"You know, guys, I sure feel sorry for those poor bastards gonna be out in the weather…"
Anyway, we all moved into the area of the Beauregard in ones and twos, over a period of a couple of hours. Easy to do, since the gambling operation produced the only consistent, large crowd in the county. By midnight, we'd been set for nearly an hour.
Everybody checked in on the scrambled radio, and we sat down to wait for Gabriel's Operation Just Cash to begin.
In a leap of originality, the call sign for the Command Post was "CP." Well, you want everybody to be clear, and we hadn't had time to do any better. At the CP were gathered Volont, George, Hester, Art, Sally, and me.
We had designated the five likely banks as Alpha, Bravo, Charlie, Delta, and Echo. Keep it simple, like they say. The observation points were numbered for each site. Very easy, as Frieberg was designated "Alpha," and was the only one with more than one observation point.
Alpha 1 was located on the roof of a two-story commercial building across the street from the Frieberg bank. There were two FBI TAC people there. The advantage of this location was that it provided a clear shot down the alley behind the bank. They had been instructed to vacate their location at first light, and to return after sundown. They could be seen from the bridge approach in the daylight, and we didn't want them compromised. They would remain in the building, and if something went down, they could be back on the roof in less than a minute.
Alpha 2 was in a vacant second-floor apartment, in the rear of a building diagonally across the alley from the bank. There were four TAC officers there. They had the best view through the drive-up teller's glass booth, and were able to see about a third of the interior of the bank, with a partial view of the bottom of the vault door. They could also cover part of the alley. If something started, two of them would exit the building, and take up positions behind a four-foot concrete wall that divided the alley from the rear lawn of the building, and enabled them to engage the general area of the bank from ground level.
Alpha 3 was in the residence of a Frieberg police officer. The two TAC officers assigned that location were in a bedroom on the second floor. It was about half a block from the bank, and in an elevated position about ten feet up the bluff that paralleled the river. Access was via a steep stair. Their view was of the front of the bank, and they were only able to see a small part of the interior due to their height. If necessary, they could reposition themselves, but it would take time, and they would be out of sight of the bank for a period of time before they could reach the secondary position along a retaining wall. That was a bad location, anyway, as they were exposed on their left.
Alpha Mobile was an older van, parked at the edge of the lot belonging to the convenience store across the street and to the west of the bank. Again, two TAC officers were there. Plainclothes, they were considered critical for daylight operations, as they could see much of the interior of the bank, and both exits. They looked to have a very long day. Movement was to be at their discretion, but was presumed to be done only to block access to the bridge ramp.
Alpha Chase consisted of two unmarked cars inside the Frieberg Fire Department. They were in a vehicle bay vacated by a pumper that we had persuaded the fire chief to park outside. We hid them because we felt that Gabriel was likely to pick up on them before they were aware of his presence. Four TAC officers were assigned here.
Last, but not least, was Alpha Foot. One male and one female TAC officer, plainclothes, were available to stroll by any location we wanted, to double-check and get a ground view of any situation. They were currently upstairs in the Frieberg Public Library, which was a full block removed from the bank, and where they'd be able to enter and leave without being observed by anyone in or around the bank.
We all had diagrams on a Xeroxed sheet. The bank was in the middle. Alpha 1 was to the right of the bank, close to the edge. Alpha 2 was below the bank, but close. Alpha 3 was in the upper left corner. Alpha Mobile was about halfway up the page, on the left edge. The boat was on the lower right corner, Hester's office was opposite that, and the chase cars were way over on the lower left corner. The river was indicated on the extreme right edge. The two north-south streets that formed Frieberg proper were parallel lines about three inches apart. The east-west streets were indicated by three parallel lines evenly spaced down the page.
The tension was high for about the first hour. Nobody said much, and everybody was grabbing a look out the windows of the darkened office every few minutes.
By 0230, we were making trips to the adjacent office, and grabbing coffee. By 0345, some of us were staying in the coffee room for as much as half an hour at a stretch.
At 0351, we all watched a train go by on the tracks between the Beauregard and the pavilion. A slow train.
I was in Hester's office about 0400, and saw Nancy and Shamrock walking across the parking lot, and heading toward the General Beauregard. Not a bad vantage point. I silently wished them luck with the photos. It had occurred to me that a good set through a telephoto lens could do us wondrous good in court.
About 0412, our radios crackled to life.
"CP, Alpha Two has suspicious movement."
"Alpha Two?" It was as though Sally had been waiting for just that call. "CP, we've got a brown Toyota four-door with Illinois plates, who's just started his third pass by the bank in five minutes."
"Alpha Two, Alpha One, is he eastbound? All we have is headlights."
"Ten-four, eastbound."
Silence. The tension was back.
"Uhh, Alpha Mobil hasn't seen any Toyotas."
"And Alpha Two has the suspect vehicle back on the street facing west… and they seem to be stopping to speak with a female subject walking east… on the north side of the street…" There was a silence of maybe ten seconds. "And she's in the car, and I think she should go for about twenty-five bucks…"
"A hooker?" I couldn't believe it. "Right here in River City?" I started to laugh.
"We've had rumors a couple of them are trying to work around the boat," said Hester.
"Well, I think you can mark those 'confirmed,'" said Art.
A flurry of activity like that, and now everybody was pumped with nothing to do. You don't want to leave the area, in case you miss something. So you just hang in there and fidget. And think.
I tried watching TV. My favorite, the Weather Channel, showed the blue and pink worm arching almost above us. Fantastic. Warmth, and on schedule.
By 0540, we were no longer pumped. Hester called down to the buffet, and ordered a bunch of rolls and orange juice.
By 0630, it was getting light, and Alpha 1 was stood down for a thirty-minute break.
I think we'd all reached that scratchy stage, when the sun comes up and you haven't slept, and you've had so much coffee that nothing would feel better than to brush your teeth and take a long, hot shower. And then pull the shades, and get into bed.
"Hey," said George, brightly, "only seventeen and a half hours of Sunday left."
With the sun coming up, the boat looked gorgeous. The sky had some high cirrus clouds, and was all pinks and grays. Out on the Mississippi, steam was coming up in the ice-free area around the Beauregard, and also out in the open main channel.
"I hate sunrise," said Hester.
There were large vertical pillars of steam coming off the ice. They were fun to watch, and lent a spooky air to the whole thing.