Tracy went to a terminal and typed away. “Cell towers started going off line fifteen minutes before we got notice the storm was coming. Apparently they were also physically unplugged when the solar storm hit.”
“Of course they were,” Jake replied. “The Phoenix Organization needed them. The bulk of their network runs on cell phones. Someone had to plug the cables back in and restart the generators. Where is the grid still down?”
“Sixty percent of the country is still without electricity,” Tracy said.
“Where the grid is down, are the cell towers still working?”
“Yes. They all have backup generators.”
“With fuel tanks that have to be refilled,” Jake said. “Find out who is refilling the cell tower tanks, and who arranged for that to be done when there’s no electricity.”
“I’m on it,” Tracy said.
“Honi, I need to borrow your phone to call Briggs.”
Honi held her hand out. “We’re part of a team now. You’re all getting up-graded, encrypted phones.” Jake, Ken and Stafford handed their phones over. “The new ones will work just like these do, but better.”
“Until then?” Jake asked, holding his hand out. She handed him her phone and left. He dialed.
“It’s Hunter. I’m going to be sending over names of companies that are refilling cell phone tower fuel tanks. I need FBI agents tracking down the people who ordered the tanks refilled and I need to know who went out to the cell towers just before the solar storm hit.” He listened. “Thanks, boss.”
He set Honi’s phone down on Brett’s desk.
“Okay. We got into this phone network through a land line and coded words, but right now we’re primarily looking at cell phones that rotate once a week. We can connect the weekly change by GPS, but because of the burner phones, we have no registration data. We have no idea who is using each phone.”
“Except for the people we’ve already taken down,” Stafford said.
“Yeah. So far the only people we’ve actually connected together are Senator Thornton and Sylvia Cuthbert.”
“And General Teague and Secretary Cooper,” Stafford added.
Honi returned with new cell phones. “These are all encrypted and secure. My tech guy programmed in all of your old numbers, so you won’t have any trouble there. I’ve added several new icons to your screen. The gold eagle inside a blue circle will connect you to all of us simultaneously. There are three blue circles with a single letter inside corresponding to first names.”
“Can we start nailing down buildings and addresses based on the GPS data?” Jake asked.
“Sure,” Brett replied. “Where do you want to start?”
Jake studied the screen. “Let’s start domestically. Many of these numbers are out of the country. Pick the phone of the highest ranking boss in the US on the organizational plot and work your way down from there.”
“Got it,” Brett answered.
“This could take some time,” Honi said.
“Whoa,” Brett said. “This location is inside the Treasury Building in D.C.”
“Tracy,” Honi said quickly. “Bring up the office layout of the Treasury Building and overlay the GPS coordinates.”
“Here we are. Four different offices, four floors.”
“Doesn’t the GPS location also include the altitude?” Ken asked.
“It does. Altitude indicates the fourth floor, making it…”
“The Secretary of the Treasury’s office,” Ken finished.
“I’ve got to update the President,” Jake said.
Jake called the White House on his drive north from Alexandria to Washington to let them know he needed to see the President. When he arrived he was immediately ushered into the oval office.
“What have you got?” the President asked.
“They’re consolidating their power. The deadline we’re facing is real. It’s definitely not a bluff,” Jake said.
“I figured it was real,” the President said, glancing down at the Presidential Seal in the carpeting. “But it’s good to have validation. Every country in the world is panicked over this demand to surrender. They all want to know what I’m going to do about it, so I need regular progress reports so I can calm them down.”
“Sir, I think you need to keep in mind that anything you tell another country will most likely also go directly to the Phoenix Organization we are fighting. If the Phoenix Organization knows what we are doing and how close we may be getting, this whole thing will turn very deadly, very quickly.”
The President paused, apparently thinking through what Jake had said. “I will think of something. Have you identified anyone else who is involved?”
“Yes, sir. John Halleran, the Secretary of the Treasury.”
“Two members of my own cabinet?” the President asked, obviously shaken by the news. “How could I have missed that? These were people I trusted. How could they betray their country?”
“It’s not that hard, sir. Between Secretary of Defense Cooper, Senator Thornton and Secretary Halleran, one of them was going to be installed as the undisputed leader of this country.”
“With no election and no term of office,” the President said sadly.
“And no limits to their power and authority, either, sir.” He paused for a moment. “I have a plan, sir, but I need your cooperation.”
Jake returned to the group in B6, area 4 of the NSA building.
“So when do we take down Secretary Halleran?” Ken asked.
“Later,” Jake replied.
“Why not now?”
“This is the way I see it at this time, and please tell me if you disagree. General Teague came under suspicion because of the theft of the nuclear artillery shell. We arrested him. The Secretary of Defense essentially sacrificed his position to save General Teague so they could steal the B83 bomb, which, as we now know, is essential to their plan. So far, Teague and Secretary Cooper are collateral damage but still free. The Phoenix Organization thinks they can still operate in secret. They still think they’re safe. You with me?”
“Okay,” Honi replied. “So far, so good.”
“We found Senator Thornton through a security violation at the NSA. Again, this was something that could have happened on its own without direct knowledge of the Phoenix Organization. It’s more collateral damage, right? These are some of the costs of running an operation of this size and complexity. They probably expected a few things such as that. Senator Thornton was highly placed, but Secretary Halleran is higher yet. So far, the Phoenix Organization has lost one high-ranking member, plus Teague and Cooper are out of play, but Secretary Halleran is still in place. If we take him down, it’s a serious blow to the Organization. That move on our part will demonstrate to them that we know not only about the Organization, but its structure, as well. What do you think will happen next?”
“The Phoenix Organization will close ranks, change security procedures and go deeper underground,” Stafford explained.
“And everything we’re figuring out about them will cease to be valid. We’ll be back to square one.”
“So what do you have in mind?” Ken asked.
“I’ve discussed the plan with the President and he’s on board. We continue our surveillance and keep on identifying members of the Organization. We have FBI agents put a loose tail on every suspected member. We track them and verify their cell phone calls and connections. They’re not going anywhere in the next fourteen days. Twelve hours before the Event they’re going to get their run and hide notice. That’s when we grab them. I know the timing is tight, but I think it’s our best shot at finding where the satellite control center is located. From there, we figure out how to stop the solar storm.”
“Tight timing is an understatement,” Honi commented.