looking for the flash drive."

"Jacobs, it appears the kids made another flash drive that the terrorists missed. They might have hidden it at your location. You need to find it. Get the equipment and check the area yourself and then call back."

# Chapter 69

The ACU team had been listening in to the conversations between the SEALS and Homeland Security.

"Sergeant Frank, I'm going to send you to the meth lab to help find that flash drive. From what I am hearing from the interrogation, the kids probably hid it. They might have hid it before they got to the meth lab, but I doubt it. My guess is it's close to the lab. We also need to find out where the kids are. I want you on the ground to find what they missed. Sergeant Morris and I are going further east to about where we think the pornographers are so we are ready when you give us more information. If we don't find the flash drive before we find the kids, we will probably have to go in and look for the flash drive and ruin our sting. If we have to we will, but I would much prefer to do both. We are getting close to the helicopters."

Major Nelson leaned forward to talk to the pilot,

"Can we land on that road to meet the helicopters? We don't have time to get to an airport and fly back to this area."

"I can contact the local police, have them block the road, and land there. You do know how hard this is on a G-3 don't you."

"Yes. You've told me enough times. We can get another jet when we need it. We can't get back time, just land."

"Manuel, you better come in here and listen to this."

Manuel came in and Jorge replayed the last tape from the surveillance equipment at the meth lab.

"I can't believe this, he said. "There's another flash drive. That idiot Joseph failed again. Do we have anyone competent in the area?"

"We have a team we sent in to clean up a small time dealer that thought he could come into one of our areas. Should I pull them in?"

"Get them up to speed. We can take care of the dealer later. I want that flash drive destroyed and I want to deal with those kids personally."

"Our biggest problem now is nobody knows where the kids are."

"Clyde sent them to his cousin. He doesn't know where his cousin is?"

"Apparently all he knows is his cousin has a compound east of him and about an hour away. The SEAL team has been interrogating him and not getting anything. They want the kids and flash drive as bad as we do."

"We have to get that flash drive before they do. Call all the staff right now. There has to be a way to get ahead of those SEALS."

Jorge played the recording of the interrogation to the assembled staff in the conference room and his eyes panning the room, asked,

"Any ideas? I can't emphasize how important that flash drive might be."

"Do we know for sure what's on it?"

"No. We don't think they had any way to trace this back to us, but judging from how incompetent Joseph has been so far I am concerned," said Manuel.

"Should we contact Joseph and tell him about the second flash drive so he is trying to find them also?"

"We already have, under the assumption it probably won't help, but it couldn't hurt."

"The main problem is the SEALS are pulling a lot of resources and we have one team in the area."

"I have an idea," said Jesus as he sat with his eyes closed listening and thinking.

All eyes turned to Jesus as Manuel said, "I hoped you would. Your age and experience has proven invaluable on many occasions."

"First of all I would like to say I am impressed by the pornographers operation and would like to meet the person that set it up. We could always use a mind like that for what we do. But getting back to our problem, Jorge we need you to hack into the computers for Fed Ex and UPS. Look for numerous small packages sent out all over the world from a location within that cell tower area. Also look for occasional large heavy deliveries to the same address."

"I can do this from here on my laptop."

"Put it up on the large plasma."

They all looked at addresses popping up on the plasma.

"OK, that's all of them. UPS and Fed EX are both up. It looks like 4 properties fit that criteria."

"Now get Google maps up and get a close up on each property, and let's find any that would work for their operation."

Jesus was intent. "That location is a retail store. That would be impossible. That one is an industrial area with a number of other businesses too close. That would be very difficult. The third one is a large farm house, with a lot of property around it and it looks like the whole property is fenced. The last one is a house in a tract with other houses close by. Number three is a winner. I would give you 95% that is the location. We start with the house."

"Jesus, once again you have come through. Jorge, direct our crew to that site. They need to destroy the flash drive at all costs. It would be ideal if we could get the kids back so I can deal with them personally, but if they had to kill them, that would also be acceptable. The other parts of my overall plans are still intact. In spite of this setback, we will still accomplish my goals."

The staff at Homeland Security had been monitoring the SEAL teams.

"Where's the other SEAL team?"

"We sent them to the area of the cell phone tower, however it's a large area. They are set up in the middle and hidden. They also have a stealth helicopter with infrared capabilities in the air. The problem is knowing what to look for now. They are waiting for the ACU team to join them."

"Jacobs, there's someone here to see you."

Sergeant Frank from the ACU came in and introduced himself.

"I'm Sergeant Frank. Did they tell you I was coming?"

"They said you were coming and to extend to you any possible assistance, but they didn't say who you are and where you are from but you look like Special Forces to me."

"Let's just say I'm here to help you and we're on the same side," said Frank. "Where I'm from isn't important. What I really need to do is find that flash drive. Do you think you can get any more information from him?" he said, pointing to Clyde.

"You're welcome to try, but I don't think he knows anything else."

"I have been listening to your interrogation, and I would have to agree. What do you know about where the kids were when they were at this property?"

"They arrived in the middle of the night dead tired. Clyde and Fred didn't wake up. The farm house and barn are designed to look deserted from the outside. The kids opened the barn door, drove the dune buggy in and closed the door. They crashed over on those bales of hay and in the dune buggy and slept. Clyde locked them in that storeroom until Joseph came. Sarah gave Joseph the flash drive and then he searched them with a detector wand and didn't find anything else. He also searched the dune buggy and the inside of the barn. Then I searched all these areas again and didn't find another flash drive. The equipment works because we tested it on one of our flash drives. So if they hid another flash drive, it's outside and we have no idea where to look. We tried searching the area by the outside of the house and barn with no success."

"Jorge, how is our team doing?"

"We have a problem. They were in a new SUV and it broke down. They are on a road in the middle of the desert and haven't seen another vehicle for a long time. Unless someone comes by they can hijack, it will be a long time until they can get it repaired and drive to the pornographers studio."

"It is incredible how the little things ruin plans. Call Joseph and direct him to the location. Explain how essential it is to destroy that flash drive. When this is over we are going to have to eliminate Joseph. He has proven too incompetent to be associated with."

Jorge called Joseph and gave him the location of the pornographer's studio.

"Jorge, you seem quiet. Is there something wrong? asked Manuel's father.

Jorge didn't say anything for a minute.

"Jorge, I value your opinions. You have helped me on many occasions. I would like your input," said Manuel.

"I don't think you should eliminate Joseph. He has failed, but I don't think it's his fault. We have given him conflicting instructions and he has been the victim of bad luck. We still need terrorists for our overall plan and he is the most dedicated and competent I have ever seen in spite of what has happened. If we eliminate him, we are going to lose a lot of time and will have to eventually find a terrorist to work with that is inferior to Joseph. I think we need to keep Joseph."

There was silence for a minute and Manuel's father spoke up.

"You know he's right, Manuel. It is easy to let passions get in the way of intelligent decisions. That is why we have people like Jorge and Jesus to keep us from making bad choices."

"You're right. Thank you, Jorge. That's why I like you. You have the courage to correct me when I'm wrong and the intelligence to do what you are told when the decision is made. Keep Joseph, but remind him I don't tolerate failure. It will make him try harder."

Jorge called Joseph and explained that there will likely be opposition at the pornographer's compound.

"It is essential that you're not captured. We have a lot of other work you need to take care of. You are of no use to us dead. Use your men and stand back to observe. That's what a smart leader does."

"I won't send my men into a place I won't go," stated Joseph.

"We understand that, Joseph. But you aren't one of those chosen to be a martyr. We need you for the rest of the operation. That's what we hired you for. Be smart. Do you need to talk to your Imam for clarification?"

"No, that won't be necessary. They won't capture me."

# Chapter 70

### ACU Headquarters New Mexico

The staff was meeting around the conference table reviewing their status. General Moody asked,

"Are all the computers set up to analyze the video stream?"

"Everything is ready on the technical end. NSA is ready. We should be able to pinpoint their location within seconds. There won't be any other video streams coming out of that area with illegal pornography on them."

"Call Sergeant Frank and see if he has had any progress with that additional flash drive. If we don't find it, as soon as we have a location on those kids, we have to assume it is still with them and go in immediately. I would hate to do that and ruin the sting only to find they don't have it with them."

All the kids were in a large room at the pornographer's compound with several beds in the corners, two sofas and several chairs. There was a bathroom with no door, and a lot of lighting and tripods for cameras. Sarah and Cody were sitting together on one of the sofas. Sarah said to Cody,

"You know when I said this day couldn't get any worse? You were right, I was wrong. It got a lot worse. What do you think these bands are around our wrists?"

Cody lifted his arm and inspected the band around his wrist. He saw two plastic covered cables going into a thick leather band that was locked to his wrist. The two cables went into a hole in the wall about 20 feet away. He saw the cables from Sarah's wrist go into a similar hole in an adjacent wall.

