“Very funny, Jason. Let me introduce Angelina Navarro,” Palmer said, turning his attention to Angel. “She’s been invaluable in my search for Sela Coscarelli.”
Jason greeted Angelina warmly, shaking her hand. “My deepest apologies for my friend’s boorish behavior, ma’am. He obviously has no idea how to handle himself in the presence of a beautiful woman,” he said with a mischievous grin.
“And I’m pleased to introduce you both to Lieutenant David Morris from the Palo Alto Police Department. Lieutenant Morris has been on this case since day one,” Henry said, completing the round of introductions as everyone shook hands.
“Pleased to meet you both,” Morris replied. “I’ve heard a great deal about your many exploits, Mr. Palmer. My admiration is considerable.”
“Well, don’t believe everything you hear, Lieutenant…especially from this joker,” Palmer chided, playfully shoving Henry.
“Okay, okay…everyone gets the point, Emerson.”
Henry turned toward Morris to suggest the need for privacy. “Lieutenant, would you kindly take Ms. Navarro for a cup of coffee? Emerson and I need to discuss a few things. Let’s all meet back here in twenty minutes.”
“Certainly…it would be my pleasure,” Morris eagerly replied.
He lightly touched Angelina’s elbow to guide her away. “Ms. Navarro…if you’d kindly follow me, there’s a nice deli just down the way.”
“Don’t leave without me now, Emerson,” Angel said, looking back anxiously as she left with Morris.
“Not gonna happen, Angel,” he said reassuringly. “I promised… we’ll find Sela together. You can bank on it.”
“Jesus Christ, man, when you said you were bringing Holloway’s mistress, you could’ve warned me she’s a ten,” Henry said as they both watched her glide effortlessly away.
“Brother, I have no idea what to make of her. But I’ll tell you this…without her, we wouldn’t know anything of Fort Knox. She’s smarter than she looks, and she’s earned a right to be here. Frankly, I wasn’t in any position to refuse her help. So, what’ve you got from the old man?” Palmer asked, anxious to get to the point.
Jason spent the next few minutes bringing him up to speed on all he’d learned from General Blake Freeman on the mission. The chairman of the joint chiefs had agreed with the assessment that something was stirring at Fort Knox. But because of the national treasury on the base, and the immediacy of a pending attack, he didn’t believe there was enough time to deploy the cleaners. Instead, he ordered that both men would be charged with securing Conrad’s machine and the missing nuclear material, if and when it showed up. How they were to do this remained unclear.
While Freeman’s orders were specific about containment, he was equally insistent that they obtain verification on the efficacy of Conrad’s antigravity technology. The research conducted at Quantum was the reason Henry had been assigned to track Conrad’s progress all along. The DOD had designs on this technology and the joint chiefs were of one mind when it came to controlling it. Fort Knox provided the ideal environment to test the weapons capability of this exciting new device.
“So, let me get this straight. It’s just you and me on this deal? What about the base commander?” Palmer asked, eyebrows askance, astounded by their orders.
“Well…here’s where it gets dicey. The Fort Knox commander, Brigadier General Sam Hershey, has been fully apprised of the potential for a raid on the vault. After all, we have no hard evidence to substantiate the theory. But Freeman’s ordered that Hershey not interfere with deployment after they make it onto the base. He wants the machine to reach its full operating threshold.”
“What the hell does that mean? We’re gonna let them break into the vault?” Palmer asked incredulously.
“I don’t really know how far this will go. I said it was dicey. We’re going to play this by ear. Hershey’s reinforcements will be on alert and available to respond as needed,” he said, disbelieving his own words. He recognized that Emerson’s distrustful look matched his own misgivings.
“What about the hostages?” Palmer asked. “If we’re at the base, who’ll rescue them? My priority’s Dr. Coscarelli…I gave the senator my word, Jason.”
“Listen, I realize this won’t be easy to swallow, but we’ve got to let Morris handle the hostages.”
“No way.”
“I know…I know, I don’t like it any more than you,” he quickly added, cutting off Palmer’s protest. “But I don’t see any other alternative. If we attempt a rescue too soon, everyone could be killed… including Coscarelli and Conrad. It’s better for the hostages to deal with just one or two gunmen rather than the whole crew. That means we wait.”
He could tell from the disbelieving look on Palmer’s face that he wasn’t convinced; he needed assurances. “I’ll vouch for Morris,” he added. “He’s no gumshoe…he’s good. We leave him at Wildcat and trust he’ll know when to call for reinforcements. Once he sees the majority of their unit deploy, he’ll rescue the hostages,” Henry said, making a defensible case for splitting up their resources.
“Besides, if we lose Conrad, we lose the machine. If that happens, you’ll have more than the senator to worry about. Freeman will have our asses and both of us can forget about seeing the light of day ever again.”
“Okay…I know you’re right,” Palmer sighed. “It’s just…I’ve never been concerned with collateral damage. This could be bad. Heaven help us, Jason, if Morris isn’t as good as you claim,” he said, deeply bothered about trusting Sela’s life and that of her relatives to an unknown municipal cop.
“Trust me, Emerson…this will work out. I say we scope out the Wildcat operation and make a plan for how we play this. Once we know the lay of the land, it’ll be much clearer. Come on, buddy… buck up. This is just like the old days.”
“Not quite, Jason. In the crosshairs are civilians related to the chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. I’m fairly alarmed here, and I’ll tell you something else…Freeman sending us in blind doesn’t make sense. We’re supposed to watch this crew rip off Fort Knox without a coordinated response from the base commander? This is bullshit, Jason,” he said, shaking his head in disgust.
“I couldn’t agree more, my friend…but we’re under orders. Are you with me, or do I go in alone?”
“Don’t be ridiculous, Jason,” Palmer chastised, annoyed by the question. “Of course I’m with you. Have I ever let you down? Let’s get going. I want to see where the hostages are being held before dark. We’ve got a lot to accomplish before the day is out.”
“Now you sound like your old self, man,” Henry said, slapping his partner’s back. “Thank God you’re onboard.”
“Well, just remember…you talked me into this, Jason. When Senator Coscarelli charges me with willful negligence, you better have my back,” he said prophetically.
“Let’s hope it doesn’t come to that, Emerson. But if it does, yeah, I take full responsibility. You have my word.”
“It’s not your word I doubt, Jason. We’ve got too many hostages in harm’s way. This ain’t good.”
“I hear you, pard.”
The men saw Lieutenant Morris and Angelina making their way back to the baggage claim area. They each gathered their belongings and walked to meet them, both feeling ill-equipped to face what the next few hours would bring. Doubtless, their path ahead clearly promised to be one of the most intriguing and daunting missions they had ever undertaken.
SIXTY-ONE
Wildcat Fish Farm
16:00 HOURS
Richard Kilmer and Rafie Nuzam were sitting at the Struffenegers’ massive dining room table, poring over the layout of the Fort Knox complex. The creases on their foreheads spoke volumes about the worry each of them had. Neither of the seasoned veterans was willing to voice what they both knew: The operation before them was suicide.
“Git ever’one assembled,” Kilmer said to Rafie. “We’ve only got seven hours before deployment. I want one last walk-through.”