“So you’re telling me that you’re one hundred percent convinced that David Houston is behind this?” said Grant.
“According to a quick financial audit of Houston’s records, it would appear that Houston’s nephew, Owen Houston, has been funneling funds through several secret accounts into Asclepius Pharmaceuticals for a number of years now. David Houston may be unaware of his nephew’s duplicity.”
“Anne, what can you tell me about this base?” asked Kempt.
A picture of the base came up on the screen. “Sir, it is built into the side of a mountain and was designed to be able to withstand bombardment by anything up to a nuclear bomb. It was recently upgraded by a German construction company that has been in the press several times over the years for building bomb-proof bunkers for a couple of unsavory despots around the globe.”
“Get the schematics on this base,” ordered Kempt. “I don’t care how you do it, but make sure that you have them before the next meeting.”
“Yes, sir,” replied Hook, nodding.
President Kempt asked, “General Patterson, what assets do we have in and around Albania that we could call on, if need be?”
“Sir, we have the Thirty-First Fighter Wing in Aviano,” responded Patterson. “However, with Christmas on the horizon, there are a substantial number of base personnel away right now. A Carrier Strike Group led by the U.S.S. Eisenhower is off the coast of Italy on exercise and could easily be pulled away without raising too much suspicion.”
“Do it,” replied the president forcefully.
Turning his gaze on the CIA Director, Kempt said, “Anne, what about your people? What do you have in the region?”
“Sir, the CIA has an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle detachment working from an Albanian base in the east of the country and another in Bulgaria,” replied Hook.
“Are the UAVs armed?” asked Kempt.
“No, sir; however, the UAVs in Bulgaria are Predators and could easily be armed in no time.”
“Okay then, here’s what I want to happen. Anne, I want one of your UAVs in the sky immediately. I want to see what’s going on at this mountain installation. Also, I want you to place your people in Bulgaria on standby, just in case we need them.”
“Mister President, what are you going to tell the President of Albania?” asked Leonard.
“For now, nothing. Until I know precisely what I am going to do, I don’t see the need to cause a panic.”
“Sir, we should fly back to the capital,” said Grant to the president.
Kempt spoke to Leonard. “Dan, I want a chopper up here ASAP, and notify all of the available members of the National Security Council to meet me in the Situation Room in precisely two hours’ time. Those who can’t make it in time will attend via secure teleconference.”
“Will do, sir,” replied Leonard.
“Folks, if there is an unknown and deadly pathogen being stored in that base, I cannot allow it to escape. I want options, from a Special Forces raid all the way up to the use of a nuclear device. Nothing is off the table.”
Leonard said, “Sir, I think you should know that Ryan Mitchell has dropped off the radar screen. It would appear that he never boarded his flight from Bogota to the States.”
“What do you think happened to him?”
“Sir, he was killed, kidnapped or has gone underground. Regardless, if he is still alive, I don’t think we’ll see or hear too much from him until this is all over.”
With that, the conversation ended. Kempt and Grant stood in the briefing room, silent, the enormity of what they were facing weighing on both men.
Finally, Kempt broke the silence. “Dave, do you honestly believe that David Houston knows absolutely nothing about what is going on?”
Grant said, “Sir, I’ve known David Houston for close to thirty years. I find it hard to believe that he would be mixed up in something as fantastic as this. You know that without his generous financial support, I’d never be where I am today. However, he’s also one of the most intelligent and cunning men I have ever met. So do I think that he knows what is going on? You bet your ass I do! And if he’s planning on doing anything that would harm this nation, I say we nuke the bastard.”
Kempt smiled. At least the vice president wasn’t in Houston’s pay. However, at the back of his mind, he couldn’t help but wonder who was.
37
The sweat poured down Jackson’s face. His clothes were soaked with perspiration.
“You said it was a little hike,” said Jackson to Grace in between breaths. “That was more like climbing Mount Everest in the dark.”
“If you hadn’t eaten so much for dinner and were a few kilos lighter, this wouldn’t have been so hard on you,” replied Grace dryly.
“Just give me a second to catch my breath, and then we can carry on.”
Grace looked over at Midori and told her to carry on up to the top of the mountain. With the sure feet of a mountain goat, Midori sprinted up the narrow path.
Jackson wiped the sweat from his face. “I thought you said before we left the restaurant that this area is patrolled by the Albanian army.”
“It is,” replied Grace. “However, tonight the local detachment on this side of the mountain is getting drunk, thanks to a couple of women I hired to keep the men distracted until tomorrow morning.”
“You think of everything.”
“I try,” replied Grace. “Now let’s get a move on. It’s only a few hundred more meters to the top of the mountain.”
“That’s what you said an hour ago,” muttered Jackson as he fell into line between Grace and Aleksandra.
Twenty minutes later, Jackson lay on his stomach. Below, the mountain base was lit up. Grace handed him a set of binoculars. Slowly scanning the installation, Jackson saw a tall metal fence, with rows of razor-sharp concertina wire on top, surrounding the entire airfield. Automated towers with bright searchlights and cameras dominated all of the open spaces. Inside the fence, armed guards patrolled the perimeter. It was better security than Jackson had seen at some nuclear weapons installations in the States.
“That place is guarded better than Fort Knox. I hope you’ve got a really good plan to get in there,” said Jackson to Grace.
Grace pointed to a guard tower at the base of the mountain. “That’s where we’re going in.”
“And just how do you propose we do that?”
“Aleksandra will stay up here to cover us and guide us in,” replied Grace. “Just after midnight, we make our way down the side of the mountain. The trees should mask us from observation the whole way down. When we get close, Midori will temporarily blind the surveillance tower with a laser while we make our way inside the complex.”
“Oh, and here I was thinking that this was going to be difficult,” said Jackson sarcastically.
“Don’t worry. I want in there just as bad as you do. I’m not going to do something that might get us both captured. I don’t want to end up with a couple of bullets in the back of my head any more than you do.”
Jackson could see that Grace had put some thought into getting inside the base. He lay there wondering if she put as much effort into their escape plan. He was about to ask her about it when he heard something that sounded like a propeller-driven plane fly right over their heads. Jackson rolled over on his back, grabbed a set of NVGs and looked up into the night sky. A couple of seconds later, Jackson swore.