"I don't know, Sarah. These are wire steel cables covered in plastic. They're super strong. It's like the cables on our boat winch. But I don't know why they would have two. One of these could tow a car. And they disappear into these leather bands around our wrists."

"The cables are long enough that we can go anyplace in the room. I don't get it, Cody."

They sat for a minute looking at the cables.

"Cody, what do you think is going to happen to us? You seem really worried. Do you know anything about people like this?"

Cody was hesitant to respond. "I had an experience that gave me more information than I ever wanted a year ago. My best friend Jacob's dad caught us looking at pornography."

"That must have been awkward, what did he do?" said Sarah.

"He called my dad, and they called a friend of theirs and we had a barbeque and swim party."

Sarah raised her eyebrows, "That's the type of punishment I like to get. What else did they do?" she asked puzzled.

"Jacob and I had no idea what was going on, they totally blindsided us. He didn't catch us while we were looking. He saw that we had been on a site and had a computer geek go into the computer and see where we had been. So after we had our food they said we needed to talk about something. They pulled out a printout and said this is where you guys have been on the internet. It showed all the sites we were at and what these sites were like. Before we even had time to realize what happened, our dads said we aren't in trouble, but we need to understand the affects of what we did. Then they introduced us to their friend who's a divorce attorney. They wanted him to talk to us. It was awkward at first, but he's easy to talk to and he put us at ease right away. He said if we weren't curious at age 13 we wouldn't be normal, but he deals with this all the time and we need to know how it affects people and what the consequences were. So then he started describing what was on the sites we saw and the difference between what we saw and real life."

"That must have been uncomfortable!"

"Tell me about it. Especially with our dad's listening. But we didn't have a choice. They had us surrounded."

"So, did he know what he was talking about?"

Cody was in earnest. "He knows everything about it. He deals with it all day. He started talking about what he has learned from being a divorce attorney and how pornography affects people. Watching pornography changes the way whoever is watching it thinks about anything sexual. Also pornography is incredibly addicting. Once a person starts, it's very difficult to stop. Because of the internet, it's available and easy to hide from everyone you know. Then he and our dads started telling us about what it's like to have a good marriage, when both partners totally trust each other. It's hard to think of your parents as having a sexual relationship, but that's kind of stupid when you think about how you got here. They told us that long after the children are born, having a trusting relationship with your wife is the best thing in the world, and pornography ruins that. Then they started talking about how it affects us as teenagers. When you look at pornography it becomes a part of you. It will always be with you to some degree. When you look at pornography you fantasize about what things could be like as opposed to reality. Even if you don't do anything physically, but just in your mind, it will be with you the rest of your life, and when anything happens physically, even years later, the images you saw and what you fantasized about will always be in your mind at some level. But that's not all, it gets worse."

"How could it get worse?" Sarah asked amazed.

"They have recently proved that watching pornography can be physically addicting."

"What! How? You're just watching something."

"When you watch pornography your brain is flooded with endorphins that make you happy. That's why it's so appealing. If you watch pornography daily and your brain is constantly flooded with these high levels of endorphins, your brain responds by resetting itself to lower your serotonin levels so it can function normally with the abnormally high levels of endorphins. Your brain is now set to lower levels of serotonin and can operate fairly normally with the lower levels of serotonin combined with the elevated levels of endorphins. If you want to have the euphoric feeling from the inflated levels of endorphins, you have to constantly watch more pornography or harder core pornography. If you quit watching pornography and flooding your brain with endorphins, you no longer have enough serotonin for your brain to function properly. The neurons can't communicate properly so you are unable to focus or concentrate or remember things. If you quit watching pornography, it takes months to reset your brain to normal levels of serotonin so it can operate properly without the massive quantities of endorphins you get from watching pornography. During these months you are constantly battling depression which is caused by the low serotonin levels. That's when you're addicted and it's very difficult to stop because your brain now needs the large quantities of endorphins to operate properly because of your low serotonin levels. The entire time you are fighting depression and trying to reset your brain to normal serotonin levels, you know that instant relief is only a mouse click away. That is why it is so hard to break being addicted to pornography. What makes it even harder is that you have to do things besides watching pornography to get your endorphins up to a level that your brain will function somewhat normally. If your brain is too depressed it can't reset itself and you never break the pornography addition."

"That's amazing. Did that happen to you and Jacob?"

"No. We got caught the first time. It takes a while to get addicted."

Sarah thought for a minute and asked,

"What was it like when you watched?"

Cody was silent and then said softly,

"Very exciting and stimulating."

"Do you think if you had watched it a lot you would have gotten addicted?"

Cody slowly nodded his head, "Totally. That's why I've decided not to look at pornography. It's not who or what I want to be. I have a friend my age who is addicted. He can't think straight and gets depressed without watching it often. He doesn't have control of his life anymore. It's the same as being a drug addict. There's no way I'm going to be addicted to anything."

"You seemed very upset when I saw you without any clothes on when we were being decontaminated," she said.

Cody answered slowly, "When Jacob and I saw that pornography, there was a scene somewhat similar to what happened to us when we were decontaminated. It brought back a flood of memories that weren't pleasant that I thought I had forgotten. That's what that lawyer was talking about how it will always be with you."

"I noticed you looking at me then turning away."

"I couldn't help looking," he said, "but then I felt I was invading your privacy, so I turned away."

"Yeah, I noticed you turned away but then you looked back again."

Cody turned red.

"Okay, I looked again. I'm fourteen. I couldn't help it. I don't get too many chances like that."

"Too many?"

"Okay, I never get an opportunity like that."

"You couldn't help looking?" she questioned raising her eyebrows.

"Are you kidding? You're gorgeous. Any normal boy couldn't help looking when you were standing there like that."

"Do you really think I'm good looking?"

He was incredulous. "Are you serious? You don't think you are?"

"You don't think I'm fat? I'm not really thin like my sister."

"Sarah, that is such a load of crap! Boys don't feel that way. I don't understand why so many girls buy into that idea. You are so hot, not that super thin emaciated look your sister has. I know. I've seen your body. You look great."

"Thanks, Cody. That means a lot to me," Sarah said as she snuggled over closer to Cody. "By the way, you look great too. I sneaked a couple looks. I couldn't help it either."

Cody sat silently turning redder not knowing what to say.

"I always envied your life in Newport Beach."

Cody looked at Sarah surprised.

"I always thought you hated me and the way we lived."

"There is a fine line between envy and hate. It's difficult to admit you want something you have always made fun of. Life has changed.

"Did everything change for you after you were almost raped in Arizona?" he asked.

"That was the starting point. It just fell into place after that. I started doing other things like playing soccer and working out. That made me start eating real food instead of picking at salads and eating crackers. I tried to get new friends because my old ones abandoned me."

He was grim now. "If they abandoned you they were never your friends. Real friends stick by each other when they go through problems. They are always there to help when you need it, and they don't judge you without hearing your side of why you did something."

"Cody, I never had any real friends. They were just people I texted all day about how lame others were. As soon as you turned your back they would stab it. They weren't friends. I can't believe I'm 14 years old and never had real friends. Cody, can we talk about what's going to happen to us. Do you think they're really pornographers?"

"Looking at this room I think so."

"Why do they want us? We aren't even adults."

"Some of them are into children" Cody said slowly.

"Isn't that illegal?"

"Very. As bad as the next couple weeks will be, the worse problem is when that sponsor guy shows up. He wants us dead."

"What are we going to do?" Sarah sobbed.

"I know I'm going to fight them."

She gave an involuntary shiver. "I'm not sure how well that'll work. They seem to know what they're doing. I just wish someone was looking for us."

"I don't think anyone knows where we are. If any of those planes made it through and sprayed that nerve gas, the authorities are going to have a lot to deal with."

"What about our parents? Do you think they're safe? Do you think they sprayed where are parents are?"

"I have no idea." He replied shaking his head. "I'm afraid we are on our own."

Tears welled up in Sarah's eyes as she snuggled in closer to Cody.

# Chapter 71

There were now two helicopters in the general vicinity of the pornographers compound, one with the second SEAL team and one with Major Nelson and Sergeant Morris from the CPU. They both landed and joined a ground team from the Army. Major Nelson spoke to all the teams.

"We have a group of pornographers holding four teenagers in a compound within a few miles of here. The teenagers might have a flash drive with them that contains vital information about the terrorist attack on Southern California. We are waiting for an exact location. When we get it we have to go in carefully. We can't have someone see us coming in and destroy the flash drive. Also there might be a terrorist group in the area chasing the kids, so be on the lookout for anything suspicious while we wait. We are going to get the helicopters in the air with two man crews and station the rest of the vehicles around this area and stay as concealed as possible. If we find the terrorists, we want them alive."

The helicopters took off and flew behind a hill out of sight, while the vehicles all dispersed. After several minutes they saw a red jeep go by. Sergeant Morris called Sergeant Frank,

"Sergeant Frank, I know you're listening in while you are searching for that flash drive. Ask Clyde what the terrorists were driving."

Sergeant Frank walked back to Clyde who was tied to a chair,

"What were the terrorists driving?"

