"You did it again," O'Reilly said.
"Did what?"
"Said True America," Hesterman added.
"Sorry. Let's just pretend I never said that."
Sharpe's mobile phone rang, causing his hand to shoot down to his belt. He looked up and saw Jason Volk give him a thumbs-up. He pressed a button on the phone's screen and was connected with Laurel's chief of police. Less than a minute later, he disconnected the call.
"They found digging equipment in a forest area a few miles south of Fort Meade. City engineers confirmed that one of the water supply mains from the Laurel pump station heads through that area and connects with a pump station in Fort Meade. Three men armed with automatic rifles were killed by police officers at the dig site. One of the police officers was killed in the shootout. They called HAZMAT because of a canister they found on the scene," he told them.
"Canister?" O'Reilly said.
"The description matches canisters recovered from the Mount Arlington pump station. We have an even bigger problem on our hands," Sharpe said.
"There's no way we can protect thousands of miles of water supply pipes," Hesterman said.
"Hundreds of thousands, Agent Hesterman. There could be over 5,000 miles of water main located in Anne Arundel County alone. There's absolutely no way to protect it all. The only option is to stop drinking water from public supplies," Sharpe said.
"Or we put an end to the domestic terrorist network in question," O'Reilly said.
"I need to speak with the director. They need to take down that compound in West Virginia immediately. Start running profiles on the three men killed at the site and prioritize testing of the canister's contents. Push everything to the White House situation room, including your assessment of the link between suspects killed or captured in the market raid. I'll be back to brief the entire floor in five minutes," Sharpe said.
He walked back to his office, locking eyes with Callie Stewart, who was standing next to Admiral DeSantos on the catwalk with her arms folded on the railing. Things were definitely about to heat up around here.
Chapter 33
The president slammed his fists down on the conference room table in a rare expression of anger. This was a good sign as far as Frederick Shelby was concerned. The administration might finally take the gloves off and kick some True America ass. Domestic terror network he had to remind himself. Whatever. As soon as the connection was solidified, he planned to issue arrest warrants for every single member of True America he could identify.
He just needed to keep his enthusiasm in check during this meeting. He couldn't read the president on this one. He knew that politics dominated his decision to deemphasize the connection to True America, but he wasn't sure if this was just a temporary political move while the "fires were hot." He didn't dare ask the president or any of his closest allies. If they caught wind of what he planned, they might shut him down before he could start rounding up this band of traitors. Shelby was no stranger to the political arena, but he wasn't about to let politics endanger America. Too much of that had taken place during his tenure as FBI director.
"I want this compound taken down immediately. General Gordon, how soon can your forces hit them?" the president asked.
"Maybe we should slow down and wait for Justice to—" started Kathleen Walker, his senior legal counsel, but the president interrupted.
"No. No more waiting around for the next attack. I'm done reacting here. We take the offensive and shut this group down permanently. I don't need a warrant to attack enemies of the United States. General?"
"Mr. President, surveillance teams have been in position around the compound since midmorning, and all of the compound's remote security sensors have been disabled. We've made a few last minute adjustments to the plan based on their intelligence, but I feel comfortable launching a raid tonight. I still need to infiltrate two Delta troops. I can drop them at 9:30 PM, when it is sufficiently dark enough to cover their descent. They'd be in position within a few hours. Barring any unforeseen difficulties, I can support a midnight time-on-target. All other assets are on immediate standby."
"Can we go without the Delta troops?"
"Negative, Mr. President. Surveillance puts enemy compound strength at over one hundred personnel and—"
"Good God. That's a huge number, General," the president interrupted.
"And to make matters worse, Director Shelby has informed me that True America is known to possess heavy-caliber machine guns and possibly a functional 60mm mortar. We can't discount the possibility of Soviet-era surface-to-air missile capability either. Delta operators will set up light machine gun positions on all sides of the compound to suppress any of these weapons. They will also provide direct action teams that will be the first to breach the wire and provide direct fire against the barracks buildings. SEALs arriving by helicopter for the main takedown won't have an easy time, but at least they won't come under direct fire from .50-caliber machine guns. We have a few other surprises planned for the compound."
Shelby found it curious that nobody stepped in to correct General Gordon's use of the term "True America."
"Can we use armed drones during the attack?" asked Robert Copley, CIA director.
"We had a discussion about this earlier, Robert, and decided against deploying the drones in U.S. airspace. Even for surveillance. We feel that this is a slippery slope," the national security advisor answered.
Copley did his best to conceal a look that expressed Shelby's first thought. They had no problem using Tier One Special Forces operators on U.S. soil, but a Predator armed drone was somehow out of the question. Politics.
"I want to minimize collateral damage to the compound infrastructure. We need to preserve as much evidence as possible for the FBI. How close can we bring the FBI mobile task force to the compound before the raid? I want them on-scene immediately. The attempt at Fort Meade couldn't be an isolated event."
"Undercover Delta operators infiltrated the surrounding towns and suspect an active network of informants. I don't recommend any ground vehicle activity in the area prior to the attack. I'd keep them on Interstate 79 and time their arrival at the Route 15 exit for midnight. A convoy of government vehicles traveling through some of the towns along Route 15 might raise the alarm. It'll take them about an hour, maybe less, to arrive at the compound from that location. I have a two-vehicle Delta team that can escort them. They might need the help, since the road from Route 15 to the compound looks dicey," General Gordon said.
"Can we put them in support helicopters and land them directly at the compound?" Shelby asked.
"Sure, if you can get them over to Dover Air Force Base by 2200 hours," the general replied.
"I can have them at Dover by 1900," Shelby said.
"Then I can arrange to have them dropped at the site once my people have declared it clear of hazards."
"Excellent. I'll be in my office down here for a few hours. Frederick, will you join me?" the president asked.
Shit. Maybe he had looked too eager when the president slammed his fists onto the table. Shelby really hoped he wasn't that easy to read. He followed the president and Jacob Remy into the president's private office. Once seated, the office windows obscured at the press of a button. He was finally on the inside after all of his years of service. He just hoped he hadn't been brought in here for an ass chewing. The president didn't waste any time getting down to business.