“He was the one covered in blood. I think he was the guy who came into the house at the end.”
Ricardo was torn. He had half expected the DEA to put an agent into the country club, so wasn’t entirely surprised that they had. He was surprised at the speed by which this had happened. Like many people, he underestimated the DEA. He was of the opinion that the Federal agencies were too large and unwieldy to be managed effectively. He thought that they tended to specialise on targets that were politically expedient and not those that might prove difficult or embarrassing to handle.
However, he was also enough of a realist to understand that the DEA had a large and extensive intelligence base, so undercover agents were in all kinds of situations, just in case. To have identified an agent was also a bonus, as this man could be carefully watched and thereby kept isolated from any location or activity that might be considered a risk to the organisation.
There was also the potential to use this man to feed false information to the DEA, which would distract them from the real operation and ensure they waste both time and money on false leads.
Unaware that his cover was blown, Ryan just went on working as usual. He kept snatching glimpses of Michelle in the pool area, playing tennis or sunning herself in a secluded part of the expansive grounds.
It was painful for him, as he desperately wanted to be with her. The only good thing about the situation was that he was aware that she was feeling the same way.
However, he wasn’t the only one watching her. Most of the male guests actively sought her company. Additionally, many of the CCTV cameras were trained on her for a good proportion of the time when there was no supervisor present.
On the positive side, all these men would swear on their mothers’ lives that this girl was one hundred per-cent girl. (Regardless even as to whether they still possessed such a parent).
Meanwhile, back in the real world, Sean was trying to locate old plans for the facility that no one seemed to know much about.
It became quite apparent that someone had gone to a great deal of trouble ensuring that no plans existed. That fact alone alerted Sean to the possibility that Ricardo was involved.
In the end, in an obscure storage facility belonging to the county planning department, one of his agents came across the original plans submitted by the Department of Defense back in the late nineteen forties.
These plans related to a small control bunker that was probably no more than a couple of hundred cubic feet in size.
Using the serial numbers at the top of the sheet, Sean contacted the Pentagon, where, he was informed, all such classified documents were archived. This was another seemingly insurmountable challenge; to find someone high enough to give him access.
Eventually, after a week of frustrating phone calls and meetings, he was finally given permission to access the archives at the Pentagon. However, they would not send him the copies, as he had to appear in person to sign for them. Using precious time he did not really have, he flew up and duly obtained the files. By the time he got to open and examine them, he discovered that the final facility was very different to the rather pathetic original plan.
For the first time, the DEA realised the size of the facility that was beneath the country club. It was the extensive underground road tunnel system that drew attention to Ryan’s sighting, and together with the elevator shaft seen by Michelle, things began to take shape.
Ryan, however, was becoming more and more fed up with the lack of progress. He was unaware that Sean had been able to discover anything concerning the underground facility. He was well aware that rushing things would be a mistake, but he reasoned that if he could just discover enough to justify the issue of a warrant, they’d be able to spring a surprise raid and close the place down.
It was to prove his undoing, and almost cost him his life.
Undercover operatives have to exist without the benefit of knowing what is going on elsewhere. The whole nature of the job is that, for a short time, they become the person they are pretending to be. Any breach or lapse could uncover them and place them in very grave danger.
Both Michelle and Ryan had no idea what was going on outside, but each were conscious that very little appeared to be happening where they were. They were not able to contact each other either. They could not use cell phones, as they had no idea whether the bad guys possessed the technology to monitor them. They resorted to leaving small messages in obscure and prearranged places in emergencies. The most effective was in the ornate fountain in the garden. It wasn’t that deep, and had a small surround on which people could sit and enjoy the garden. They planned to place a small plastic tube containing a coded message under the rim. It could not be seen by anyone looking in, and was unlikely to be moved by the cleaner, as there was very little work required in any case.
It was Ryan who decided to investigate the mysterious truck route into the rear of the of the warehouse facility.
Once he had concluded an early shift during which time he had patrolled the gardens as usual, he stopped briefly by the fountain to place a small message tube in the designated place. As he clocked off, he told his colleagues that he was going to head off to visit a friend. He went to great pains to show that his uniform was in his locker, with his gun. Twenty minutes later, the CCTV showed him driving out of the complex and heading towards the highway. His spare uniform and gun were in the holdall beside him. If challenged, he could always say he was a security guard. As it wasn’t a lie, it might just work.
Three miles down the road, he turned right off the main road, followed a small track that cut back to a small road which turned back, and came out a mile from where he had first seen the trucks. He drove his car off the road, parking it partly hidden from view among some trees. Any one looking for it might just find it, but one would have to be searching closely to do so.
Donning his uniform, and taking his gun and flashlight, he made his way on foot towards the wire fence. Aware of the CCTV cameras, he stayed in the woodland until dark. Then moving carefully and slowly, he managed to slither beneath the fence and merged into the shadows of the bushes along the side of the track. Three large trucks and trailers approached, which caused him to duck back out of sight on each occasion.
There was one large warehouse-type building. As the trucks approached, uniformed and armed security men stopped and spoke to each driver. The first two were directed around a side road to a large truck park. The last one was directed into the warehouse. The roller door opened as it drove up to it, and then closed behind it.
Ryan crawled as close as he could and waited for the next truck. He positioned himself in a position whereby he could sneak up behind the truck and try to get underneath to secret himself. That way he could be driven into wherever the truck went.
Half an hour passed, and he as about to formulate a new plan when the lights of a truck told him another one was coming.
He waited until the security team stopped it Then he dashed out of his position, and scuttled underneath the rear of the trailer unit. There was a cross-beam stanchion on which he managed to wriggle, holding on for dear life as the truck drove off again, this time towards the opening roller door.
From his position, he could see very little. He expected the truck to enter the warehouse, park and then be unloaded of whatever cargo was onboard. He did not expect the truck to keep going; neither did he anticipate it speeding up.
It passed straight through whatever the building was. From what little he could see, it was simply an empty building concealing the entrance to a tunnel.
The truck entered the tunnel doing around forty miles an hour. The road surface was reasonable, for which Ryan was grateful. Lights flashed past every few seconds, but Ryan was more concerned with simply holding on.