"There were two of them in a red jeep and several more in black jeep. My cousin was in a white van with no windows."

Sergeant Frank asked, "did you hear?"

"Got it."

Sergeant Morris looked at his driver and pointed at the jeep.

"Follow them, but don't get too close."

He then called Major Nelson in the helicopter.

"Have you been listening?"

"Yeah, don't get too close. We can see you and the red jeep. We are going high so they don't hear us. I'll guide you."

General Moody called Sergeant Frank from the conference room in New Mexico,

"Sergeant Frank, where are we on that second flash drive?"

"It appears they did a thorough search of the building. If they hid it, it's outside. We searched the perimeter of the structures with equipment with no success. We are searching other areas but we have to be within a couple feet of the flash drive for this equipment to pick it up. It's going to be a very slow search."

Tony interjected, "You need to think outside the box. If you were a teenager and got to that compound in the middle of the night exhausted, what would you do? Put on your helmet camera and let me see the area."

Sergeant Frank turned on his helmet camera and started walking the area.

Tony said, "Walk the way they would have driven in."

Sergeant Frank headed toward the barn opened the door and entered.

"This is where they opened the door, drove the dune buggy in, and then closed the door. Then they went over to those bales of hay and fell asleep."

Tony said, "You're missing some steps. You have two teenage boys traveling with two teenage girls. John would have been driving and everyone else would have fallen asleep. John probably got out and opened the door, or more likely woke up Cody to make him open it. But they would have looked around for a minute to see where they were. Then they probably went to the bathroom before they slept. Go outside and see if you can see where they would have gone."

Sergeant Frank walked back out the door and turned around. Tony watched through the camera and said, "Walk over by the side of that bush. What do you see?"

"It looks like someone peed on the ground here last night."

"OK, stand in that place and look around with the camera."

Sergeant Frank scanned the area and Tony asked,

"What's that box over there on legs?"

Sergeant Frank approached the box and was swarmed by bees.

"It's an old bee hive and there are still bees in it. When I get close they start buzzing around me."

"But the kids were there at night when it was colder. The bees would have been in the hive. It would have been a perfect place to hide a flash drive. Get one of the SEALS to check the hive with the equipment, while you walk other areas."

Sergeant Frank went back over to the SEALS and said,

"One of you get the equipment and check around that bee hive. The bees are pretty active and it is an abandoned hive. You can probably find bee keepers equipment in the farm house."

Sergeant Frank continued to check the area while one of the SEALS looked for bee keeper's equipment. When he couldn't find any, he asked Clyde where the equipment was.

"We never had bee keeper's equipment here," Clyde said, "Those are killer bees. We have tried to kill them off several times at night when they are in the hive with poison and they keep coming back. As long as you leave them alone during the day, they don't bother us. The hive is far enough away from the house."

One of the SEALS tried going over to the hive without equipment. As he got close to the hive, the bees started swarming him. Sergeant Frank and the other SEALS watched from a distance. The SEAL couldn't get close without being attacked by the bees. He rejoined the group.

"I think they're killer bees," he said. "I don't mind a few stings, but I don't think you could get near that hive without all the bees attacking and I'm not sure you would survive. Also the bees would attack anything in this area for a long time."

"We need to find out if the flash drive is there. Is that Hummer one of the sealed ones?

"Yeah, it's set up for biological warfare."

"I have an idea."

After several minutes of following the red jeep Major Nelson saw them driving on a single lane road leading to a house and barn a mile away. He called back to Sergeant Morris and the ACU and said,

"They seem to be on a long driveway leading to a house and barn. We can't let them get into the house if that's where the kids are, but I don't want to alert them either if that's not the place. What do you want me to do?"

"The staff at ACU looked at each other around the conference table. No one was sure what to do. They all looked at Tony who was sitting with his eyes shut. He opened his eyes and said,

"Take out the jeep, that's the place. Don't alert the house."

"Major Nelson hesitated for only a second and said to the pilot,

"Take out the jeep. I want them alive."

The pilot set the crosshairs of his optically controlled minigun on the engine compartment of the jeep and fired a single round.

The terrorist felt a thud and the engine died in the jeep. I can't believe this, he thought. What caused that thud? I don't have time for this. We are only a half mile away.

"Get out. We go the last half mile on foot. We'll take one of their vehicles when we have the flash drive."

They only made it a hundred meters when the Hummer with Sergeant Morris came flying up. They looked up at the helicopter Major Nelson was in with the minigun trained on them. The terrorists quickly ran through their options, dropped their weapons and held up their hands. The Hummer slid to a stop and Sergeant Morris told one of his men to get out and take care of the terrorists. The Hummer tore away, leaving one man to guard the terrorists. He yelled after the Hummer, what do you want me to do with them? As it sped away without hearing him, he trained his rifle on the two terrorists as they sat on the ground. He was so intent on trying to see what was going on further up the road he didn't notice the black jeep approach and stop a hundred yards away. Joseph silently slid out, set his rifle on the hood and shot him in the back.

# Chapter 72

"Let's attach that pole to the front and put the detector on the pole. We can drive up to the hive and stick the detector under it to see if it beeps."

"What if it does?"

"Then we decide what to do. If the flash drive isn't there, it doesn't matter."

They tied the detector on the pole and it beeped as soon as it got near the hive. Pulling it back they lowered the pole and got a strong reading under the hive.

"Now what?"

"We kill the bees. This place is loaded with chemicals. Find something. I need to make a call."

Sergeant Frank called ACU.

"We found a flash drive under a hive of killer bees. Now we just need to get it out."

"We are running out of time or we lose the window to get the pornographers. The flash drive is so critical we can't wait."

"I understand. I'll get back, I'm kind of busy here."

"You know we can't stall them," said Major Nelson listening in.

"I know," said General Moody. "Hopefully Sergeant Frank can beat the timeline."

# Chapter 73

Sergeant Morris drove as near as he could to the house while staying out of sight. He ran behind the barn and looked in through a dirty window and spotted the white van. He said into his radio,

"I found the white van. I'm heading for the house."

After a minute he said,

"All the windows are covered. I can't see in."

"Sergeant, can you get a fiber optic camera through that wall, without them hearing you?"

"Give us about two minutes and you will have live visual and maybe some audio."

After two minutes the camera was through the wall.

"General, It looks like the kids are just sitting around in that room and they haven't been harmed."

"Are they talking about the flash drive?"

"No, nothing about the flash drive.

"The sting is set up. NSA is ready and on hold. They are screaming about taking all their computers and staff for this operation."

"Let them scream all they want as long as they do their job. Do we have a feed yet?"

"No we're just waiting."

"Should we go in now?"

"Do you see Clem and Brian?" said the General.

"No just the kids are in the room."

"Wait another minute. We need to know where Clem and Brian are. We can't take the risk of the flash drive being destroyed."

# Chapter 74

One of the SEALS came out of the barn with a container and a garden sprayer.

"I found this in the barn. It's an old can of DDT and a garden sprayer. It should take out even killer bees."

"How do we get close enough?"

"Simple. We crack the window, put the nozzle through the crack, and duct tape the rest of the crack. Then we just drive over and spray the hive and all the bees that swarm us."

"Do it quick. I'm going in right behind you," said Sergeant Frank.

He quickly put on another set of fatigues over what he was wearing, put on leather gloves and a full helmet, then wrapped a towel around his neck and taped it tight with duct tape. He finished the same time the Hummer was ready. The Hummer drove to the hive and started spraying the DDT. It was immediately swarmed by the bees. Unfortunately for the bees, DDT is one of the most effective insecticides ever developed. Within a minute virtually all the bees were incapacitated or dead. Sergeant Frank ran over to the old hive and crawled underneath. He spotted the flash drive lying on the ledge under the hive where Cody had put it. As he grabbed it and ran for the house he was called again by General Moody.

"Times up. They are going in."

"Don't. I have the flash drive. It was under the bee hive lying on a dirty ledge, but the flash drive is brand new. I'll have it on a computer to check it out in one minute."

Sergeant Frank put the flash drive into a laptop, opened it and found lists of names, financial transactions and maps.

"I think this is it. I'm sending you some files as we speak."

Ben, Larry, and Jason were anxiously waiting for the files at Homeland Security. As soon as the first file unloaded, Ben shouted out,

"That's it. That's the same file we saw when Sarah opened the laptop. Have Sergeant Frank make a copy and then download the original over the secure network. We got it."

General Moody immediately called Major Nelson and said,

"We got the flash drive. Don't go in. We can do the sting."

# Chapter 75

Clem and Brian watched the kids on their video feed to the room.

"Clem, are you ready to teach these kids a lesson?"

"Yeah, Brian, I just need to get the feed turned on to Belarus. We have some very anxious clients out there. They have been waiting for new victims for a long time."

"They should be happy with four at once. Let's go."

Clem and Brian walked into the studio where the kids were.

