“But we have to do something!” Hector said, clearly getting frustrated and starting to feel helpless. As the security leader, he was wired to be pro-active and not just sit around waiting for something to happen. But he also knew the value of patience and smart planning. I could see that reconciling the two was a struggle for him. But it wouldn’t last long. I was about to rock his world.
“Is there any way he could communicate with his team in the field? In other words, can we hack into his comm channel?” I asked.
The Old Man fielded that one. “Doubtful. The concrete and steel in this place make it hard for any kind of portable communications net that doesn’t use the internal radio channels. They’d know that and would likely stay off of them. Even fire-fighters and law enforcement personnel need to use the plant’s handy-talkies when they get here because their systems won’t work.”
“Then Jansen won’t know how they’re doing until they’re done.”
“True, but whoever he’s working with here, if he has access to a computer, can track their movements by looking for doors opened by their key cards.”
“That means we should be able to do the same thing.”
Jerry spoke up, “Let me run some door activity and see if I can account for all of it. I know where most of our delta responders are — or where they should be, anyway. This’ll take a few minutes, though.”
Not wishing to step on Hector’s toes, but not having time to worry too much about who was in charge, I simply said, “Thanks, Jerry. Do it.”
I then turned to Ben and asked, “Do we have cameras inside the plant that we can look at?”
“Nope. Cameras are only outside.”
Just then, my cell phone rang. The security guys looked at me and then at my cell phone. Normal cell phones don’t work inside the power block and certainly not in CAS or SAS. They looked at me with something akin to awe, or at least with renewed respect. At least, respect for my phone.
I pulled it out of my pocket and answered it in my usual curt manner. “Connor.”
“This is Pete. I got ‘em. The wife and the kids are all okay. Can’t say the same for the grunt guarding them. His career as a mercenary is over.”
“Any collateral damage?” This was my way of asking if he or the family sustained any wounds.
“Some, but not to the principles and nothing to worry about.” I found out later that Pete went in through the bedroom window and some of the glass cut his arms. “I’m taking them to the airport. We’ll be wheels up in twenty. We’ll touch down in Ukiah in a couple of hours.”
“Pete, that’s fantastic! Great job! Get your ass back up here. I could use your help. We’ve got something of a situation here. Our buddy is nearby,” referring to Jansen.
“Yeah? I’m looking forward to seeing him again! I’ll get there soonest. I need to get out of here before I get rolled up by the cops. I made some noise. It won’t be long before someone shows up,” Pete said, referring to the dead mercenary. “I’m sure the neighbors won’t appreciate it.”
“Copy that. One more thing. I want you to pull the curtain back on Waxman Industries. We have enough on them now to bury ‘em alive. We just need to document it so we can finish what we started.”
“It’s been long enough, eh boss?”
“That it has.” With that, I hung up.
I turned around and found everyone staring at me. “Hector, I need a plant phone.”
CHAPTER 53
I dialed Marti’s office number. After a couple of rings, she answered.
“I’m so glad to hear your voice! Did Hector meet up with you?” she said anxiously. She sounded surprisingly alert, given that she probably hadn’t had any sleep in a long time. “He didn’t sound happy when I gave him your message. I wasn’t sure if he would go or not. And then it occurred to me that I had no way to get back in touch with you. I wasn’t about to go back down there.” I could almost here her shiver at the thought.
“We’re with him now. Thanks for getting to him, by the way. He almost shot us, but he came around,” I said with a wink at Hector. “I’ll tell him you said hello! What else do you have for me?”
“I’ve been in touch with the FBI and sheriff, trying to get as much information about what they’re planning to do as I can.” There was a short pause, as if she was deciding whether or not to proceed with her next question. Then she dropped her voice a bit and asked, “How are you doing? Are you okay?”
I found that I liked her asking about me. This had all the earmarks of going somewhere, but I just didn’t know where yet. Thinking about her provided a pleasant, momentary distraction… but only for a moment.
“I’m good. I need you to do something for me. You’re gonna like this one.”
“I am? It’ll be the first thing I’ve enjoyed in the last few days. What do you need?”
“I need you to get to Dave Street and tell him his family is safe. We got his wife and kids and they’re on a plane heading home right now.”
“Oh, Nick…” she said with genuine emotion in her voice.
“Can you make some kind of excuse to go to the control room and tell him? I don’t want you to call him or e-mail him. Those might be monitored. The message needs to be delivered in person.”
“Absolutely!” Marti said, now fully awake and alert. “I’ll do it right away. Anything else?”
I thought about it for a minute. “Probably, but do that first and then give me a call. We’re in SAS right now, developing some intel, and formulating a plan. I may need your help with it, but I need to think it through first.”
“I’ll call you back in about fifteen minutes,” Marti said.
I wished her luck, and then hung up.
While I was on the phone, the Old Man apparently had been thinking. “Hector, is there any way you can pay particular attention to the containment emergency air lock on both units? It would be good if, at a minimum, we don’t let them get inside.”
“Yes, I can. But to do that, I’ll have to re-deploy some assets. CAS will know and then Rob will surely find out.”
The Old Man looked at me. “We may not have a choice. Sooner or later they’re going to know we’re here. All we can do is to get as far out in front of them as we can. We may need to chance it. I don’t know if they’re going to make a play for containment or not. But we need to protect those assets… at all costs.”
“I hear you,” I said. “But it doesn’t make sense. If they have guys on the inside, the odds are they’re using tactical charges and don’t have enough with them to blow open the doors to containment. They may have been relying on the outside assault force to bring in the amount of explosives they would need. They’re out of the picture now and Jansen would have taken that into account. Is there any other way to get into containment?”
The Old Man put his hand to his chin, looked down and away as if deep in thought. “Well, you could possibly crawl through the ventilation system,” he said more to himself than to me. “But that would be difficult to do unnoticed. And it would be a tough crawl. There are screens and dampers in place, and the ductwork isn’t particularly big around.”
I looked at him with recognition in my eyes. “Brenda’s husband is the containment ventilation engineer. Is that what they wanted him for?”
“Possibly, but if they did, why kill Brenda? They must have had something else in mind. We’re overlooking something. They must have another plan.”
Hector said in a sarcastic tone, “It’s not that hard if you have the keys. Just go open the door.” He wasn’t being serious.