“I’m Thor Campbell,” the man said. “We spoke on the phone last month.”
Wolff just nodded, noticing that two other men in casual, but rural, attire took seats at another table across the lounge.
Wolff slid an envelope across the table. “Those are your instructions for tomorrow,” he said. “Be in the parking lot before 9:00 A.M., but not earlier than 8:30. Don’t arouse any suspicion by arriving too early. Just leave the vehicle and then station yourself at least five hundred yards away. You’ll be safe at that distance. I’ll handle the rest.”
Campbell nodded. “Will you be there?”
“No need for you to know where I’ll be, but I’ll handle the rest. Just be sure to separate yourself from the vehicle. Where’s the package now?”
“Right where you said it should be. In a garage in North Las Vegas with your French buddy. It’s been there for five days. Me and my boys have been keeping an eye on it.”
Wolff rose and handed Campbell another slip. “Your money has been deposited in this bank account, waiting for your instructions to transfer it after the event. This should fund your mountain boys for some time to come.”
“And you?” Campbell asked again.
“Istifll be in touch again in several weeks. There’s more where that came from,” he said, nodding toward the deposit slip.
Hernando Cortez Conference Center
Conquistador Resort amp; Casino
Las Vegas, Nevada
August
At 8:45 A.M., Jean Wolff took a seat in the back of the assembly hall of the Hernando Cortez Conference Center, Room Three. There were about two hundred others present, mostly men, and about 250 seats in the auditorium. Attendees continued to drift in as Wolff sat quietly in his place. At 8:52, several people took their seats on the main dais, among them John Harford. Wolff took his cell phone from his pocket, keyed a short text message, and hit send. He watched as Harford took his seat, and then reached into his coat pocket to retrieve his iPod, glancing down to briefly read the message. Wolff glanced again at his original text:
Bright horizon is closer and sooner than you might imagine
Instantly, Harford was on his feet, whispered something to the man seated next to him, and departed the stage. Wolff also stood and exited the auditorium through the side door, careful to avoid contact with Harford. Wolff quickly strode to the main entrance to the casino and entered the back seat of a waiting limousine.
“Just wait,” he told the driver.
Within three minutes, John Harford exited the hotel, his anxiety visible in his body language. He spoke to the concierge, who motioned for a taxi to pull forward. Harford entered the vehicle, which immediately departed.
“Henderson Executive Airport,” Wolff told his driver.
Hoover Dam
Arizona/Nevada border
August
Thor Campbell, commander of the Blackfoot Brigade, sat in the right front passenger seat of a dark blue Ford Explorer with one of his associates in the driver’s seat and another in the rear. Campbell had parked a white Chevy Suburban in the visitor parking area on the Nevada side at 8:48, left the keys in the ignition as directed, and then joined his associates for the short trip across the dam and up the hill on the Arizona side to the main parking area. Traffic on Highway 93 across the new Hoover Dam bypass, a quarter mile south of the face of the dam and high above the canyon, continued unimpeded.
Campbell waited for the expected explosion that would demolish the parking lot and the visitors center on the Nevada side. From his location, he would have an excellent view without danger of being injured by debris.
Eisenhower Executive Office Building
Office of Information amp; Public Relations
Department of Homeland Security
Washington, D.C.
August
At 12:05, EST, three hours ahead of Las Vegas, Carlos Castro strode briskly down the hall toward the office of General Pug Connor, ignoring the general’s secretary and entering Connor’s office without knocking. Connor glanced up, a surprised look on his face.
“General, I’ve just received a FedEx package you need to see.”
“From who?”
“No name, General, and probably a false address. But as sure as I’m standing here, it came from Wolff.”
Connor reached for the folder Carlos placed on his desk. “Summarize,” he said.
“He’s given us everything we need on Harford-dates, places, the Kansas City and San Antonio terrorist events, even the Internet contact methods with the roving shooters. Nothing admissible in court, but he’s given Harford to us on a silver platter. He even names the Secretary of Defense, Acting Secretary of Homeland Security, and several Army generals who were part of the conspiracy to pass the Domestic Tranquility Act and select SI as the contractor. He doesn’t say they all knew about the shooters, or SI’s involvement, but they were paid under the table to support SI and passage of the bill. A dozen or more congressmen, also.”
Connor stood and stepped around his desk, taking a seat in front and motioning for Carlos to be seated. “Not legally enforceable, you say?”
“No, sir. DOJ couldn’t take this to court, and given the political involvement, I don’t think the president would want to. But from an intelligence perspective, everything fits.” He paused for a moment. “I’m afraid that’s not all, General. He’s indicated there will be another event today in…” Carlos glanced at his watch, “… twenty-four minutes.”
“Did he say where?”
“No, sir, he just said 12.30 Washington time. That probably means it’s in some other time zone.”
“Did he give any indication of a nuclear device being in the country?”
“No, sir.”
“Recommendations?”
“General, the FedEx package originated in Las Vegas. If we called Air Force security at Nellis-”
“He’s long gone,” Connor interrupted. “Or soon will be. Anything else?”
“One terse handwritten note. ‘ We shall meet again’.”
“Directed at you, no doubt. You made him look like an amateur in East Timor. He’s not the kind to forget it.”
“No, sir, he’s not. And I won’t make the same mistake twice.”
“It wasn’t a mistake to let him live, Carlos,” Connor said. “We got information, and now we have even more.”
“Are you going to present this to the president?” Carlos asked.
“I don’t know. I need to consider it. If, as you say, several cabinet level officers and congressional people are involved, it goes far deeper than we imagined. We’ll discuss it later. Twenty minutes, you say?”
“Twenty-two, General.”
Henderson Executive Airport
Las Vegas, Nevada
August
Jean Wolff watched as John Harford walked swiftly across the tarmac and boarded a Lear jet, which immediately taxied toward the runway. Wolff then departed his vehicle and boarded the Gulfstream 650 which was manned and ready for departure. As he took his seat and nodded to the pilot standing in the cabin doorway, he took out his cell phone again and keyed another text message.
Safe flight. Your horizon will not be as bright as it once was, but you will live… for now.
The Gulfstream spun up the engines and began to taxi toward the main runway. Wolff watched out the port side window as Harford’s Lear lifted off, turned northeast, and began to climb. He turned his attention to his cell phone once again, keying in a series of numbers and placing the phone beside him on the aisle seat. Then he buckled in as the aircraft turned to the west and the engines spooled up for departure. They lifted off and turned due south, beginning to climb out through cloudless skies. Wolff watched out the port window as Henderson disappeared beneath the wing and, slightly to the southeast, Boulder City appeared on the horizon.