Clem said to all four kids. "We are going to teach you why you will be very cooperative with us when we tell you to do something you don't want to do."

John looked at Clem with fire in his eyes.

"You can't make us do anything. Why do you do stuff like this to kids?"

Clem laughed. "We do stuff like this because we make a fortune doing it. And you will do whatever we ask willingly. That's what this lesson is about."

"General the feed is up and running. NSA computers have analyzed the feed and are looking for threads. We have it live."

"Good. Now we have to see how long these kids can last. Are you ready, Tony?"

"I'm ready. The kids look good to me. Especially the younger boy. They will probably target him because of his age. He has that look in his eyes."

"Sergeant, why aren't we going in. I think they are going to start doing something to those kids."

"Hold your positions. I'll tell you when you can go in. Follow your orders!"

The SEALS watched the fiber optic feed and stared at Sergeant Morris incredulous. One of them said,

"After all this you are going to let those perverts hurt those kids while we stand outside the door and do nothing? And you're taping it?"

"Follow orders. You don't have the full picture."

Clem looked at the kids and held a remote control in his hand. "Smile for the cameras. We have a lot of people watching you. This is how it works."

Clem pushed a button on the remote and John's cables retracted into the hole in the wall dragging John toward the hole by his wrist.

"This part makes you stay where we want you. If we want you back by the wall, we just push this button and a winch behind that wall pulls you right up to that hole so you stay out of the way. See you all have the same device."

Clem pushed the other buttons and all of the cables retracted and pulled the kids close to opposite walls

"But we don't want you close to the walls now. We just want to show you what we can do."

Clem pushed the buttons the other way and the cables fed out and let the kids go back into the middle of the room.

"Don't even try fighting the cables. They each have a 1,000 pound winch and the cables are rated for 2,000 pounds each."

"Why do you have two cables covered in plastic?" asked John.

"Oh, that's the good part I was just about to show you. The plastic is for insulation. Who wants to be the first for the demonstration? Don't be shy, everyone gets a chance."

"A chance for what?" asked Ellen.

"To show you one of the ways we get you to do whatever we want you to do. Let's start with you."

Clem pushed another switch and Ellen fell to the floor shaking and screaming. Sarah tried to rush over to her sister and was pulled up short by the cables on her wrist.

"Ellen, are you all right?" she screamed.

Ellen looked up at Sarah hyperventilating. Sarah lunged at Clem and was held back by the cables. She screamed at him,

"What did you do to my sister? Can't you see she's hurt?"

"She's not hurt. That was just a low power jolt for a couple seconds. It can go a lot stronger and for a longer time. We are going to start with a little jolt like that for the rest of you."

Clem pushed three other buttons and John, Sarah and Cody all fell to the floor shaking."

John looked at his arm and said, "It feels like someone electrocuted me."

"That's close," said Clem. "We hooked a Taser to the two cables that run to each of your arms. When we push the button, you get Tasered. Pretty slick, don't you think?"

"Yeah, real slick," said Sarah rubbing her arm.

"And the good part is I can just turn this dial and increase the jolt, and it lasts as long as I hold down the button. This Tasar isn't powered by batteries, it's plugged into the wall. Anyone want to try a real jolt?"

"No!!" they all cried out as they backed away from Clem.

"As well as this works, we don't like to use it because it eventually leaves burn marks and we like your bodies to look fresh for the cameras. Also it looks better on camera when you don't have those bands on your wrists and after some heavy jolts your body doesn't function very well for a while. But we will use it if needed. We have found something that works a lot better."

Brian walked over with a lightweight wooden paddle and handed it to Clem. "We used to use a whip and then we tried a belt, but they both left welts. We found this works much better. Several hard swats with this gets your attention fast. After that warm up, you won't believe how much this hurts. And the good part is it leaves no marks. It's light enough that it just stings instead of bruising. After a couple hours the red skin goes back to normal and we can start over if we need to. Now the way this works is, if we want you to do something, we don't paddle you, we paddle someone you care about like your brother or sister. A good friend works pretty well also. After they start crying from the pain, we find you will listen well and do what we tell you to. Now everyone needs to know how much this hurts so we save time later. So everyone gets 10 hard swats, by each other. If you don't cooperate we use the taser and keep turning it up until you cooperate. And one other thing. If the swats aren't hard enough, they don't count toward the 10. So if you want to get 10 swats and then 10 hard swats it's fine with me. I'll tell you if the swats are hard enough. So who wants to go first?"

As Clem looked over all at four kids, Ellen started crying.

Clem said to Brian, "Let's start with her. She won't take much before she learns. It's the younger boy that's going to be the problem. I have something special for him anyway."

He approached John. "Here take this paddle. Give her 10 good swats."

John hesitated, not knowing what he should do.

Clem threw him the paddle and said, "Now give her the swats or I'll use the Taser on your little brother and Sarah and turn it up!"

"OK, OK I'll do it. I'm sorry, Ellen. I have to do this."

Ellen bent over the back of the sofa and started whimpering as she anticipated what John had to do. Before John began he was interrupted by Clem.

"Oh, one more thing. Drop your pants Ellen. The paddle will work better that way."

"Sergeant, we have to go in! Why are we waiting?" one of the soldiers demanded as he saw the horrified look on Ellen.

"Stand down, soldier. Follow your orders."

"Tony, are we okay here?"

"This is nothing, General. Keep it going. I'll tell you if there's a problem."

After all four kids got 10 swats each, they stood close to each other sobbing and exchanging confused glances, not believing how much the lightweight paddle hurt on their bare skin.

"Are we still good, Tony?"

"They're fine. We're getting great footage. Have they traced any yet?"

"Already up to eight, and we are just getting it going smooth."

"Good, make sure the SEALS hold their places. General, we need to prolong this. Are the inmates watching?"

"All the ones you asked for are in the conference room drooling over the wide screen."

"I'm going in there."

General Moody motioned to Scott to follow Tony into the conference room.

"We want to prolong this with no lasting harm to any of the kids." Tony announced to the conference room. "We are starting to get feedback from their clients, but are intercepting it and then passing on to Clem and Brian what we want them to get. We can send them our own suggestions. What would work and they would think it's coming from their clients?"

One of the inmates looked at Tony and said,

"I know what I would want and a lot of the clients probably feel the same. Make the younger boy look like an eleven year old and when he resists, punish him some more."

Tony looked at them thinking about the suggestion, walked out of the room shaking his head and thought, that would probably work.

Tony went back into the room with the staff.

"Give me a laptop."

Tony quickly wrote a message and said to the technician, "Send this as if it was coming from one of their clients."

"Major, how long do we have to wait? Why aren't we in there stopping this? We still can't go in?" asked a frustrated SEAL

"Stand down, you will follow orders, I'll tell you when you can go in."

Clem and Brian watched the reactions on the faces of the four children.

"Brian, it looks like the older girl learned how to obey us. I'm not sure about the younger girl, but the boys still look defiant. They need a longer lesson. Do we start with the older one or the younger one?"

"I think the older one should go first."

John and Cody looked at each other frightened. Clem felt his phone vibrate and saw an e-mail come in. He read it and smiled.

"It looks like one of our clients overruled you. The younger one gets the lesson first. Maybe the older one will learn from him."

Cody stood shocked and not moving. He saw an evil grin on Clem.

"Cody when we shoot pornography with minors, some of our clients like to see the real young ones. You haven't started growing very much yet and could almost pass for a big eleven or twelve year old except for one problem. Go in the bathroom, take off all your clothes and get in the shower. You will find some shaving equipment in there."

Cody looked over at the open bathroom with no door and the large exposed shower with no curtain puzzled.

"You want me to shave in the shower?" he questioned. "I don't even shave yet."

"Not your face Cody, down lower. When you're done you will look like you did when you were eleven."

Cody realized what he meant and turned white.

Clem grinned evilly. "Turn on the cameras in the shower Brian. Our clients want to see this. You have 5 minutes Cody or I hit John again with the tasar. Cody spun around, saw his brother still suffering the effects of the last tasar, reluctantly shuffled into the bathroom, removed his clothes with his back facing the room and stepped into the shower. He saw little red lights blink on in the cameras built into the shower pointing at him as he started sobbing.

Several minutes later he stepped out of the shower backwards and reached for his clothes.

"Oh no Cody. We need to see the results live, not just through the camera. Turn around and walk out here."

Cody froze for several seconds as Clem grinned and pushed the button for John's tasar. John let out a cry when he was shocked again and fell to the floor. Cody spun around and yelled at Clem to stop and slowly walked out of the bathroom with his head down and his hands down covering his front. He stood hesitantly in front of the group as tears rolled down his cheeks as he looked at John lying on the floor still shaking from the effects of the tasar.

"Now Cody, put your hands down at your sides so we can see how good of a job you did."

Cody hesitated and slowly removed his hands as he sobbed. Ellen and Sarah looked away. Clem grinned at Cody's discomfort and noticed Ellen and Sarah not looking.

"Oh no. You need to take a good look or John gets it again."

Ellen and Sarah slowly raised their heads to stare at Cody as tears formed in their eyes. Clem and Brian smirked as they watched the reaction of all of the children at Cody's humiliation.

"Now you are starting to learn to obey me when I tell you what to do. You just aren't fast enough. That should be good for 5 more swats for Cody.

Sarah cried, "NO! Look at him crying. He's had enough. Can't we stop now?"

"I'll decide when we stop. Now it's 10. Get going or I double it again," He yelled out. "You need to learn to do whatever I say without questions."

"Can't he get dressed first?" cried Sarah.

"No. He's fine just the way he is." he replied with a sickening smirk.

General Moody looked over sharply at Tony and caught his eye. He said with a pained look, "Tony, we have to stop this!" Tony stared at the monitor. "No, we're good" he replied shaking his head.

Both Sarah and Cody wincing with every stroke, Sarah gave Cody ten more swats with the paddle

"Cody I'm so sorry," she blubbered.

Cody stared at the ground with tears streaming down his face and dropping on the floor as Sarah finished. Sarah tried to put her arm around Cody and he roughly pushed her away.

"Just stay away from me, leave me alone. I don't ever want to see you again."

Clem slapped Brian on the shoulder and laughed. "Turn off the feed and let's get something to drink. Our clients have had a good show and the kids are starting to realize what happens when they don't listen to us. This is going to be a fun two weeks."

General Moody said to the room. "We're done, the feed is off, send in the troops. How did we do?"

"It looks like we got more than 25. Teams are already heading out."

"Tony, I'm worried we allowed this to go too far with Cody. He doesn't look good to me."

"He'll be fine." Tony replied unconcerned.

"Sergeant. Go in and rescue the kids. Remember, Clem and Brian are mine. Don't hurt them. We have other plans for them."

"Yes Sir. Move in now," he said as his men glared at Major Nelson. "You heard what he said."

The SEALS stormed into the studio catching Clem and Brian by surprise. They were immediately handcuffed and taken outside. Sergeant Morris raced over to the kids. "It's over now. Does anyone need medical attention?"

Sarah said, "If anyone needs a doctor it's Cody."

"I don't need a doctor!" yelled an adamant Cody,

All the SEALS exchanged glances and were uncomfortable saying anything to the kids. All of them were furious that they were forced to wait so long to come in, but they had to follow orders. Sergeant Morris got some of the soldiers to fix some food from Clem and Brian's kitchen and sat down to console the kids.

# Chapter 76

All the analysts had been frantically going over the information from the flash drive the ACU sent to them. Director Collins was pacing back and forth desperate for more information. Victor was on the phone with the head of the analysts as his men reviewed the contents looking for more information regarding the antidote. Director Collins looked over every few seconds as he continued to shake his head. Finally he hung up the phone.

"There is nothing more about the antidote except how well it works. There is a lot of other valuable information, but not about the antidote."

They heard the president's voice come over the video link.

"So those four kids are the only ones immune on our side and the only ones that will be immune for the foreseeable future according to the information we have at this time?"

"Yes Mr. President."

"We need to let them contact their parents, but we need to keep them under our control. They might be our only hope if we find more of the nerve agent. Let them talk with the parents but don't let them get back with them until we see where this is going."

"Just to be clear Mr. President, we aren't going to let them join their parents at this time? Those are your orders?"

"Yes. I might regret this decision but it's what we have to do at this time. The kids are too valuable to the country and we are under attack. I'm not about to get into a negotiation with the parents if we need them quickly. Let them talk but don't let them join up. Keep the kids safe and available."

There was dead silence in the room as they all thought about what they were doing. Director Collins spoke next,

"General Moody, Major Nelson, do we understand where we are here? I know you don't like it."

"We understand Director. Sometimes we have to do things in ways we don't want to. Major Nelson, you are there with the kids. Any questions?"

"No sir. I know what I need to do."

Major Nelson walked back into the room the kids were eating in. They all looked up when they heard him come in and watched him intently as he came over to where they were and sat down.

"We need to talk. First of all, your parents are safe." The kids all smiled and relaxed. "The nerve agent didn't get anywhere near them in Newport Beach. However I am sure they are worried sick about the four of you. The last contact they had was before you called in about the crop dusters and the news has been reporting the area your ranch is in got sprayed. We are going to try to get you back to Newport Beach to join your parents, but it might take awhile. All non rescue related travel within southern California is restricted."

John spoke up, "So some areas were sprayed by the crop dusters? Did anyone get hurt?"

"We are still sorting it out, but there are ten's of thousands dead in the Pasadena area."

The kids sat shocked with wide eyes not believing what they were hearing. Major Nelson continued,

"If the four of you hadn't called in the attack, there would have been millions dead. We are extremely grateful that you were where you where and had the courage to do what you did."

The kids sat stunned not knowing what to say.

"I am setting up a phone call to your parents. We have taken over the cell networks because they were so clogged up with everyone trying to get on at the same time they were useless. I am stealing some time so you can talk to your parents. You need to keep it to a couple minutes."

He let that sink in and then said,

"Can I offer a suggestion about what you should say?"

All the kids sat silently and nodded their heads.

"Your parents have the right to know everything that's happened to you. However you only have a couple minutes available at this time. I think they need to hear about your incredible ordeal face to face when they have time to ask all the questions they want to. For now they need to know that you are safe. My suggestion is that you tell them you got reports about nerve gas, saw which way the wind was blowing and headed out in the dunebuggy to safety. You couldn't contact them because your cell phones won't work in the middle of the desert, but you eventually hooked up with some military and they are taking care of you and letting you use their phone for a short call. That way they will quit worrying until you get back together with them."

The kids all stared at him and nodded their heads.

"Of course this is only a suggestion. You can say what you want, but you only have a couple minutes. Use them wisely."

All the kids turned to each other. John spoke first.

"He's right. If we start getting into everything that happened and get cut off our parents will go ballistic. I'm not willing to do that to them. We basically need to reassure them we are safe if that's all we have time for."

Ellen looked at Sarah,

"You know he's right. We have to keep it short and sweet."

Sarah nodded, "Let's do it" and looked at Cody.

A subdued Cody sitting off by himself just nodded.

Major Nelson punched a button on the speaker phone and the kids heard the phone ringing.

They heard a voice answer and John recognized his mother's voice

"Mom, it's John! He said excitedly.

"John!" she screamed, as she punched the speaker button and yelled for all the parents who ran to the phone. "Are you okay?"

"Mom, we're fine. We got reports about the spraying and headed east into the desert against the wind in the dune buggy. Our phones didn't work out there because we had to keep heading east through the desert to stay safe. Are you guys okay"

"We're fine John. The spraying didn't get anywhere near us. Is everyone there?"

"We're all here! Hi mom, hi dad, all the kids yelled out except Cody who sat and mouthed the words."

John's mom started crying in relief not noticing she didn't hear Cody's voice. His dad spoke into the speaker phone.

"John, where are you now. Whose phone are you using?"

"I'm not sure where we are. We drove a long ways. We are with some military people and we are using a special phone, but we only have a minute. A Major Nelson wants to talk to you."

"Mr. Brown, this is Major Nelson. We are part of the rescue effort and have all four of your children. I promise we will take care of them until we can get you reunited, but we need to get off this line. I'm stealing time from the rescue effort to make this call. I'm not sure when the kids can call you back, we have a lot on our plate right now, but I promise you personally I will make sure your children are taken care of until they are reunited with you."

"Thank you Major Nelson. I can't tell you how grateful we are you let them make this call."

"I'll do everything I can for them. I have to hang up now" he replied as he disconnected the phone.

All the kids sat and looked down at the floor. He said,

"I will get transportation for you when I can, but I'm not making any promises when that will be."

John looked up, "We understand, thank you."

Major Nelson nodded and left the room. The kids looked at each other and then over to Cody who was sitting by himself. He refused to look at them and turned and walked away. Sarah started to get up and follow him until John touched her arm and when she turned to him he shook his head.

"He needs to be alone right now Sarah. Give him some time."

Sarah started crying and blurted out, "He hates me."

John sat beside her, put his arm around her and said in a soothing voice,

"He doesn't hate you. He's just very frustrated right now. He lashed out at you because he was humiliated by what he had to do. He has a real problem when people force him to do things against his will. He's really mad at Clem, not you. He's only fourteen. Give him some time."

"John, I didn't want to hit him like that and look at him standing there embarrassed." she cried.

"I know Sarah" he said squeezing her shoulder. "You didn't have a choice. You did what you had to. He knows that. He just needs to settle down. Give him time. His real problem is that he's embarrassed because he yelled at you and what he said to you."

"What do you mean what he said to me?"

"He told you to stay away and he didn't want to see you. I will guarantee you he didn't mean that. He likes you."

"He likes me?' she blurted out astonished.

"Oh yeah, I'm his brother, I can tell."

"After what I had to do to him, what would anyone expect? I don't blame him for saying that. It doesn't mean anything." Sarah was adamant.

"It's not the way Cody and I were raised Sarah. Our parents are extremely liberal about a lot of things. They prefer us to make mistakes while we are young and then they force us to accept the consequences so we learn to be responsible. However there are a few things that there is no compromise on. Respecting other people, especially females, is an absolute. My parents would kill him for talking to you that way. He is extremely embarrassed and feels like he failed because of what he said to you. The fact that he likes you and wants you to think of him as being in control and being macho just makes it that much worse."

"I thought he was really embarrassed because of what he had to do and that he had to stand there while everyone looked at him."

"Sarah, Cody has a ridiculous amount of self confidence and self esteem. Sometimes too much. He didn't like what he had to do, but it didn't bother him nearly as much as you think. The problem was that he was forced to do it. With those wrist bands on and Clem threatening Ellen and me, he didn't have a choice, and he hates being forced to do things. Then when he lost control with you, it made it much worse. He feels bad about himself and what he said. He has to get over it. It will take some time."

"I'm afraid I hurt him John. I hit him so many times. Look at how he was crying."

"Cody's a stud Sarah. Last year he broke his wrist playing soccer and finished the game before he told my parents. He didn't slow down a bit. He was charging and pushing as hard as ever. We noticed him favoring that arm but we didn't think that much of it. After the game they found it was broken in three places. The doctor didn't believe us when we told him he finished the game. The doctor said the wrist had to be agonizing just being broken without moving it and he finished a rough game of soccer. I know he got more swats than anyone else and I know how much they hurt from what I got. But that's not his problem. His problem is that he was forced to do it. He saw me lying on the ground after being hit three times with the Tasar and he realized he didn't have a choice. That's what he's having trouble dealing with. He knows his problems not with you, it's with Clem, but he's just fourteen. Let him settle down. Give him some time."

Sarah sat down crying as she stared at Cody's back as he walked out of the room.

Sergeant Morris from the ACU held his hand to his right ear to cut down any background noise to his earpiece, listened thoughtfully for a few seconds and nodded his head and watched Cody. Cody wandered into an adjacent office and was followed by Sergeant Morris. He looked around to see if anyone was looking and leaned over to Cody. "There is something you need to hear. Don't tell anyone I told you this or I will be court marshaled." He unlocked the computer with his password. "Push the rewind and listen to the last 15 minutes. This computer has e-mail access if you need it." He then quickly left the room with Cody staring at him with a puzzled look.

Cody opened up the computer, rewound the feed and listened for several minutes fuming in anger. He thought for a minute, copied the file, sent an e-mail to himself and his friend Jacob and then burned a disk. He grabbed the disk and stormed into the office where Major Nelson was meeting with the SEALS.

Major Nelson looked up at Cody and said, "We're having a meeting Cody. Is there something I can help you with?"

Cody threw the disk on the table and yelled, "Yeah. You can explain this!"

"What's on it Cody?" questioned Major Nelson from the ACU?

"The last 15 minutes of conversation between you, the SEALS, and some Tony, not letting them come in while I was being abused."

"Where did you get this Cody?" he asked concerned.

"Does it matter? Why did you let him do that to me?" yelled Cody as he walked over and got in Major Nelson's face.

A SEAL rushed in. "Major we just had an E-mail go out of our server. It came from that office next door," he said pointing to where Cody came from.

Captain Nelson said to Cody, "Did you send this out by e-mail Cody?"

"Damn right I did. What are you trying to pull off?" Cody yelled frustrated.

Major Nelson got up and left the room, turning to Captain Howell from the SEALS. "Make sure he stays here. I'll be right back."

Cody tried to follow but was restrained by the soldiers. He yelled at Major Nelson's retreating back. "This isn't over. You can't run out on me!"

Major Nelson called ACU headquarters. His voice was tense. "We have a problem. Cody found an unlocked computer and downloaded the last 15 minutes of our conversation between, you, me and the SEALS. Then he e-mailed it to himself and someone else."

"How did he get into a locked computer?"

"I don't know, General, but somehow he did. What do you want me to do with Cody?

General Moody looked over at Tony. Tony met his gaze, and said, "Bring him in," and then turned and walked out of the room.

General Moody reluctantly said to Major Nelson, "Bring him in."

Tony stuck his head back into the room and said to General Moody, "Full treatment. Shock and Awe all the way. I need to see him when he comes in and I want him settled down." And then he left.

General Moody thought for a minute about how Tony looked at him and replied to Major Nelson.

"Major Nelson. Bring him in Shock and Awe, no limits. My authority."

"Yes sir, General."

Then General Moody looked to his aide and said, "Get all the transmissions out of here from the time we went in until now. All of them, on the grid or off. I want to know what Tony did."

General Moody walked into the room where Tony was and accused him,

"You set this up, didn't you? I thought you said Cody was OK?"

"What I said is he will be fine. Not that he is fine. I need to spend some time with him."

"You know we are supposed to get approval from the full committee before bringing anyone here. No one person is supposed to make that decision."

"Would the committee have approved bringing in a fourteen year old?" questioned Tony.

"Of course not."

"Exactly, now you have no choice."

Major Nelson left the office and found Sergeant Morris, the same soldier that told Cody to look on the computer. "Sergeant, Cody hates me. Somehow he found out we delayed coming in. Does he have a problem with you for any reason?"

"No sir. What would you like me to do?"

"They are taking him to New Mexico. I'll set up the transportation. You be his friend. Try to get him settled down and into a better mood. Shock and Awe all the way. Unlimited. Go blow something up. General's orders. I'll clear it with Captain Howell."

"Yes Sir," said the sergeant.

Major Nelson walked up to Captain Howell. "We are taking Cody with us. Sergeant Morris will be taking care of Cody. He needs full access to all of your transportation and weapons."

The Captain looked at Major Nelson. "Everything is secure. Why does he need weapons?"

"To blow stuff up, Captain. Full access. Understood?"

"Yes Sir."

I really don't understand this military, Captain Howell thought as Major Nelson walked away.

Sergeant Morris found Cody still fuming in the office, caught his eye and motioned him into the hallway. "Will you take a little walk with me? We need to talk."

"Sure. At least you treat me right. Did you get in trouble for talking to me?"

"Oh that. Not at all. Someone way above his pay grade has my back. They have agreed to give you a full account on why we waited to come in. But for you to understand it, we have to take you someplace to show you some things. While we are waiting for transportation you need to settle down. I know you're still upset. Do you know what I like to do to calm down when I'm upset?"

"No. What?"

"Blow things up. Do you like to blow things up?" asked the sergeant.

"I'm a fourteen year old boy. What do you think?"

"Good. Let's go blow some stuff up while we wait for transportation. Then you can have your answers."

Sergeant Morris and Cody walked out to an Armored Personal Carrier (APC).

"These are fun Cody. Let's go play. Do you want to drive?"

"Me drive this. Are you kidding?"

"Not at all. It's easy to drive."

A soldier came running up. "Hey! You can't take that."

Captain Howell ran over and said, "Stand down. They have my permission."

"Captain. He's taking a kid in my APC and letting him drive!"

"Stand down, soldier. You have your orders." I just wish someone would explain them sometime, he thought.

Sergeant Morris looked at Cody. "Let's go, and just call me Josh. "

"Cody looked at Josh. "Cool Josh. Let's roll."

"OK Cody. Sit there. Start it with this button. Let's see how good of a driver you are."

Cody got the APC started, jerked away from the building, clipped Major Nelson's Hummer and ran over the lawn, scattering soldiers.

"That was good, Cody, except for hitting Major Nelson's Hummer, destroying the lawn and almost running over several SEALS. Head to that hill before you take out anything important."

"Do you think Major Nelson will be pissed about me hitting his Hummer?"

"Do you care, Cody?"

"Not really."

"Neither do I. Let's blow some stuff up. This little valley looks good. There's nothing down there that anyone wants. Did you ever shoot a machine gun?"

"I've shot an automatic AK-47. That was fun."

"I'm surprised. I thought they were illegal in California."

"It's kind of complicated. What do you have here to shoot?" said Cody.

"Take your pick. How about a 50 caliber machine gun? It will cut a car in two. Try it on that big rock over there."

Cody got set up behind the 50 caliber machine gun on top of the APC. Josh showed him how to aim and operate it and took off the safety. Cody cut the rock in half with the machine gun.

"That's awesome. What else do you have?"

"How about a RPG?"

"What's a RPG?"

The sergeant grinned. "It stands for Rocket Propelled Grenade. They are used to take out cars, APCs and helicopters. Have you ever shot one?"

"Yeah, we keep some in the garage for Fourth of July parties. Of course I never shot one. Can I?"

"That's why we're here. You do have to follow instructions though, Cody. A bad day with a RPG is a really bad day, and I can tell you're a bit of a smartass, so pay attention."

"Hey, I know I'm a smartass, but when I need to I can listen real good and I know the difference. I'm young, not stupid."

"Don't be stupid now. This is not like having a bad hair day. The rocket on the back can kill someone when it lights off, and this is designed to take out vehicles and buildings, so it's real important where you aim the front and the back. I'm going to load it and set it on your shoulder. Nothing is going to happen until I take off the safety. Then you will do exactly as I say, and I mean exactly."

Cody looked intent. "OK. I know this is serious. Go ahead."

"Cody, you are going to aim at that big rock with the sight here. Now you check where the rocket will discharge out the back to make sure it's clear. I'm going to stabilize this and take off the safety. Now you can pull the trigger when you're ready."

Cody fired the RPG destroying the rock and digging a big hole in the sand.

He exclaimed, "That was unbelievable! What else do you have?"

"So you do like blowing things up?"

"Oh yeah. You just have better stuff than I can get."

The sergeant grinned. "That's a Blackhawk coming in to pick us up. They should have even better stuff on it."

Seconds later Cody and Josh watched a fully armed Blackhawk helicopter come over the hill and land in front of them.

"That looks like something from Star Wars. What's that stuff hanging under it?"

"That's what we're going to use to blow stuff up. Jump in."

The pilot and copilot got out and shook Cody's hand. "You must be Cody," said the pilot. "I'm Jake." The pilot looked at Sergeant Morris and he mouthed the words shock and awe.

"Cody would you like to sit in the co-pilot's seat?" said the pilot.

Cody jumped into the co-pilot's seat while the co-pilot got him a helmet and strapped Cody in. Josh jumped in the back.

"Hey, those straps are a little tight."

The copilot looked at Cody.

"You have no idea. The straps need to be tight. Do you have a strong stomach?"

"Yeah, I think so. I have ridden some awesome roller coasters."

The copilot looked Cody in the eye, tightened the straps more and handed Cody a bag.

"Roller coasters? This is for when your stomach can't make it. Don't get sick on my seat."

The pilot looked over at Cody, smiled and said. "Are you ready for this?"

Cody tightened his lips. "Oh yeah. Let's do it."

The Blackhawk took off, climbed to fifteen hundred feet and headed toward an old firing range with an airstrip. The pilot talked to Cody through the headset. "It's a little loud in here. Can you hear me?"

"I'm good. This is awesome."

"Are you ready to fly?"

"I thought helicopters were really hard to fly."

"They are, but this one has a new autopilot that we are testing. It's called the X45. It was developed to help a pilot if his copilot was out of commission and he had to fly and operate the weapons systems by himself. This extra stick with the knob on top will make the helicopter go forward and back, and right and left. If you push the handle down you go down, it you pull the handle up you go higher. You twist the knob to spin the helicopter left and right. Everything else is run by the autopilot and is automatic. It works kind of like a very expensive and sophisticated video game except it's real and you only get one life. Want to try it?"

Cody took the stick and got the feel of how much to push quickly.

The pilot said, "Now we are going to try landing and taking off, but from high in the air. See that altimeter? It will tell you how high you are. You are going to descend to 1200 feet and approach that altitude slowly as if you are landing on the ground. If you watch the GPS coordinates you will see if you are moving forward or backward or side to side. After you stop at 1200 feet, pull the handle back to climb to simulate a takeoff. When you are ready, go ahead."

Cody really concentrated and did a decent job.

"That was good, Cody. After a hundred hours I would even trust you to do it on the ground without me hovering over the controls."

"I understand. But under perfect conditions, I could actually take off and land like I did in the air?"

"Sure. If nothing went wrong. Just remember Cody, something always goes wrong. Do you know what the definition of flying is?"

"No, what is it?"

"A hundred hours of sheer boredom followed by 5 minutes of utter terror. That's why you need the hundred hours. To survive the 5 minutes when everything goes wrong. Give me back the stick and I'll show you why your straps need to be so tight."

"Am I going to like this?"

"If you keep your stomach. This is called a loop. There aren't many helicopters that can do this. Now don't mess up my cockpit."

Jake accelerated to top speed, pulled back on the stick and held it until the helicopter climbed high and then looped over upside down. He held the stick back as the Blackhawk completed the loop and came back level. Cody's face went white.

"How was that?"

Cody gulped. "Incredible! Can we do it again?"

"No time. We have to get to your next transportation and still need to blow some stuff up. Turn on the optics in your helmet with that switch. What do you see?"

"Little squares and rectangles."

"You line up the little square on the target and push this button to fire. You can fire with your eyes, but that takes some practice, so just use the button. See that concrete shack over on that hill?"

"Yeah, I got it," the boy said.

"Line up the square on it and push the button and see what happens."

The mini gun fired, shaking the helicopter.

"What was that?" Cody yelled

"The minigun. It can shoot 100 rounds a second of depleted uranium bullets. You don't shoot for very long at a time. You destroy your target very quickly and start wasting ammunition. But it does a really good job. But nothing like an air to ground missile. Would you like to try a hellfire missile? They are a little more destructive than the minigun."

"You're going to let me shoot a missile?" Cody asked in disbelief. "Aren't they really expensive?"

"So expensive that we don't get to shoot them for practice, but I have my orders."

"Let's see if you can fly and shoot at the same time. I'm keeping the safety on for now. You have to play close attention. Having something go wrong with a hellfire can ruin your whole day. Are you ready?"

"Just tell me what to do."

"OK, Cody. Fly south to the end of that valley and climb to about 2,000 feet."

"Is that good?"

"Excellent job, Cody. Now put the red triangle on your optical viewfinder on that big boulder over there. I can follow what you do on my helmet."

"Good job, Cody. You are lined up. Now see that switch with the red cover?"

"Yeah, I see it."

"Lift the cover and flip the switch. That will arm the missile. Keep your finger off the red button on the control stick. That will shoot the missile."

Cody armed the missile and looked back up and fine tuned the red triangle on the boulder.

"Good job, Cody. Now when you are ready, push the red button and the missile will fire."

Cody pushed the button and saw a streak of smoke and the missile fly into the boulder and obliterate it.

"That was incredible!" exclaimed an excited Cody.

"Cody, I just got a call. Your jet is getting ready to land and we need to get over to the airstrip. I'll fly. We need to get there fast. I'll show you the terrain following radar on the way."

The Blackhawk descended to 50 feet altitude at about 200 miles per hour and started banking back and forth through a valley.

"Cody screamed into the intercom, "What are you doing! You're going to kill us!"

"Relax, Cody. The radar and autopilot will keep us from crashing. It is exciting though, don't you think?"

"Cody turned white again. "More like terrifying."

"Do you want to try?"

"No!"

He thought for a minute and said softly, "Can I?"

"There is nothing to be scared about Cody. With the terrain following radar with GPS and the autopilot, you won't crash. If you do anything wrong, I'll take over. It's just really exciting. Are you ready to try?"

"I'm ready."

"The controls are yours," the pilot said. "Fly down this valley, cross over the peak and then head south. The auto pilot will keep you safe. When you feel resistance on the controls the autopilot is correcting what you do to stay safe. If you don't feel any resistance you are flying yourself. But don't worry, the autopilot will take over as needed. You won't crash."

Cody flew up the valley, crossed over to another valley and flew down the valley at top speed, banking as the valley turned and keeping as low as possible as the ground rose and fell. The pilot kept his hand on the override to make sure nothing went wrong. He said to Cody,

"Cody, have you ever flown in a simulator?"

"No. What's a simulator? This is my first time in a helicopter."

"Just wondering. Head over that way. That's where your jet will come in."

Cody flew over the next valley and spotted a jet fighter on the end of the runway. As he got close, the pilot pointed to an area beside the fighter and Cody carefully landed as the pilot's hand hovered over the controls.

"How did I do?" asked Cody.

The pilot thought for a minute and said,

"Actually Cody, you were incredible. You were flying 200 MPH at 50 feet inside a valley with an uneven floor and your correction ratio compared to the autopilot was 95%. Our best experienced pilots shoot for 80% in a situation like that. Your reaction time and hand eye coordination is off the chart."

"Video games," said Cody. "This is just like some of the games I own. Except when I crash on them nothing happens. This is a little more serious. What is that?"

"An F-15 Strike Eagle. It has two seats and is so powerful It can stand on its tail straight up and accelerate. It will go almost three times the speed of sound and climb to 20,000 feet in less than a minute. Not your typical commuter plane, and it's your ride."

"I'm flying in that!" Coy gasped in awe.

"That's why it was sent here, to take you to headquarters."

"Where am I going, Jake?"

"To a place in New Mexico that doesn't exist."

"It doesn't exist?"

"Not officially and not on paper."

Cody and Josh walked over to the F-15 and were met by a female crew chief. She handed Cody a small flight suit and G-suit and said,

"These are mine. They should fit you. You need to wear them instead of your clothes. The G-suit goes on first under the flight suit."

Cody looked at the G-suit with all the straps and fasteners and realized he had no idea how to start.

"I'm sorry but there is no place private to change. We're in the middle of the desert. If you are shy I will turn around and the pilot can come out and help you, but you will probably need help to get the G-suit on."

"It's okay. After the last couple days this is nothing," he said as he stripped off his outer clothes.

She helped him get into the G-suit, strapped it tight and then helped him into the flight suit.

Cody and Josh walked out to the F-15 and Cody hesitated.

"What's wrong Cody? Is there a problem?"

Cody turned and looked up warily. "If I get in that plane and leave, are they going to let me come back?"

Josh nodded. "After what you have been through I can understand your concerns. Let's try something to make you feel more confident."

He pulled out his phone and called Major Nelson.

"Major, Cody is concerned if he gets on the jet we won't let him come back. I think he would feel better if he could get in contact with his brother whenever he wants to. Do you have an extra radio he can use until he's back with John?"

"Good idea, I always keep a spare. I'll give it to John for as long as he needs it. Have Cody call my second number in a minute. I'll give my radio to John."

"Cody, here is a spare radio. I'm going to program a number into it with John's name on it. You keep this radio and John will have one also. You can call him anytime you want and he can call you."

"Will it work anyplace or is it like my cell phone?"

"You just saw me talk on one just like it. It works off satellite. It will work anyplace."

Cody picked up the radio and hit send by John's name. John answered several seconds later.

"Hi bro."

"Cody, where are you?"

Cody hesitated for a minute,

"I need to go talk to someone John."

"Cody, I know what happened affected you a lot. Who are you going to talk to?"

"His name's Tony. They are telling me he has some answers for me."

"Do you know where you're going Cody? Do you trust them?"

"I'm not sure, but I want answers."

John was silent for a minute and said,

"They told me I could call you anytime on this radio or you can call me. Do you believe them?"

"I think so, but let's do this. If you try to call me and don't get through, raise hell with whoever you can until I can talk to you. Do you remember our code if someone is listening and we don't want them to know what we are really saying?"

"I remember. I'm going to call you at random times."

"Do it. And I will call you too."

"I hope you aren't getting in over your head Cody."

"Me too."

Cody hung up looked at Josh, then at the helicopter and then at the F-15".

"You can do whatever you like Cody. If you want to get back in the helicopter, you can fly back to where your brother is. If you want answers, they are out there." Josh said pointing into space above the jet."

"If I get in the jet, can I go back whenever I want?"

"Whenever you want. Cody, do you know what it means to be ignorant?"

"Yeah, it's like being stupid."

"Actually it's not. Being stupid is when you have knowledge and still make bad choices. Like taking drugs or driving after you have been drinking. Being ignorant means you have not yet acquired knowledge about a subject so you are not able to make good decisions. That's the way to truth and knowledge Cody" Josh said pointing over at the jet.

Cody looked at Josh still distrustful and walked over the helicopter and climbed back into the co-pilots seat.

"Can we fly to where my brother is now?"

"Of course. You can fly if you want. The auto-pilot and terrain following radar is on. See that electronic map on the display?"

"Yeah."

"This is where we are. This is where I picked you up and this is where your brother is." He said pointing to several places on the display.

Cody nodded and said, "Can I leave now?"

"Absolutely. Just pull up on the control and take off."

Cody sat for a minute thinking and then pulled up and took off following the map. He looked over at the pilot several times as he flew toward the Pornographers Compound.

"So I can go wherever I want, right?"

"That's what I said Cody. It's your choice."

Cody looked over one last time and slammed over the control bringing the Black Hawk into a tight turn back toward the waiting F-15. As he approached he saw Josh patiently waiting for him. He landed in the same spot he had taken off from minutes before and walked over to Josh.

"If I go there will I get answers?"

Josh nodded.

"Tony is the one that let my abuse continue for so long. Will he be there?"

"That's where Tony lives. He is the one that had me take you in the APC and helicopter to blow things up. He'll be waiting for you."

"Good, because I have some issues with him we need to discuss." Cody said through gritted teeth.

Josh smiled and thought I would really like to be there when he meets Tony.

"Cody, let me tell you something you won't believe at this time. In a few hours you will be begging for Tony's forgiveness for the way you feel and what you said. Then you will do everything you can to be Tony's friend and help him in any way possible."

"You're right. I don't believe you." Cody retorted.

"That's because you haven't met Tony. I have. Everything changes after you meet Tony."

Cody just stared at Josh, shaking his head and not believing a word he said.

"Tony sees things others don't see and understands things others can't."

"And he'll tell me the truth?"

"Tony always tells the truth and in the end Tony is always proven right."

"That I would like to see. Nobody is always right."

"Tony is," Josh said. "You will learn many things you never expected when you meet Tony."

# Chapter 77

Several teams had been analyzing and comparing the information sent to them from the flash drive Cody hid under the bee hive. Deputy Director Collins called every few minutes until finally they quit answering her phone calls. The president and his cabinet were standing by on a video feed. Alex Burns eventually called back to Homeland Security.

"We have everything we are going to get off the flashdrive."

"Did you get what we need?"

"We have quite a bit. Some good and some bad."

"First, did they plan more attacks."

"Yes, but not today and not by plane. They have more agent stored in several cities."

"Which cities?"

"We don't know. They didn't identify them. We think several on the East Coast and possibly San Francisco."

"Do we know the locations they stored the agent?"

"No. We aren't even sure of the cities."

"Do we know what they were planning?"

"They have the agent stored in those stainless steel pressurized containers they use for dispensing the syrup used for making soft drinks. The kind you see under the self service drink dispensers in fast food restaurants. They were planning on taking them to a place like a baseball stadium or basketball arena, setting them near the major exits, unscrewing the valves on top and letting them blow out the liquid agent all over the floor and ceiling. The agent would evaporate and form a cloud and drift into the stadium or arena. Then when some people started dying and others ran for the exits in a panic, they would run right into the area the agent is the strongest and start dying and their bodies would clog up the exists. It is likely everyone at the stadium or arena would die."

There was stunned silence at Homeland Security Headquarters. Finally Deputy Director Collins asked,

"Do we know how many cities or locations?"

"No. At least ten based on the information on the flash drive."

"Is there any good news?"

"It appears that once you take the antidote and are exposed, you are totally immune to the effects of the nerve agent forever."

"Do we know what the antidote is?"

"We know some of the ingredients, but have no idea how to make it. That information wasn't on the computer."

"Can't you figure it out from the ingredients?"

"That's like saying you know a car is made from steel, rubber, plastic and glass. If you put those materials in a hole and stirred a car would pop out. It doesn't work that way. It appears the procedure to make the antidote is quite an involved procedure over a period of a couple weeks."

"And we don't have any antidote. All the antidote that Cody took from the terrorists burned up in the helicopter that was shot down."

"Except for what the kids injected."

"And the kids are immune?"

"It appears they are totally immune forever."

"Is there any good news?"

"We identified a storage place in Costa Mesa, California. It's in an industrial building near Newport Beach. It sounds like there are some paper records there that were never put on the computer. They could be important. The computer didn't say what they were."

"We need to get there ASAP. They could have sent someone to destroy the records when they found out we had the computer."

"We have already sent a crew to the building and we finally ran into some luck. There was a large natural gas leak in the area from before Cody stole the laptop until now. They evacuated the area and had police in front and behind the building the entire time. No one has been in or out. Our crew is just about to go in."

"We need that information. Victor, keep on that crew. Everything goes through this office."

"Are we going to need the kids there?"

"Possibly. We are sending them to Newport Beach in a private jet."

# Chapter 78

John, Ellen and Sarah had been growing increasingly impatient as they waited at the compound. Finally Major Nelson came into the room. "We need to talk."

"It's about time!" exclaimed John. "We've been waiting forever."

"I know you have. Things have been kind of busy for us here. We are working with Homeland Security. There will be a jet landing soon that is going to take you back to Newport Beach to be with your parents."

The kids all jumped up.

Sarah shouted out, "We get to go back to our parents now?

"What about Cody?" asked John. "Is he coming with us?"

Major Nelson hesitated and then said,

"Why don't you call and ask him?" as he pointed to the radio John was holding.

John immediately called Cody.

"Cody, we are heading back to Newport Beach. Are you coming with us?" he yelled excited into the radio.

After a minute Cody replied,

"Not just now John. I need to take care of something first. Don't worry. I'm fine. I'll meet you in Newport Beach."

"Are you sure you know what you're doing Cody?"

"Yeah John, I'm sure."

"Do you know where you're going Cody?"

"Yeah. To get some answers."

The saga continues in "Aztlan the Abduction". Cody is astounded when he finds out who Tony is and he gets his answers before rejoining John, Sarah and Ellen. The action intensifies as the wild adventure continues and expands into incredible new areas as they continue to be thrust into dealing with the Terrorists. They join forces with Tony and an unexpected hero emerges. If you liked the excitement and twists and turns in this book, you won't believe what happens next as the action intensifies and the relationships build between Cody and Sarah and incredibly John and Ellen.

For more information go to Aztlanbooks.com. Available now.

